Individual Therapy
Individual therapy (sometimes called “psychotherapy” or “counseling”) is a process where individuals work with a trained therapist to process address a variety of issues. Issues can include stress, trauma, conflictual relationships, or finding a better work/life balance. Therapy happens in a safe and confidential environment. Our goal at Vivant is to help clients identify and reach his/her individual goals.
Individual therapy sessions are generally 45-50 minutes in length and individuals are welcome to invite others if he/she/they feel(s) it would be beneficial. There is no right or wrong way to share feelings in therapy. We have seen most everything including tears, swearing, laughing, etc. This is a place for people to explore their feelings, beliefs, or behaviors, work through challenging or influential memories, identify aspects of their lives that they would like to change, better understand themselves and others, set personal goals, and work toward desired change.
In the first session you’ll be asked lots of questions. This gives your therapist a good idea of the whole person, not just emotionally what is happening. Our therapists like to get feedback about what he/she/they think(s) would be helpful and together decide what direction to go. Sometimes that is just continuing individual therapy, other times it may be adding a referral for another service (ie family counseling, medication management, nutritionist, etc.). Once clients identify the goals to work on in therapy, we work to determine how often session should be and evaluate if they need to continue. Some people may only come for 1-2 sessions and find relief and others may come regularly for several years. Every individual is different, and again, there is not one right or wrong way to do therapy. It is also important to note that you may not feel like your therapist is a good fit for you and that’s OK. Our goal is for the individuals who come to our office to find what works for them.
What to Expect
-
If you’ve received the client portal invitation, log in and check any messages, fill out paperwork, etc.
Be thinking of what you would like to talk about, or any questions you have. Feel free to write those down and bring them in.
Verify your insurance. Click here for more information regarding insurance.
-
Our office is tucked beside/behind Ge’Angelo’s in the. Northern Lights Shopping Center.
We do not have a receptionist, so feel free to have a seat and we will be with you as soon as possible.
If there is still paperwork to be done, you may be asked to fill out paperwork before your appointment.
Each therapist has a private office, so you will be with the same therapist in the same office every session. To increase privacy we leave a noise machine on as well as the bathroom light/fan. These are to muffle noises.
The lighting in the office LED. If you prefer lamps to overhead lighting, let us know and we will be happy to use lamps instead.
After your appointment we will work together to decide if you would like to schedule another session. We will also determine if that will be scheduled at that time, or if it will be scheduled later. There is no right or wrong way to do it.
-
Be kind to yourself, you’ve done a lot of hard work.
You are welcome to contact your counselor with any questions/concerns between session. Email or the client portal are the preferred and most direct ways to get in contact. We are generally in with clients and are unable to answer phone calls much of the time. Please be aware we may not be able to return your message for up to 48 hours.
You can use the client portal to check your appointments or make/change any appointments.
Contact the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or visit your local emergency department if you are having thoughts of self harm or suicide. Vivant is not a crisis center.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Age ranges are based on individual clinicians.
Child specific information:
Sometimes kids are unable to manage more than 30 minutes. Children’s sessions may seem short, but they are still working.
All child sessions are unique. Sometimes kids have parents/caregivers in the session, other times they do better without parents in the room. Parents/caregivers are almost always involved in the first session, and we will talk about these options.
If you are bringing an elementary aged child, we ask that you stay in the building during the session if you are not in the session. If there is a concern we will try to accommodate something. We want your child to be safe.
If you are bringing an older child that gets dropped off, please be aware of the end time (generally 45 minutes for middle school/high school aged kids) so they can be picked up quickly. Again, we want everyone to be safe and we will likely be in session and unable to monitor safety.
-
We treat a variety of diagnoses including, but not limited to, depression, anxiety, ADHD, and PTSD. Our clinicians have extra training in trauma, and am Basic Trained in EMDR.
We are not licensed to prescribe medications.
-
Yes. Vivant is LGBTQ+ Affirming
-
While we are not faith based, we welcome all faiths.
-
For ongoing clients, scheduling your next appointment can be done at the end of an appointment, through the client portal, or by calling 515-523-5543. Counselors are not always able to accomodate same day appointments.
-
-
We take your privacy seriously. This is suppose to be a safe space and confidentiality is vital to that. If you want someone to be able to communicate with us about your services. (including billing) you can sign a release of information. This is also something that can be revoked by you at any time. Best practice includes coordinating with your primary care provider, but again, this is your choice.
HIPAA (Health Insurance Privacy Portability Act) protects your PHI (protected health information). Our emails use HIPAA compliant encryption. Our client portal and our backup telehalth platform are HIPAA compliant.
Counselors are mandatory reporters. As such we are mandated by law to report any suspected child abuse.
Child Specific: During our first session we will go over confidentiality with children. It is my practice to keep conversations private and only tell parents general updates (ex: ____was open and talkative today), unless there is a safety concern or something that I feel the parents/caregiver should know. If this is the case, I try to be transparent with that so the child is not caught off guard.
42 CFR Part 2 affords special protection when talking about substance abuse. Therefore children 14 years of age and older need to sign a specific release of information for parents/caregivers to obtain information from the counselor about anything substance abuse related.
-
While our emails use a HIPAA compliant encryption, it is safest to use our secure portal to communicate with your counselor. You may call 515-523-5433, however this is not the preferred form of communication as we are often in session and unable to answer phone calls.
We discourage coming in person without an appointment as we may be unable to help you. Our office space is shared with other counselors, but they are unable to see your information and will likely be unable to help.