Counseling and Psychotherapy

     Dr. Todd provides counseling and psychotherapy for children, adolescents, parents, couples, and individuals. She provides marriage and family counseling as well as divorce counseling and coaching.  Although she specializes in relationships and parenting concerns, Dr. Todd is qualified and experienced to provide a broad range of services. She is a provider for a well-known employee assistance program. She has assisted many in the process of grieving from loss encountered through the death of a loved one. She has provided emergency assistance to despondent individuals who are experiencing a crisis in their life or in their family.

     Beginning with the initial phone call and continuing with the initial session, if scheduled, Dr. Todd will gather information about your case that will allow her to determine how best she can assist you. She will then either accept your case or will refer you to an expert whose is a specialist in the area of concern.

     Dr. Todd’s referrals are to highly trained specialists in their field. She knows these experts personally as well as professionally. She considers it part of her job to offer her clients the best service possible and that includes referrals. Members of her referral list include psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, licensed social workers, occupational therapist, speech and language clinicians, educators and tutors, private schools, attorneys, financial consultants, home health providers, sex therapists, and others.

Participation in Counseling and Therapy Contract

     At the time that the client and Dr. Todd agree that counseling and psychotherapy will be provided, a contract will be signed that spells out the fees for the provided services, the kinds of treatment that Dr. Todd provides, the method by which psychotherapy and counseling is provided, an explanation of confidentiality of records and written and verbal disclosures and the participation that is expected from the client. This agreement is held confidential and will become a part of the client’s medical record. Disclosure or transfer of this document is governed by law.    

“Therapeutic Homework”

       In order for counseling or psychotherapy to be effective, the client must be aware that most of the work will be done not in the office but at home. This is accomplished through “therapeutic homework” assignments.

Family Member Participation

    At times, it may be necessary to ask one’s spouse or significant other or family members to attend a session. The client will agree to keep Dr. Todd fully up to date about any significant changes in their life and that of his family members. The client will also inform Dr. Todd of any significant behavior and shared feelings and thoughts that have a bearing on the therapy. The client should be aware that a change in one member of a family will induce change in other family members and that change in the client’s behavior and others in the family are part of the therapeutic process. The client will agree to work with Dr. Todd as a part of a team to accomplish short-term and long-term therapeutic goals.

Therapy Orientation

     Dr. Todd’s basic psychotherapy orientation is existential / cognitive therapy within the context of “coming from choice” in decision-making and acceptance of responsibility for one’s life and actions. However, she uses a variety of counseling and psychotherapy techniques. These may include: relaxation-stress reduction therapy, behavioral therapy, rational-emotive therapy, gestalt therapy, psychoeducational training, 12-step therapy, and role-playing. The client may limit or stop any of these techniques at anytime and they may stop therapy or limit the amount of therapy at any time.

Treatment Goals

     After the first session, Dr. Todd will discuss with the client the treatment goals that are desired by the client and the treatment objectives. The counseling and psychotherapy will be based upon these goals. Three goals and objectives will be selected as being of priority in the therapy. When goals and objectives have been met, treatment can be terminated or new goals can be set and therapy continued. As a rule of thumb, it will most likely take about six sessions to meet these goals. Informal subjective means will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the therapy and to measure progress.

Confidentiality

     Confidentiality in therapy and counseling will be waived, according to Florida law, under the following conditions:

1.    Disclosure of threats of harm to children by the client or others

2.    Disclosure of suicidal intentions of the client

3.    Disclosure of sexual or physical abuse of children by the client, client’s spouse, or others

4.    Court order by a judge

5.    A signed release by the client to a designated party

Insurance and payment plans

     Dr. Todd has chosen to be an “out of network provider” for most insurance, including Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Dr. Todd will bill you for her services at the time the service is provided. If this is a proven hardship, Dr. Todd will discuss some alternative plans with you. Payment is by cash or check only. She does not take credit cards. After payment, she will provide you with a “super bill” which will provide with all the information needed for your insurance company to reimburse you according to your plan with them.

     Insurance plans vary. It is your responsibility to check if insurance will cover any portion of your bill. If a physician’s signature is needed before Dr. Todd can provide the service for partial or full insurance reimbursement, it is your responsibility to obtain this permission prior to seeing Dr. Todd.

     Some services provided by Dr. Todd are not usually, if ever, covered. These include but are not limited to:

• ·      Educational testing

• ·      Gifted assessment

• ·      Consultation

• ·      Marriage and family counseling (unless there is a DSM-IV diagnosis for one of the parties)

• ·      Divorce coaching

• ·      Divorce counseling (unless there is a DSM-IV diagnosis)

• ·      Parenting issues

• ·      Career Counseling

 Considerations regarding the use of insurance

           When a claim is filed with an insurance company, confidentiality of the client’s condition or diagnosis is no longer confidential. The information will be kept in your insurance company’s database and will also be filed in a national Medical Inform Bureau’s database. At some future time, this data may prevent the client from insurance coverage at a latter date, as it will be considered proof of a preexisting condition.