How Do I Know if I "Need" Therapy*?

Signs that you could benefit from therapy include:

• Feeling an overwhelming, prolonged sense of helplessness and sadness

• Problems don't seem to get better despite your efforts and help from family and friends

• Difficulty concentrating on work assignments or carrying out other everyday activities

• Excessive worry, expecting the worst or feeling constantly 'on edge'

• Behaviors, such as drinking too much alcohol, using drugs or being aggressive, are harming you or others, or negatively impacting your relationships or your daily activities

                                               *adapted from the American Psychological Association

How Does Therapy Work?

In general, therapy works by providing a confidential and and safe place for you to discuss stressors and concerns with an unbiased, non-judgmental professional who can help you discover solutions to the issues that brought you to therapy.  Discussing problems with a psychologist has been proven to help people become more confident, productive individuals, and to feel both physically and emotionally healthier.  Psychologists work together with clients or patients to collaborate on issues of concern and help develop adaptive coping strategies for managing these problems. 

Different theoretical approaches allow for various types of therapeutic work to take place.  For example, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) may focus on a specific concern in the present (for example, a phobia or a severe depressive event) and help strategize ways to help reduce the impact on one's life by developing tools to help cope in the here and now.  A more psychodynamic or psychoanalytic approach will focus on the presenting concern, but will also allow for a deeper exploration of one's past and how past relationships and developmental events may have impacted the current situation affecting a client or patient.  Dr. Vasquez has specialized training in both CBT and psychodynamic orientations and is comfortable using a blended approach specifically adapted to the needs of her clients.  

Things to Consider... 

In order for you to receive reimbursement for psychotherapy, insurance companies will require a diagnosis code - meaning even if you are seeing me to to cope with a physical illness, stressful life event, or interpersonal situation, I will be forced to "diagnose" you in order to obtain payment. 

Some people would rather not have a diagnosis assigned to them when in fact, there is no actual diagnosis.  If this is the case, you may wish to pay privately when we meet and not submit any forms to an insurance company.  Private pay option is a means of ensuring your confidentiality 100%, as your private information never leaves my possession and is never communicated to anyone.  You may still be eligible to pay for therapy with tax-free Health Savings Account (HSA) dollars (individual plans vary with respect to this; check your plan accordingly).   

Payment Policy

Dr. Vasquez is not a contracted provider with any insurance carriers, meaning she is an "out-of-network" provider.  Payment is collected from the client directly at the time of service and claims can then be submitted by the client to their insurance company.  Treatment is often covered in part, through clients' out-of-network benefits. 

Dr. Vasquez may work with clients who have financial concerns on a case-by-case basis to set a mutually acceptable fee, as she believes finances should not impact one's ability to obtain effective treatment.