It is always important to establish each of our roles to building on the relationship.

In clinical speak this is called a "therapeutic alliance". The building of this alliance/relationship is a foundational component of successful therapy, as it establishes the base for a positive and effective therapeutic relationship between the mental health professional and the client.

Here are the first steps I take to begin excavating and reinforcing our foundation.

Building rapport: The first step is to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere and establish a connection with a client. This involves actively listening to a client, showing empathy and understanding, and being non-judgmental.

Explaining the therapeutic process: I will explain the process of therapy, including the goals and expectations, how therapy will be conducted, and what a client can expect from the sessions.

Assessing a client's needs: I will take the time to understand a client's concerns, motivations, and needs to determine how best to help them. This may involve asking questions and conducting assessments.

Establishing trust: Trust is a crucial component of the therapeutic alliance, and I take steps to build trust by being honest, transparent, and consistent in the interactions with a client.

Setting clear boundaries: It is very important that I set clear boundaries around confidentiality, the role of the therapist, and the ethical guidelines for therapy. This can help establish a safe and secure environment for a client.

Collaborating with the client: The therapeutic alliance is most effective when the therapist works collaboratively with a client to set achievable goals and develop a treatment plan that meets the client's specific needs.

Therapy is a process and each of these elements are fortified through each session over time.

Having worked for years providing wrap around services in addition to private practice, the most common desires I have found with parents seeking mental health services distills down to these points.

Experience: Parents often prefer therapists who have experience and specialized in treating children with the challenges specific to their child.

Empathy: Finding therapist who is warm, understanding, and non-judgmental is often seen as essential as the therapist is gaining access to not just the client but their world of relationships (family, friend, etc).

Patience: Mental health, neuro-diversity, ADD, ADHD can be a challenging conditions, and a therapist who is patient and has a calm demeanor can be important for both the child and the parents.

Knowledge: Parents may want a therapist who has a strong understanding of their child's challenges and its effects on a child's development, behavior, relationships and environment.

Effective communication: A therapist who can communicate effectively with both the child and the parents is often seen as essential.

Creative and engaging approach: Children with mental health challenges often benefit from a therapist who can incorporate play, creativity, and fun into their treatment approach.

Availability: Parents may appreciate a therapist who is available for appointments at a time that is convenient for the family.

Collaboration: A therapist who is willing to work closely with other professionals involved in the child's care, such as teachers and pediatricians, can be important for parents.

These attributes I have invested time, training and practice in enhancing my skills to align with these particular client desires. It is my desire through the intake process for you to become more familiar with me, my process, my personality and my passion.

We understand that seeking therapy can sometimes be an intimidating process, and it can be helpful to have some questions answered in advance. That's why we'd like to invite you to explore our FAQ section, where you'll find answers to some of the most common questions we receive from patients just like you.

Whether you're curious about what to expect in therapy, how to choose a therapist, or have concerns about insurance and payment, we have you covered. Our goal is to make your experience as smooth and stress-free as possible, so you can focus on the important work of healing and growth.

So why not take a few moments to explore our FAQ section today? We hope you'll find the information there helpful and reassuring, and we look forward to the opportunity to work with you soon.

Metanoia Counseling Services

We will discover and encourage your internal and external resources, explore the strengths and weaknesses in your current life narrative, balance conflicting parts of yourself, and begin to unlock feelings and emotions that may have been previously blocked or buried. My specializations are depression, anxiety, trauma, grief, and loss of purpose.​

I work from a multicultural perspective, with awareness and respect that all people are unique and hold unique values and world views. I am authentically me and expect you to be authentically you.

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MY PROCESS

In the first couple of sessions, we'll get to know each other better. You can tell me what brought you to therapy, and we can come up with realistic and achievable goals.

Next, we'll come up with a plan to manage your immediate symptoms so your life becomes more manageable. I'll teach you some practical skills you can use every day to regulate symptoms as they arise.

Finally, with more knowledge about the issue and skills to manage symptoms, the main focus of our work together will be to discover and heal the root of your issue. 
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Once goals are met and symptoms have subsided, you can keep working with me on new goals or take a break from therapy. Many people love having a consistent and dependable objective viewpoint to encourage them, challenge them, and deepen their growth and will stay in therapy for years. Others simply want their present symptoms to go away, and once that happens, they're done with therapy within 4-6 months. Average length of therapy is 12-24 months.

Metanoia Counseling Services (MCS), LLC is a private pay only counseling service, as health insurance is not accepted. To understand why,  below are six (6) important reasons it may be in the best interest of clients to pay for services directly, rather than use insurance:

Privacy – One of MCS values is to protect the information you share with practitioner as she understands it to be private. Thus, practitioner has chosen to not accept insurance to ensure your privacy is kept 100% confidential, especially from health insurance companies. There are some exceptions to confidentiality, which MCS will explain during your initial session and are listed within the service consent forms.

Control – When using insurance, they dictate what you can get approved for, how much they are willing to pay, and how often you can receive these services. As the insurance member, the quality of care is limited to what or whom the insurances can offer. When you choose to pay privately, you have control over which service you need, plus the amount of sessions you want for the week at a price point that fits in your budget.

Limited – Sometimes you may need a provider with specific knowledge, skills or experience as it pertains to helping you with the problem/issue you are dealing with. As MCS offers expertise in multiple areas around helping those with relationships issues and the impact that it has on one’s mental health. When using insurance, you are limited to working with only generalist providers who are contracted with them, which hinders your ability to work with specialists such as MCS.

Waiting List – Certain State residents are required to have insurance as part of State Law. As such, many providers who are contracted with insurance tend to have a waitlist. This happens because there are so many people who need services but so few providers within the realm of insurance that can render the services. This has created a dilemma in which MCS plans to build MCS into a group practice to eliminate the need for any ongoing waitlist. As soon as you are ready to commit to change, you can make a request for services and receive an immediate intake appointment, either for that same day, later that week, or by the following week.

Frequency – Even with a top-tier insurance coverage, many services covered under insurance have a cap on how often services can be rendered and received. Many people who need therapy support may want to have more than just one (1) session per week. Sometimes, it may be beneficial to have two, three, or more weekly sessions when you begin services as this may help keep you accountable towards making life long changes. As a sole practitioner, MCS has established flexibility in the practice so that clients can participate in services based on their needs, only subject to available openings in MCS schedule and clients ability to maintain their financial responsibility to pay for each session.

Diagnosis – It is mandatory for therapist to provide a mental health diagnosis when using insurance as payment for services. Without a diagnosis, the therapist will not be able to submit a bill for insurance payment reimbursement. However, we found that this practice of diagnosing, from the initial intake, is unfair and unjust to the person seeking out for help. We do acknowledge that for many people, having a diagnosis is helpful to be able to provide a label to what they are struggling with. At the same time, we would rather focus our energy on helping people around the struggles they face instead of focusing on figuring out the symptoms of a diagnosis to justify why the person needs therapy.

Metanoia Counseling Services (MCS) offers a simple, straight forward price for his services. Please visit the Fees page to review counseling service fees.

Even with MCS straight forward pricing, you have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining the total cost of your mental health care cost.

Under the No Surprise Act, health care providers need to give patients, who either do not have insurance or choose not to use their insurance, an estimate of the expected charges for medical services, which includes counseling/therapy.

Because of this, you have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of counseling services rendered by your therapist (Jessica M. Miller) of Metanoia Counseling Services, LLC).

In addition, you have the right to ask Mrs. Miller for a Good Faith Estimate, before you scheduled an initial session, during your Free 15-min phone call consultation.

If you ever receive a bill/charge, that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill. Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate.

For more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, please visit www.cms/gov/nosurprises.

Session payments are processed at the end of the day, between 12am to 2am, following your appointment.

As a private-pay only counseling service, Metanoia Counseling Services accepts all major Credit/Debit cards, plus both Flexible Savings Account (FSA) & Healthcare Spending Account (HSA) in the form of a VISA card. We have even support CashApp, Venmo and Paypal.

Yes. If it is found that the payment system that Metanoia Counseling Services uses overcharged you, for whatever reason, he will gladly submit a request to refund you the difference. Refunds can only be made with the card that was entered into your individual record, which was used for payment. Refund process may take between 1-3 business days to be redeposited into your account.

No, Metanoia Counseling Service (MCS) does not charge late fees. You are still held responsible for paying the fee for MCS service as the day & time you scheduled was booked exclusively for you, and only you. MCS provides all clients with a grace period, and is willing to render a partial session if you arrive no more than 15-minutes late. Please note, you will still be charged a full session rate and no added time will be added to this session.

Everyone is entitled to cancel/reschedule their session for whatever reason. All clients must contact MCS (phone call/email) to put in such request within 48 hours of their scheduled appointment. If this request is received before 48 hours, there is no fee. However, if request is received after this timeframe, you will be charged a cancellation fee that is equal to the cost of a full session.

No. At the end of your session, payment is expected to be processed. If you are unsatisfied with the services MCS has rendered, you have the right to either

a) Terminate services, at any given time.

b) Make a request from MCS to provide you with a list of other therapists based on your preferences.

c) Contact your Primary Care Physician and ask for a referral with a therapist at your local clinic/hospital.