Scheduling Your First Appointment
Making Your First Appointment
To schedule your first counseling appointment, or to get any counseling questions answered, please call our intake line at 404-834-2363. The Johns Creek and Alpharetta Counseling intake line is answered live Monday thru Friday 9am- 5pm by a counselor ready to listen. When you call the intake line, we will hear you and explore how we can help. We can match you to a therapist who is most experienced to help you and schedule your first counseling appointment.
Knowing what type of service, or what type of counseling you or your child needs can be hard. Our counselors at Johns Creek and Alpharetta Counseling want to help you find what services best fit you. If we are not the best fit or the right service, we will recommend someone who is. It is our mission to serve you and assist you find where you want to go.
You can call us anytime! If you call outside the intake line's live hours, you can leave a detailed voicemail. The counselor with the best fit for you will call you back within one business day to answer any questions and schedule your first counseling appointment. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911 or go to the hospital of your choice. We are an outpatient counseling office, we cannot accept walk-ins or medical emergencies.
Counseling Office Hours: Counselors at Johns Creek and Alpharetta Counseling offer standard business hours and we offer night/weekend hours for you convenience. Each counselor manages their schedule and is in the office at different times. Let us know what days, nights, or weekend times work best for your family and we can match you with a counselor that shares that schedule.
First Time Coming To Our Office
In your first appointment, you will find your intake paperwork waiting for you on our welcome table. We do not have a receptionist to keep costs down and services more affordable. Please review the paperwork and your counselor will greet you at your appointment time. In your first appointment you will review what you hope to accomplish, identify goals, and make a plan for counseling. The Counselors at Johns creek and Alpharetta Counseling are here to serve you and help you meet YOUR goals, not tell you how to change.
For Adults
During your first counseling session you will establish a trusting relationship with your counselor, explore the history of your struggle, and create goals that will guide your journey. It is important to have a good personality fit, meaning you can feel safe and vulnerable with your counselor. For couple's therapy, the first session is with the couple together, followed by two individual sessions, one with each. If you have any counseling questions please give us a call.
For Children
We preform intake play therapy assessments, these assessments help us give a diagnostic impression and recommendations for future therapy. The intake process consists of: 1) Parent Intake (the child not present) 2) Child Intake; Assessment of internal functioning (counselor and child alone) 3) Child Intake; Assessment of external functioning (counselor and child alone) 4) Family session; family play therapy, followed by a phone treatment planning and parental consultation . Frequency of treatment, clarification of goals, and proportion of individual/family/parental sessions is determined in the treatment planning session.
ONGOING THERAPY
The cadence and longevity of treatment is determined by the goals and the struggle at hand. At times only a few sessions are required, in other situations a long term counseling relationship is needed. As counselors we have a unique task to help you not need us anymore, we work to assist you to feel strong in handling your struggle on your own.
Our Goal
Is to help you and your family to be the best versions of yourselves. We do not aim to change who you are or what you believe. We meet you where you are, follow the goals you create, and assist you to reach those goals within a healthy safe counseling relationship.
Finances
Therapy is not only a time and emotional commitment, it is a financial one. Unlike other investments, this investment grows into emotional well being and improved connections.
We are a self pay practice and we take select insurance plans in network. Each counselor is independently covered in or out of network with your insurance plan. If we do not take your insurance and you want to use your insurance, we offer out of network coverage. This means that you will pay up front and your insurance will reimburse you. I recommend checking with your insurance company what your out of network coverage is. Sometimes it is 60% to 80% of the fee, sometimes there is a deductible. It is encouraged to know what to expect before the first session.
Important Note About Insurance
Using insurance requires the therapist to put a diagnosis down for you or your child (depending who is in therapy) of anxiety or depression, ADHD, etc. which is based on the diagnostic impression by your counselor. That diagnosis goes in their medical record which can impact involvement in the military, becoming a pilot, or life insurance, among others. If you have already talked to an MD about medication, then you already have a diagnosis and we can collaborate with them on that is.
When you use your insurance company they have a right to review your record/file at any time compromising your confidentiality. We do have limited Sliding Scale slots. Fee is determined by family income and family size. Inquire during your intake phone call.
