What is Nourish Carolina Counseling?

Nourish Carolina Counseling is trauma-focused psychotherapy practice that works with English and Spanish-speaking adolescents, adults and families in resolving problematic behaviors, beliefs, feelings, relationship issues, and/or somatic responses (sensations in the body) in order to work towards helping people live happy and fulfilling lives.

What populations do you work with?

We work with adolescents, adults, and families experiencing a wide arrange of mental, behavioral, spiritual, psychological, physical and emotional health concerns including but not limited to:

Trauma/PTSD
Anxiety
Depression
Grief/loss
Type-A/perfectionism
Substance use
Addiction
Stress and stress-related disorders
Life transitions (high school to college, college to career, retirement, etc)
Family conflict/interpersonal conflict
Relationship conflict
Emotional dysregulation
Highly sensitive people (HSP)
Chronic pain and chronic illness
Issues related to self-esteem, feeling of low self worth or low self-efficacy
Climate change distress

What types of services are provided at Nourish Carolina Counseling?

At Nourish Carolina Counseling, we provide mental health counseling services that are all rooted in scientific research and evidence-based theory. As licensed clinicians, we are trained in the assessment of people and situations, diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders and are able to apply our knowledge of cognitive, affective, behavioral and systemic techniques to help facilitate change. We work from a developmental, person-centered, trauma-informed perspective and assume that people grow and change throughout their lives. We understand principles of human development, psychology, mental health and psychotherapeutic theories, and we establish effective helping relationships with people from diverse cultures. We are skilled in implementing therapeutic interventions designed to help clients challenged by a range of circumstances including: emotional challenges, personality issues, trauma, depression, anxiety, stress, chronic pain, unanticipated life events, interpersonal discord, social injustice, worksite disruption and career issues (see 'Services' Tab for more information). As professional helpers, we vow to always be respectful and responsive to you and offer you a safe place to share your experiences and to explore ways to cope. Please see our ‘Treatment Modalities’ tab to learn more about the specific modalities our therapists are trained to utilize.

Do I need to have a mental health diagnosis to receive therapy?

Not necessarily- it depends on your insurance. Some clients choose to use their health insurance to help pay for therapy. Most health insurance companies require providers include a mental health diagnosis on insurance claims in order for clients to use their insurance benefits. If you are using your health insurance to help pay for therapy, your therapist will discuss with you what diagnosis they include on your insurance claims.

What should I expect at my first appointment?

At your first session with your Nourish Carolina Counseling therapist, they will take ample time to get to know you through a comprehensive intake process. The intake process is not a guarantee of treatment and affords you and your therapist and chance to get to know one another before making a formal decision about treatment. The majority of the first session will be spent discussing you, your history, your needs, your goals and your current treatment concerns. It's essentially a way for your therapist to read your personal instruction manual prior to getting to work- without an instruction manual, it's often much harder to know what exactly is going on! The first appointment also gives you the opportunity to see if you feel a connection with the therapist and formally decide if you would like to engage with them in the therapeutic process. If you decide to move forward with Nourish Carolina Counseling, the first session will also be spent going over details about treatment, reviewing Nourish Carolina Counseling policies, procedures and expectations for the therapeutic alliance and answering any questions you may have. Please bring your photo identification, a debit or credit card (to keep on file in the event of late cancellations or no-shows), desired method of payment, any relevant intake paperwork, and any records or documentation that you believe would be helpful for your therapist to have at your first session. Once your appointment is scheduled, all of this information will be sent to you in a confirmation email prior to your visit. Payment is expected in full at the time of each session (see 'What are you session Fees?' in our FAQs below for more information on pricing).

What should I expect at my following therapy appointments?

After your intake session is complete, the therapeutic agreement is signed and all of your questions have been answered, the therapeutic process begins. This involves formulating specific goals with the help of your therapist and aligning on methods to achieve them. You will start to process your concerns and challenges with the help of your therapist. Your therapist may provide you with homework or other monitoring charts to assist with increasing awareness around emotions, behaviors, and habits to bring to each session depending on your personal therapeutic goals. Please bring your method of payment at every therapy appointment. To learn more about the therapeutic services we provide at Nourish Carolina Counseling, please see the Services page.

How long does therapy last?

Participating in therapy can last anywhere from a few months to several years. Treatment length, or how long you are participating in weekly/bi-monthly/monthly therapy sessions, depends on your personal therapeutic needs, goals, and history.

Some clients prefer brief, solution-focused methods of therapy to address specific issues related to a recent dilemma, loss, or trauma. These clients usually engage in a shorter therapy experience and are often able to experience "results" within the first few weeks of therapy due to learning skills in session and practicing them outside of session. We often teach our clients tools, or coping skills, in session to support them in attending to their needs, solving problems, and feeling more effective outside of therapy sessions. The benefits associated with having more "tools in your tool belt" can occur even after your first visit.

Some clients come to therapy to deal with past trauma, shame, or neglect from their childhood or past because it is impacting their current abilities to form and maintain healthy relationships, recognize and manage their emotions, and cultivate the life they'd like for themselves. These clients usually participate in a longer, more in-depth therapy experience due to exploring previously held thoughts and beliefs and facing larger and more complex issues. You will work with your therapist to determine how long your therapeutic experience should last.

When is therapy over?

Therapeutic treatment is terminated for many reasons and you are always involved in making this decision. Common reasons for stopping therapy include:

- You feel stable and comfortable with your ability to regulate your emotions and feel you have accomplished your therapy goals.

- You have needs that are better met by a specific mode of therapy that your current therapist does not provide (this results in your current therapist referring you to a new therapist who can better meet your needs).

- A dual relationship is present within the therapeutic relationship, i.e. you realize that your therapist attends your church/club or is friends/family with people within your social/familial circle, therefore making the therapeutic relationship inappropriate. This also results in your current therapist referring you to a new therapist in order to avoid dual relationships.

- You move to a new home and cannot physically access services with your current therapist

These are just a few examples of reasons therapy is terminated, but our goal is to help you feel stable and confident enough to address your issues independently. In other words, we are trying to 'work ourselves out of a job', which means that you no longer need therapy and can move on and enjoy a life worth living.

What are your session fees?

Initial session/clinical assessment: $185

Individual therapy (50 minutes): $155

Late Cancellation/No-Show Policy: If you cancel or reschedule your session with less than 24 hours notice, are more than 15 minutes late, or do not attend the scheduled session, your card on file will automatically be charged $120. In order to serve the needs of our community and establish consistent expectations that are important for therapeutic progress, we want all new clients to understand that this policy is non-negotiable. After two no-shows or late cancellations your therapist will have a discussion with you about barriers in order to determine a solution moving forward that works for both parties.

Please note that billing therapy services through health insurance requires you receive a mental health diagnosis in order to access insurance benefits. This mental health diagnosis will be connected with your medical record. We will discuss with you any relevant mental health diagnosis we use in order to bill your insurance company. Please consider this information when determining whether private pay or filing with insurance is the preferred payment method for you.

Do you take insurance?

We are in-network with BCBS and Aetna. We also accept self-pay.

If we are not paneled with your specific health insurance plan, you may be eligible to use your out-of-network benefits. We can provide you with a “superbill” to assist you in receiving reimbursement from your insurance company for the services for which you have paid. A superbill is an itemized form, similar to a receipt, that you can submit to your insurance company to try to receive financial reimbursement for your therapy services.

Just give your insurance company a call to learn more about your out-of-network benefits, and be sure to ask your therapist to email you a superbill after each appointment.

What forms of payment do you accept?

We accept credit card, debit card and HSA accounts.

What is your cancellation policy?

If you cancel or reschedule your session with less than 24 hours notice, are more than 15 minutes late to your session or do not attend your scheduled session, your card on file will automatically be charged $120. We value your time as well as our own. In order to serve the needs of our community and establish consistent expectations and boundaries that are important for therapeutic progress we want all new clients to understand that this policy is non-negotiable. After 2 no-shows or late cancellations your therapist will have a discussion with you about barriers in order to determine a solution moving forward that works for both parties.