Frequently Asked Questions About Individual & Couples Therapy
Getting Started
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It all depends. That’s kind of a non-answer, but the style at ERA tends to be pretty different than what people think of as traditional therapy. Overall we are pretty relaxed in our sessions. Our goal is to create an environment where you feel comfortable talking about tough stuff. We want therapy to work for YOU and YOUR LIFE. Is it easy? No. We stock a lot of Kleenex for a reason. But it’ll be worth it.
Our first few sessions usually focus on getting to know each other and building what we call a therapeutic relationship. We’ll talk about your history and current concerns and we will ask a lot of questions. We won’t ever push you past your tolerance level. Therapy is supposed to heal, and that’s a different pace for everyone. This doesn’t mean therapy won’t challenge you — it absolutely will, because this is where we truly grow — but it needs to remain tolerable and manageable for you to function in your every day life. And is also a really great place to practice setting boundaries.
You can read a blog about the typical therapy process here.
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The length of therapy really just depends on the individual. We don’t want you to be in therapy forever. We want you to learn the tools you need to move forward in your life in a healthy way.
Typically we recommend new clients have sessions weekly at first, for at least 4-6 weeks. Then we will evaluate how things are going and if that frequency is working for your individual needs. Some clients space out to every other week, some maintain weekly appointments until we terminate therapy. Some bounce back and forth a little bit. The important thing here again is that therapy should work for your life and your needs.
Please note that if we change the frequency of your sessions, we can’t always guarantee that we can give you the same time slot you’ve had before. We’ll talk about it when we reach this point and decide together what the best course of action is.
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Click here to schedule a new client consultation.
Once you’re matched with a clinician, you will have an opportunity to have a short phone consultation with them prior to your first official appointment. We will then send you our paperwork through the secure electronic health record patient portal. You can fill out the paperwork online and submit right back to ERA without printing anything out. We can also message through the same portal if needed. Many of our clients have the same ongoing appointment time each week. This seems to work best for most schedules but is not a necessity.
If we’re not a good fit to work together, we can help you find someone who is.
Taking the first step toward therapy is often a really, really tough one. Maybe you’re reading these FAQs for like the sixth time and have hovered over that “Schedule a Consultation” button each time, too nervous to actually click and schedule.
We can promise you that therapy is worth it. You deserve to be well. And the consult really is obligation free. Schedule something and let’s chat about what might work for you.
So here’s another link to make it really easy to finally click and get started!
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If something happens, yes absolutely call or message us. If it’s just informational or a quick chat, we are happy to do that. If it’s a longer, more complex situation, it gets a little more tricky. Usually we will ask that you schedule a session to manage something more complicated. Sometimes we can do that over the phone (charged at our regular rate).
Clinicians at ERA will not discuss clinical issues via message or email. A lot can get lost in written technology and as healthcare providers we are bound by HIPAA.
So if you need it, yes absolutely, we are here to support you. Some of the best and deepest therapy work can be done in the moment.
Please be mindful of our time away from work. If we are not in the office it may take a bit to respond — up to 24 hours. I promise - we’re not ignoring you!
If it is an emergency, don’t wait for us to respond. Call 911 or head to the emergency room and update us later.
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See our speciality pages for information on the areas we have addition training in.
If you’re not sure — ask!
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Not at this time.
We feel pretty strongly that when you need therapy, you probably need therapy now and not in 6 months. If we’re not able to meet your needs within a reasonable time frame, we can help you find someone who can.
Finances & Payment
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In short — not really.
The long explanation is kind of. ERA Wellness is an out- of-network provider with all insurance companies and plans. That means that you will pay for your session at the time of service and it is not processed through your insurance company. If you wish, we will provide you with a receipt called a superbill that you can submit to your insurance to be reimbursed for our session. The reimbursement rate may vary — we highly suggest you check with your insurance if you are hoping to use this method.
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A lot of reasons. We want to spend our professional time with clients — with YOU, helping you heal. We don’t want to spend our time and energy on the phone with insurance companies battling over payments and coverage. We don’t want your insurance company to limit the amount or frequency of sessions that we have together. We don’t want to have to give your insurance your private information whenever they request it. We think you should be able to see the clinician that you want in the way that works for you. We think that you should decide what information someone is entitled to about you and your treatment.
In short — we think that you and your clinician should determine what your care looks like, not your insurance company. Your therapy should be an agreement between you and your therapist - and no one else.
You can also read more here.
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In short:
Rates for an intake session vary from $150-275 depending on the experience and licensure of the provider that yon want to see.
Ongoing sessions vary between $125 and $250 based on provider. Couples sessions are $175-$250.
Want even more info about that? Check out our full fee schedule here. At times we do offer different lengths of sessions to well established clients with demonstrated clinical need or want intensive sessions.
Please see information about the “Good Faith Estimate” and “No Surprises Act” effective January 1, 2022 here.
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When you’re filling out paperwork prior to your first session, we will ask you for a credit card to keep on file. It’s secured in our HIPAA-compliant electronic health record. At the end of each session, we will arrange payment for that day. We can either charge the card you have saved on file or you can submit an alternate form of payment — cash, check, or a different card. ERA does also accept HSA cards. If you have an HSA (health savings account) — use it! Those are pre-tax dollars!
If you’d like, we will give you a receipt called a superbill once per month that can be submitted to your insurance company for out-of-network reimbursement. Superbills are automatically sent and stored in our client portal for you to access whenever you need to. Reimbursement varies a lot — please check with your insurance if this is important to you.
Please note that PPO plans and Medicaid do not allow reimbursement. People with Medicaid are NOT allowed to private pay for therapy services, as they run the risk of completely losing their insurance. If you do have Medicaid or a PPO insurance plan and need help finding a therapist, let us know and we can help provide some alternate referrals. People with Medicare may opt to pay privately, but are not eligible for reimbursement from Medicare for costs.
ERA Wellness is also partnering with Reimbursify to simplify out-of-network claims. Their app helps you submit out of network claims easily with all of the information needed to get reimbursed quickly. See this blog post for additional information about how to use their service or click on the image in the website footer to submit an out of network claim.
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Sometimes, yes. We do offer a limited number of sliding scale spots. We try to keep them for those that really do not have other options for accessing therapy, as they are either under or uninsured.
These spots tend to fill super quickly when they do open. If you are in a sliding scale spot we’ll discuss it every so often and make sure it’s still appropriate for you. If your financial situation changes — talk to us! We don’t want the cost of therapy to feel like an unmanageable burden. By the same token, if you reach a point where a sliding scale spot isn’t necessary anymore, talk to us about that, too. We’d like them to truly go to those who need it.
Other Questions
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Please let us know if you or a family member are immunocompromised (like a NICU baby) so we can help support your needs.
Clients with symptoms of illness (cough, fever, diarrhea, vomiting, etc.) should notify their therapist prior to their appointment, and the session may be moved to telehealth. Clients may opt to participate in or move to telehealth sessions at any time. If a therapist has a current illness, their clients will be notified prior to upcoming appointments and the client may opt to cancel or reschedule to their comfort level.
ERA Wellness will continue to monitor CDC and local recommendations and notify clients about policy changes as needed. We will continue to utilize air purifiers with HEPA 13 filters (filtering particles down to 0.1 microns) in the waiting room and session rooms, provide hand sanitizer in common spaces for both staff and client use, and disinfect high-touch surfaces regularly.
ERA Wellness continues to follow current CDC guidelines about exposure and illness, for both clients and staff.
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See bios for each clinician here. But honestly, we’re all pretty cool. There’s a lot of laughter in our office.
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It happens. Every therapist is not the right fit for every client and that’s ok. If you meet your therapist and they are just not your style — tell us. Our main goal as a therapist is for you to get what you need. If you don’t like your therapist or find them annoying, we doubt you’re going to get much out of our sessions. We want you to get good therapy, whether or not that’s with someone at ERA.
If it’s not with us — we can help you find someone else who’s a better fit for you. We’d much rather you tell us and work toward a good solution than sit in silence struggling through our sessions.
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Yep! We have some small toys in my office for kiddos to play with. Babes in arms are always welcome. We don’t want lack of childcare to be a barrier to you getting the help you need. If you need to bring your kid, bring your kid. Stuff happens. We’ll work it out. Once kiddos are super mobile and understand more it gets trickier to have sessions with them there, but we can talk about that if we need to.
We also have a lot of clients who choose to sneak therapy in while their kiddos are at home having some quiet or rest time. We’re used to seeing kids and hearing some crying - no need to apologize for that!
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Sure. But please note that bringing your partner to your individual session is not a substitute for actual couples therapy. We do welcome partners coming to sessions on occasion to discuss your mental health and help them understand what you are going through and what they can do to help, but the focus remains on you and your clinical needs. Let us know beforehand please.
If you are looking for ongoing couple’s therapy, we do that too!. You can read more about Jeni and Kelsey in their bios.
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Stuff happens, especially as a parent.
ERA Wellness has a 24-hour cancellation policy. This means that cancellations under that 24-hour mark are charged our full fee . If it’s an emergency situation, we really try to be understanding. We don’t want you to come if you’re really sick or your kids are sick. If you’re feeling crummy our session isn’t likely to be very productive. If we are able to reschedule for the same week or do telehealth instead, ERA will not charge you the cancellation fee. If you no-show, ERA will charge the full fee. That spot was reserved for you, whether or not you attended. If you no show 3 or more times within 6 months, we reserve the right to refer you to another clinician.
Sometimes our kids get sick or we get sick and will cancel. We really try not to, but it happens. On our end, we try to cancel as early as we reasonably can.
We all need to care for ourselves when we’re ill.
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Essentially, therapy via video, like Zoom. We’ll send you a link to the virtual room, and we’ll connect there. If we are utilizing this option, please be aware of your surroundings. While where you choose to do your therapy is up to you, be mindful of what and who are around you. Even if you’re wearing headphones, people around you can see your reactions and hear what you say. Please try to be in an environment where your attention can be on your session. And no driving during sessions! Check here for a blog post with telehealth tips.
Right now, we are seeing clients both via telehealth and in person at our Whitefish Bay, WI office. Please be mindful of the current office COVID policies and be courteous of others who may also be seeing a provider in person.
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It’s really just a fancy way of saying that we use a lot of different approaches to help you meet your treatment goals. We’ll talk about nutrition, lifestyle, habits, mindfulness, meditation, sleep hygiene, and whatever else we need to address to get you back to feeling good.
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It’s a HIPAA-compliant cloud-based system where ERA stores your protected health information. Your therapist and the owner of the clinic are the only people that have access to any of the information that either you or ERA puts in it. Telehealth appointments are also hosted through this site and our billing system is integrated into the electronic health record as well. You can also message your clinician or pay an invoice through the client portal if you wish.
We use a platform called Simple Practice, which you can learn more about here.
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