Living a well-rounded life free from harmful vices and worries is a luxury to have. However, we can never ascertain how life will turn out for us. That is why, when it comes to hardships and problems you need to solve, it is always important to seek the assistance of a professional.
Ceasing and running away from life’s obstacles through substance abuse is never a good thing to achieve. This may give temporary relief and pleasure, but the harmful effects will be there with you in the long run. It will do you more harm than good, adding more to your burden.
With the help of our Master and Doctoral-level Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialists, and Licensed Professional Counselors, they can provide therapy to all ages using eclectic approaches: CBT, MT, DBT, RBT and similar modalities to help you improve your coping skills or manage your challenges. With their guidance, we can assure that you will find ways to ease your pains and discomfort in life. Contact us now!
IMPACT CAROLINA SERVICES, INC
We welcome you as our patient and appreciate this opportunity to serve you. For many people, counseling a new experience. New experiences naturally lead us to feel some concerns about what the new experience will be like. This information has been prepared to answer some questions you may have regarding your visits to our center and to help you use our services more effectively. Please read this pamphlet carefully and keep it for future reference. We also ask that you complete all the corresponding paperwork.
The Process of Counseling
Counseling is a cooperative experience with responsibility resting on both the therapist and the patient. Your first session, or “intake”, will be structured to help your therapist understand the problems you are facing. Your therapist may also ask you to take one or more tests or other assessment tools to assist in more quickly and thoroughly understanding you, your problems, and how to best work with the problems you are facing.
Because each patient is a unique individual with individual struggles, there is no one course of counseling that will apply to everyone. However, in general, the beginning stage of counseling involves clearly identifying the problems you are facing. The second stage involves gaining insights into patterns of emotions, thoughts, and behaviors related to your problems and the role that medical or chemical components may play. You will be able to use these insights to begin making needed changes. In the last stage, you will be encouraged to actively apply or solidify new insights, skills, and/or complementary treatments to make change in yourself and your life situation.
The length of time that counseling will take depends on many factors that are unique to your particular problem. As you and your therapist explore these problems, you may wish to further discuss this issue. The encouraging thing is that experience shows that those who are most motivated to work on their problems, follow their therapist’s advice, and consider relevant, concurrent medical treatment if needed see the greatest improvement, most quickly.
Confidentiality
All communication between you and your therapist will be held in confidence and will not be revealed to anyone, unless required by law. Information that you wish to disclose to or obtain from anyone will only be initiated with your written consent.
Office Hours
Our office hours vary among our counseling staff. Limited Saturday morning appointments are available. Staff can typically be contacted at our Charlotte office by calling 704-338-1155 between 9:00 AM. and 5:00PM or Lincolnton office 704-732-2006 Monday through Friday. You may also leave messages. In the event of an emergency after office hours, please call 704-755-5660 or go the nearest Emergency Room of the hospital of your choice.
Appointments
Typically, your therapist will schedule to see you weekly during a standing appointment time (your time is reserved just for you). However, because you may need to change your appointment from time to time, we ask that you verify your next appointment with your therapist at the end of each session. Changes in appointments can also be made by phone; priority will, however, be given to those with standing appointments. We encourage you not to miss your appointment or constantly reschedule your appointments.
Cancellation of Appointments
You may cancel an appointment without charge by calling 24 hours in advance. Except in cases of emergency, cancellations without sufficient notice will lead to a charge of one-half the normal fee on the first occasion. All others will incur a full-fee charge or be discharged from the practice.
Late cancellations prevent your therapist from being able to schedule this time with other patients in need. Others may request to see your therapist, perhaps in a crisis, and be turned away only to find that the scheduled appointment was missed. Two consecutive cancellations of any kind may also lead to discharge from the practice.
Fees and Payments
We have attempted to set our fees for those without insurance at a reasonable level. They are moderate in comparison with the prevailing rates in this area. In most situations the patient with insurance pays only the co-pay amount and the patient’s insurance company is billed for the rest according to contract. We expect full payment of the co-pay at the time of service. You may pay in cash or debit/credit card.
If you are not covered by insurance and you have a limited income, you may request to apply for our reduced fee. The applicant is encouraged to also seek such assistance from his/her church or other sources of financial help.
If you have questions about whether your insurance policy covers counseling services, you need to call your insurance company or agent to determine this. Our office staff is familiar with the coverage on some policies but, frankly, insurance companies can sometimes be unreliable. Since the insurance arrangement is between you and your insurance company, the burden is yours to insure proper dispensation. We welcome this opportunity to serve you, and look forward to working with you!