Things to Know Before Calling to Make a Therapy Appointment

If you’re like me, you’ve always been interested in therapy, you’ve believed in it, and you’ve encouraged everyone you know to seek therapy. In fact, I often wish I had followed my dad’s advice for my college career and gone into a counseling career myself; who knows, maybe there is still time down the road! But for now I love that I get to support others in their counseling work. I love that I get to help everyone who calls find someone who can be their therapist, whether it is at Integrity Counseling Group or if that means referring them elsewhere. So as you’re thinking about making that phone call, sending that e-mail, or shooting us a text message, I want to give you a few pieces of information that will take a bit of the unknown out of that initial conversation for you.  

Here are several helpful things to know before you reach out to Integrity Counseling Group: 

1.When you call, text or e-mail us you are contacting me, Katheryne! I’m our Intake Specialist, and while I am not a trained therapist, I am an empathetic ear who knows the ins and outs of our whole team with their specialties and passions. I’m going to ask you a few brief questions to get an idea of who would be a good fit for you to meet with and then will give those brief notes to whatever therapist you book with. I am always happy to be a listening ear, but keep in mind that you should save the specifics of your situation for your therapy appointment. 

2. I promise to get back to you ASAP, typically within 24 business hours. You can contact us via phone call, text message or e-mail and they are all confidential (I’m the only one that will see or hear your message).

3. We have a few different options for where and how we do therapy. We have offices in Carlsbad, San Marcos, and Mission Valley, and we offer telehealth appointments using integrated video conferencing software in our scheduling system called JaneApp. Not all of our therapists meet at all of our offices, and not all of them are seeing clients in person, so where you meet and in what avenue will depend on who you meet with.

4. Who you may meet with for therapy is going to depend on a lot of factors. We are a team of therapists and associate therapists. Our team is made up of therapists with various specialties and associate therapists with a wide variety of experience. Every member of our team offers virtual “telehealth” appointments using JaneApp, but only some of them meet in person in specific offices. 

• I recommend you spend some time on our website getting to know our therapists, but also want you to know ahead of time that who I recommend you meet with will be based on what I know about each team member’s speciality, passion, experience, modality, location, and availability. 

• Our therapists don’t generally do free consultations prior to the first appointment. My job as the Intake Specialist is to do the initial “fit” so our therapists are freed up to spend more time meeting with clients for therapy. That being said, if you have a specific question that I don’t know the answer to, I will be happy to reach out to the therapist to get an answer! 

5. We do not have a one-size-fits-all approach to therapy. I will set you up with a therapist, but I won’t be able to tell you how often you will meet with your therapist or what your treatment plan will be. Your therapist will tailor your therapy experience to your specific needs after meeting with you and you will schedule future appointments directly with your therapist. 

6. One of the most common questions I get is about insurance. We are not in network with any insurance providers and do not currently work directly with insurance, so I want you to know that before you call. Our clients pay out of pocket, but if you have a PPO, your therapist can give you a super bill. You can submit your super bill to your insurance and they will reimburse you directly at whatever their out of network rate is. 

Please don’t forget, we are here to help you. That’s why each of our therapists chose this career, and it’s why I work as an Intake Specialist - it’s my small way of helping!
So please don’t hesitate to reach out to me; I promise that if we don’t
have someone who is the right fit for your mental health journey
I will do my best to give you some other great referrals!