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Frequently Asked Questions
A Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) has completed their Master's degree in Counseling, supervised residency, and passed their state licensing examination. They can specialize in several different fields including, Marriage & Family, Military & Veterans, Substance Abuse, and more.
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT) have similar educational and licensing requirements, but are required to have more coursework and client hours working with couples and families.
Residents in Counseling have completed their Master's degree in Counseling, or related program, and are completing hours towards their residency under supervision of a Licensed Counselor.
Student Interns are in their Master degree programs completing hours required for graduation.
Counselors complete a Master’s degree in Counseling, or related field, and must pass a state licensing exam and complete a supervised residency. Afterward, they are able to diagnose and provide therapeutic services including talk therapy, group therapy, and family therapy. They can provide some screenings and assessments.
Psychologists complete a Doctoral degree in Psychology and must pass a state licensing exam and complete a supervised residency. Along with being trained in therapeutic services, they receive additional training in assessments and frequently are referred to for more in depth assessments.
Psychiatrists complete Medical school, a supervised residency, and pass their licensing exam. Afterward, they are able to diagnose, assess, prescribe medications, and provide medication management for mental health conditions.
The first session will be a review of current challenges and what brought you into therapy. Your counselor may ask follow up questions related to current and/or past symptoms, current stressors, and coping strategies. From there they can diagnose and create a treatment plan that supports goals outlined in the session.
Your experience in therapy will be unique to your needs and what you bring to it. Your therapist may ask questions to support you in challenging unhealthy thought patterns and perspectives. They may also provide insight into potential sources of your current challenges and strategies to manage symptoms. You may receive additional instructions to follow through on outside of session. This can vary based on each counselor’s approach and your own efforts in and out of session.
Choosing a counselor is one of the most important determining factors for success in therapy. Looking at areas of specialty, age, gender, and years of experience may help you in picking someone you think will be the best fit. Our scheduling coordinator, Barbara Stratton, can help match you with someone to help meet your needs.
Sometimes you may desire a counselor with a different approach. If you feel like your counselor isn't a good fit, Barbara can help match you with a different counselor to best meet your needs.
Services for children are dependent upon the child's age.
For younger children, clinicians may include games, toys, and art to address topics including emotion regulation, behavior management, or adjusting to changes.
For adolescents and older teens, the therapist may continue to utilize games and art to address additional topics including relationships, building coping skills, and navigating conflict.
New clients are encouraged to submit a request through our website or call our office at 757-345-5588.
Our scheduling coordinator, Barbara Stratton, will discuss your needs and set up an appointment with one of our clinicians. You will receive an email with instructions to set up your client portal where initial paperwork can be completed. All initial paperwork must be completed prior to the intake session.
After scheduling your first appointment, you will receive an email to create your client portal. Once you log in to the portal, you will be able to log in to your appointments at https://www.therapyportal.com/p/newtown23188/
You can also reach the client portal log in page through our website. All reminder emails will be sent to the email linked to the portal account.
It is hard to guarantee when a clinician will have openings available. Due to this, we may schedule you with a different provider who has more availability or provide referrals to other clinicians in order to ensure you receive care in a timely manner. If you can’t find another provider, we encourage you to follow up with our office periodically to check on availability.
New Town Counseling Center is in network with Anthem, Blue Cross Blue Shield, United, Optum,and Sentara plans. We are a participating non-network provider with Tricare. Currently, we are not in network with medicaid or medicare.
If you are using insurance, the amount you owe will be determined by your insurance provider's allowed amount or the copay/coinsurance associated with your plan. Our Scheduling Coordinator will verify insurance benefits, however, this is not a guarantee of payment. We make every effort to accurately explain insurance benefits based on the information provided by your insurance carrier. If your insurance carrier processes claims differently than quoted, a bill or refund will be issued.
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