Premier Jacksonville Counseling Services

How Do I Pick a Psychologist, Counselor, or Marital Therapist?

• Choose a Licensed Practitioner

  Picking a marriage counselor, psychologist or therapist can be daunting. There are so many professionals that identify themselves as a counselor, psychologist, or marital therapist, and there are so many initials to discern that follow their names. What is most important is that the counselor or therapist is licensed. The licensed counselors and therapists will be identified as a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) or a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and have a masters degree in psychology, mental health, or social work. A psychologist is a doctor of psychology and is an actual licensed psychologist. All of these professionals who are licensed are trained to help you in psychotherapy or counseling at different levels. Do not see a person that is unlicensed, as they are practicing unregulated and with no oversight. This includes seeing a life coach that has no actual license to practice. You need protection. Knowing the professional psychologist or counselor is licensed will ensure that they have the requisite training and knowledge, and that you can contact the Florida Department of Health if they are causing harm, which can aid the State in stopping them from continuing to practice. After you have ensured they are licensed, other factors that are important are specific gender, theoretical, psychological or counseling orientation, availability, your physical comfort in the actual facility, and the level of professionalism of the associated staff members.

• Male and Female Therapists

  It is not unusual that some people prefer a male therapist or a female therapist. If a woman is coming for marriage counseling, often she desires a male therapist that will more likely influence her husband based on the husband or therapist's personality. Likewise, a husband choosing a marital therapist may seek a woman that he believes will be better able to reach his wife. Often, women or men that have a history of abuse by a male prefer to see a female counselor; however, seeing a male with the right personality may also benefit him or her in being more comfortable with men. Truly, it depends on your personality, the personality of the therapist, and the issues at hand.

• Scientifically Proven Therapies

  You want to ensure that the treatment method used is empirically-validated or empirically based. Psychotherapy and counseling methods that are within this realm include cognitive-behavioral therapies, emotionally focused therapy, the Gottman Approach, Motivational Interviewing, Solution Focused Therapy, and EMDR. Be cautious in seeking counseling with someone that offers counseling based on some other method, or if it sounds too good to be true, or too strange for that matter. Know that there are many unique people that practice in the fields of counseling and psychology.

• Flexible Availability

  You also want to choose someone that is available. Many therapists and psychologists moonlight, meaning they have day jobs elsewhere and practice only at night. Choose someone that is available when you are available so counseling is a positive process and it is easy to get there and be there in counseling. Of note, it is rare to find someone that has weekend or evening hours in Jacksonville for counseling. At D'Arienzo Psychology, we offer late evening hours often until 9:00 p.m. We do make special exceptions and see people on the weekends for intensive marriage counseling work or other family intervention issues.

• Professional and Warm Atmosphere

  The counseling office, lobby, and administration room should be clean and organized. The therapy offices should be comfortable and not appear too clinical. No one is taking blood so there should not be any white coats or rubber gloves. Our Jacksonville counseling and psychological center office is always clean and organized.

  The staff members and your psychologist or counselor should represent and reflect stability, professionalism, and warmth. It is not important that your psychologist, counselor, or therapist have had your problem or have achieved the financial success that you may have had. But it is important that they understand you, your challenges, and can outline a path of recovery or improvement for you and your life. Regarding the counseling supportive staff, again, you want to ensure that they are friendly, polite, and intelligent, as they will be managing your records and scheduling your appointments. If you have an issue with a staff member, don't be afraid to talk to the owner of the psychological firm or counseling office.

How Many Sessions of Therapy or Counseling Will I Need?

We know from the research that most people need about eight sessions of psychotherapy; however, this varies based on the level of the problem and the personality of the person being counseled. Sometimes people continue to be seen intermittently over a lifetime when problems resurface or they need additional support. Many people actually come for anywhere from one to four sessions just to get confirmation they are moving in the right direction or to have a question answered about themselves or a loved one.

Is Counseling or Therapy Expensive?

Remember that counseling and psychotherapy are like most things in life, in that you do get what you pay for! The more credentialed someone is, the more expensive they are. The highest credentialed are those that are doctors of psychology and those that have multiple certifications. With higher degrees comes more time in school as well as having internships and residencies treating a variety of people. In Florida, to be a therapist or counselor, one must have at least a masters degree. To be a psychologist in Florida, one must have a doctorate degree in psychology (Psy.D., Ph.D., or Ed.D) and complete an internship and residency (post-doc hours). Regardless, if the person is licensed in the State of Florida, you know they at least have a master's degree in counseling or psychology so they should have a grasp on what they are doing.

You may have noticed that many psychologists and master level counselors in Jacksonville, Florida do not accept insurance. Over the last decade, insurance companies have reduced reimbursement rates on an annual basis, with more and more regulation of services, to a point where keeping the doors open to a private practice has become extremely difficult. As a result, you will find that those psychologists and counselors with the most skills, credentials, and best reputations do not accept insurance. The benefit to you is that, since they are not bound by insurance demands, they are able to practice freely, focusing on the client. You may be surprised to know that insurance companies do not reimburse for marriage counseling. There must be a patient identified with a mental health diagnosis in order to see couples together for marriage counseling if insurance is to be utilized for counseling.

Despite the inherent challenges with insurance reimbursement, D'Arienzo Psychological Group continues to accept Tricare insurance (military insurance) in order to treat military members and their families, based on our founder, Dr. D'Arienzo, being a former active duty Navy Psychologist. Our love and service to the military will remain a tradition at our office, as military members and their families continue to sacrifice so much for us. We will continue to support them by offering them counseling and psychological services.