FAQs For Psychologist In Lakeland, FL

Fee and Scheduling FAQs For Our Lakeland Therapist

What follows are answers to frequently asked questions.  Please contact us to discuss any other questions you may have that are not listed in the FAQs.

When are your appointments?

We see clients from Monday through Friday between 10 am and 6 pm.  We do not have night or weekend hours.

Are your appointments in-person, on-line, or telephonic?

Under normal circumstances, most of our appointments are in-person; however, due to COVID-19, we often do a combination of in-person appointments and video conferencing or telephonic appointments.  Our offices are in downtown Lakeland, Florida.  Some clients prefer in-person sessions, while others like the convenience of having their appointments on-line.  We are flexible and are willing to discuss what works best for you.

Do you take insurance?

We do not take insurance; however, we are on several EAP panels.  There are some issues clients should seriously consider before deciding to use their health insurance for psychotherapy.

Clients are often unaware of the fact that for therapists to get paid by insurance companies for therapy visits, they must provide a diagnostic code for the client.  This means that your therapist must submit a diagnose code to your insurance company where it becomes a part of your permanent record.  In this day and age of electronic record keeping systems, a diagnosis given to you by a therapist will stay with you for the rest of your life.

Clients interested in careers that require clearances, like working for the federal government and/or the U.S. military, will have to undergo background investigations where their medical records may be disclosed.  Medical records can also be requested in certain legal matters such as custody battles and the like.  If at some point you’re interested in purchasing life insurance, depending on the amount of coverage you’re seeking, they often request copies of your medical records and you may be rated or even denied coverage due to a diagnosis.

At Stoa Life, we value your privacy above everything else.  We would rather not have to submit a diagnosis and records of our sessions to any insurance company.  We want your sessions to be private so that you are comfortable to discuss anything and know that it’s not going to become part of your permanent healthcare record.  It’s for these reasons that we often discuss with clients why we strongly prefer not to accept insurance for psychotherapy services.

What are your fees?

Our fees range from $135-175 per session. For individuals, sessions are 50 minutes. 

 

For couples and families, the first meeting is 50 minutes. However, during that session we will discuss whether or not some appointments should be scheduled for 80-minutes.

 

Fees are paid at the time of the session.  We take cash, checks, and all major credit cards.

What is the typical number of sessions?

There are no minimal number of sessions required.  The average number of sessions is 16 to 20 to complete formal treatment; however, many clients have said they start feeling better in as few as three or four sessions.  Some clients choose to continue to maintain contact and check in with us every few months.  This is something that is worked out individually with each client.

The number of sessions varies for each client.  As mentioned above, most clients are with us for 16 to 20 sessions; therefore, the expense of our work together will likely be between $2160 and $2700.  Payment is made at each session and most people can expect the total cost to be within this range.  Again, there are no minimal number of sessions required.

Do you have sliding scale or discount packages?

We do not have a sliding scale or discount packages.

How frequently will we meet?

We make every effort to work with your schedule, but we highly recommend that our first 4 sessions be scheduled at weekly intervals.  While every therapy session is about you, during the first four sessions we are teaching you a self-counseling system so that in time you will be able to counsel yourself.  After the first four sessions, many clients continue to meet with us on a weekly basis, but at this point you may choose to spread the sessions out to biweekly or even longer.  There is no minimum requirement for sessions.

Can I come less frequently to spread out the cost?

If you want to spread out the cost of our work, you can achieve that by scheduling one or two appointments per month after the first four sessions.  Again, we highly recommend that the first four sessions occur in consecutive weeks.

Please bear in mind that there are many self-help exercises and readings that can be done at home to facilitate faster results in a fewer number of sessions.  For the type of work we’ll be doing together, the more work you’re willing to do outside of sessions, the faster the therapy will go and the fewer number of sessions you are likely to need to be able to learn the system and feel the way you want to feel.

What if I have to cancel and reschedule?

If you’re unable to attend a session, we request that you cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled appointment.  Otherwise, you will be charged the full cost of the session.

Don't see your question listed in our FAQs? Give us a call.

Contact Stoa Life today for a free consultation.