We’re Here to help

Frequently Asked Questions

Availability and Location

Are you accepting new clients?

The availability of our clinicians is constantly changing so we encourage you to reach out if you’re interested in working with us!

What is your availability?

Each clinician offers different availability. During your complementary consultation call, we will talk more about your needs and your desired clinician’s availbility.

Do you provide in-person appointments?

No. We’ve had so much success helping our clients throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with virtual therapy that we decided to launch EMPWR Transformative Therapy as an exclusively online counseling practice in 2022. We’re committed to making quality care accessible for women by offering online services throughout the state of Michigan, including virtual Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy.

I really want to work with you but I prefer in-person sessions.  What are my options?

We can appreciate your desire for in-person sessions, and we invite you to be curious about this preference.

We, too, had our reservations at the beginning of COVID when we held telehealth sessions for the first time. We didn’t take the decision lightly to launch as an online-exclusive therapy practice when the time came.

If you feel like one of our clinicians would be a perfect fit otherwise, we encourage you to try it out for a few sessions.  EMDR therapy and Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy allows for a much deeper connection than traditional talk therapy.  Our clients have expressed relief in finding a deep connection throughout their telehealth sessions when they didn’t think it was possible.  You may just be surprised yourself!

Insurance & Fees Questions

Do you take insurance?  

No.  EMPWR is an out-of-network provider.

Why don’t you take insurance?

When therapists accept insurance, this means they have legal contracts with insurance providers and must abide by the terms of the contract, which dictate clinical decisions, such as length of treatment, frequency/length of sessions, and mandated mental health diagnoses.  Mental health diagnoses go on your permanent medical record and could negatively affect you in the future should you go through a divorce, a child custody battle, have a high-profile job, etc.  Insurance companies dictate what care is available to you without knowing anything about you.

  • Therapists who accept insurance are often required to submit paperwork for each client and must spend time making a case about the necessity for continuing treatment for each client.  They require sensitive information about your mental health to be disclosed to insurance representatives (who aren’t your therapist) so they can decide the necessity of your treatment.  Not only does this impact the confidentiality of clients, but these requirements are time-consuming and unpaid.

    Therapists have to negotiate reimbursement rates with insurance companies (aka their incomes).  It’s in the best interest of insurance companies to reimburse therapists the lowest amount of money.  This forces therapists to compensate for this disparity by seeing several clients per day, ultimately affecting their quality of care. If you’ve ever had a job that paid you unfairly and required you to work long hours (many of them unpaid), you probably didn’t feel motivated or valued.

    Maintaining a healthy work/life balance is essential for anyone in a helping profession; you are not fit to help others if you are not helping yourself.

    It was always April’s dream to build a practice that could provide the quality of care she wish she had received when she needed it the most. As she was preparing to open this practice, she reflected on her early experiences as an overworked, underpaid, and burnt-out therapist and how this affected her quality of work. She thought back to her experience as a client and how she could sense fatigue and indifference in her providers and how terrible that felt.  She knew she wanted her clients to have a much different experience than she did. 

    Cutting ties with insurance companies in 2021 allowed this dream to come true.  We can focus on providing the best care to all of our clients and keep your records completely secure and confidential. It has also allowed us to prioritize our own mental health and professional development to ensure we remain passionate about our work and fully committed to providing the best possible care. This helps our clients achieve their goals more quickly than working with therapists that are overworked and burnt out.

What are your fees?

15-minute phone consultation: free

50-minute intake: $225

53-minute session: $205

We participate in automatic billing and a credit card is required to be kept on file as a convenient method of payment. Your card will be charged at the time of service.

I can’t afford your rate but I really want to work with you.  What are my options?

  • Use pre-tax dollars, such as a Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) to pay for therapy if those funds are available

  • Look to your employer (or your spouses) to check if you have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that will cover the bill for a set number of sessions

  • Talk to your tax preparer to see if you’d be able to deduct therapy from your taxes as an out-of-pocket health expense.

  • Understand that therapy is an investment in yourself and your relationships and compare the financial cost to the possible long-term emotional costs

  • Talk to your insurance company about out-of-network benefits.  A mental health diagnosis is required for reimbursement, however, if you aren’t concerned about a diagnosis on your permanent medical record and your insurance plan has out-of-network benefits, we can provide you with documentation for you to submit to insurance for reimbursement.  We specifically hold 53-minute sessions (90837) so insurance will reimburse you the highest amount.  Here are some helpful questions to ask:

    • What is my out-of-network deductible?

    • How much of my out-of-network deductible has been met?

    • What is my coinsurance?

    • What are the reimbursement rates for CPT codes 90791-95 and 90837-95?

    • How do I submit for reimbursement?

    • How long do I have to submit a Superbill?

It is your responsibility to call your insurance provider to inquire about out-of-network benefits. Reimbursement is not guaranteed and you are responsible for full payment at the time of services.

Modalities and Session Details

What is EMDR?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an integrative psychotherapy approach that has been extensively researched and proven effective for the treatment of distress. EMDR is a set of standardized protocols that will help move distressing memories from the emotional side of the brain to the logical side of the brain so that emotional responses to triggers become less intense.

Click here to learn more about EMDR.

What is IFS?

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a powerfully transformative, evidence-based model of psychotherapy for understanding and harmonizing the mind. Although the name can be deceiving, “family systems” refers to the complexity of your mind and is used for individuals.

IFS helps people heal by accessing and loving their protective and wounded inner parts by changing the dynamics that create discord among parts and the Self. As a bonus, people are more accepting of, and less reactive to, others who used to bother them; you can relate to them with compassion because you’re able to do that with parts of you that resemble them.

Click here to learn more about IFS.

What will our sessions look like?

We understand how big of an investment therapy is…emotionally and financially. We’ve streamlined the intake paperwork process so that your first session doesn’t feel like a stressful interview, but a relaxed, casual conversation. We like getting down to business so you can feel relief quickly.

In the sessions to follow, we will explore and hold curiosity about your struggles.  We will provide you with reflection to help you “connect the dots,” gain a deeper understanding of your internal and external experiences, and get to the “root” of your issues so you feel long-term relief.

Click here to learn more about a typical IFS session.

Click here to learn more about a typical EMDR session.

Do we have to do IFS and EMDR?

You never have to participate in a treatment that you don’t feel comfortable with. You should be aware of what modalities your therapist uses and have an opportunity to ask questions and discuss concerns you may have prior to engaging in treatment.

We know how to best help our clients using IFS and EMDR. We’re so confident in both of these models that we would be happy to provide you with a referral if you feel IFS and/or EMDR are not a good fit for you.

How long will I be in therapy?

Everyone’s situation is unique and depends on many factors, such as their desire for personal development, their commitment to this process, and the factors that are driving them to seek therapy in the first place. 

In general, therapy is meant to be short-term, however, the definition of “short-term” varies for each client. Some clients seek therapy to address an issue that can be resolved in a matter of months, while others seek therapy to work through years of trauma. During your first session, we’ll discuss your goals and expectations, as well as a realistic time frame.

How frequently will we be meeting?

We see our clients weekly for at least the first 4-6 weeks to get things moving in the right direction.  Based on the nature of IFS and EMDR, our clients have benefitted most from weekly sessions, however, we understand the constraints of scheduling and finances.  We will discuss the appropriateness of frequency during the first few sessions once your therapist has a better understanding of your needs.

How do I know if we are a good fit?

This is a great question! We believe that finding the “right” therapist is crucial to your success throughout this process. Did you know that you should also be a good fit for your therapist? You wouldn’t visit a couples therapist to help you with a phobia, and we hope that therapist wouldn’t take you on as a client! A jack of all trades is a master of none.

We don’t take clients just to fill our caseloads, and we’re proud of the consultation process we’ve developed because it ensures that both you and the therapist are on the same page before moving forward.

If other therapists don’t have this information readily available on their website or they don’t have a consultation process, here are a few things to consider:

  • Licensing

  • Experience

  • Education and training background

  • Specialties

  • Experience working with your specific concerns

  • Treatments offered

  • Efficacy of treatments for your specific concerns

  • Fees and related policies

  • Appointment availability

  • Does this person appear kind, understanding, and non-judgmental?

  • Do you feel listened to and understood?

Don’t be afraid to ask questions, and go with your gut. A good therapist should be patient and willing to address all of your concerns.

Getting Started

What is the process to get started?

Please use this online form to contact us. We will respond to you via email and offer a few different dates to schedule your complimentary 15-minute phone consultation.

During your consultation call, we will explore more about what you are looking for, how we may be able to help and answer any questions you may have.  We encourage you to browse this FAQ page to address any questions you may have before your consultation. This will allow us to use the majority of our time to gather the most accurate assessment of fit during your consultation so we can guide you in the right direction.

If your needs sounds like a good fit for one of our clinicians, and you also feel they’d be a good fit for you, we will reach out to this clinician to ensure availability and will follow up with you via email to offer you dates for your tentative intake appointment. Once you’ve chosen your desired appointment time, you’ll receive an invitation to your client portal. This is where you will find all of the paperwork you’ll need to complete at least 24 hours before your appointment. To remain fair to all clients, we will reserve your desired appointment for 72 hours, however, you will still need to request this appointment from your portal. This request will be approved once all paperwork is complete and your appointment is then officially confirmed. Your appointment is not confirmed until your request is approved. This process allows us to review all paperwork before meeting you so we can make the most of our time together!

Ready to reach out? Click below to request an appointment.

Ready to get started?

Let’s get started with a free consultation call.