We provide individual, couples, and family counseling services in Harrisonburg and across Virginia via telehealth. We work with adolescents and adults. We provide services in English, Spanish, and Mandarin. We do not currently have any providers who can prescribe medication and we are not able to complete psychological testing and evaluation (e.g., comprehensive testing and reports for ADHD or learning disorders). However, we do know folks who provide those services locally and can provide referral information.

We are in-network with Aetna, Anthem BCBS, BCBS of Massachusetts, Carelon Behavioral Health, Cigna, Horizon BCBS of New Jersey, Independence BC of Pennsylvania, Quest Behavioral Health, Oscar, Oxford, Sentara, and United Healthcare. We also accept Lyra EAP. Due to insurance companies credentialing practices, quotas, and timelines, not all of our clinicians are credentialed with every insurance listed above. Clinician website bios have a list of all insurances they accept. Unfortunately, we are not currently able to accept Medicaid or Medicare plans. Sometimes it is confusing to know exactly which plan you have. Your card may say UnitedHealthcare, but it is a Medicare Advantage plan offered by United. Make sure to provide your insurance information when you are completing the new client consultation paperwork. That will allow us to verify your benefits so that there are no surprises.

You can call us (540-209-8182), email us (info@friendlycitypsychology.com), or complete our Consultation Form. Our office manager will gather some additional information (e.g., availability, preferences, etc.) and schedule your free 20-minute consultation.

The consultation is a great opportunity to see if you and the clinician are a good fit. They will answer any questions you have about counseling, what it's like to work with them, and their experience with the issues that are important to you. They will ask you some questions about symptoms, goals, prior treatment, and what you would like to work on in counseling. If you provided insurance information, they can verify your benefits and what to expect to pay for sessions.

Our self-rates depend on the type of clinician you see. For individual counseling, if you see a licensed clinical psychologist the intake is $175 and a 45-minute session is $150. If you see a master's level clinician, the intake is $145 and a 45-minute session is $120. We have a resident in counseling who provides counseling for $85 a session. Marriage and couples counseling, as well as family counseling costs $160 for an intake and $130 a session. We can provide superbill if you want to submit claims for your out-of-network benefits. We also provide a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) about costs so that there are no surprises.

Our clinicians have a wide variety of specialties. We provide treatment for anxiety, depression, mood disorders, substance use issues, grief, PTSD and trauma, phobias, OCD, personality disorders, ADHD, navigating unhealthy and abusive relationships, improving communication and setting healthy boundaries, emotional regulation, exploring identity, navigating life transitions, multicultural issues, and burnout.

Practically, we gather information about any preferences you have (e.g., gender, language, etc.) and match you with a clinician who works with your schedule and preferred payment method and can help you with the issue that is important to you. Our primary goal is to connect you with a clinician who is a good fit for you, that you trust, understands your worldview and perspective, and can help you make positive change in your life. Our 20-minute free consultation is a great opportunity for client and clinician to get to know each other better and mutually decide if it is a good fit.

If you cannot make your appointment, contact your clinician directly and give them as much notice as possible that you cannot make it and need to reschedule. To ensure that rescheduling goes smoothly, give as much notice as possible and be responsive in your communication. Our late cancellation (less than 24 hours notice) and no-show fee (missing a scheduled appointment with no notice) is equal to the full cost of the session. Insurance coverage does not cover those situations, so instead of paying a co-pay or co-insurance, it is the full cost of the missed session. We waive that fee when you miss an appointment because of an emergency that is outside of your control. Regular attendance is important for continued progress on treatment.

Yes! What you share in counseling is protected by HIPAA, state confidentiality and privacy laws, and our professional ethics codes. Confidentiality is one of the most important aspects of counseling. The information you share in counseling and the fact that you are in counseling stays between you and your clinician. The only exceptions to confidentiality are the rare circumstances where we are mandated by law to provide information to a third party. We can also share certain details if you sign a release a information which gives us permission to consult with another individual about your work in counseling. Ask your clinicians about any questions or concerns you have about privacy or confidentiality.

You may seek out counseling for a variety of reasons. You may want to participate in it, or you may feel like you need to or have to. Your functioning may be negatively impacted by the issues where you have ongoing symptoms that make it difficult to start or complete tasks, perform daily activities, leave your house, go to work, etc. Sometimes, you are functioning fine externally but internally you are in pain or suffering, feeling overwhelmed, helpless, hopeless, scared, isolated, alone, and miserable. You may have people in your life that have commented that something seems off or they are worried about you. If you notice repeated challenges and patterns that are not working out well, or situations that keep happening that are concerning or confusing, those should be investigated. Overall, most people wait too long before asking for help because they don't believe that their problems are serious or important enough. Your issues deserve time and attention. Your clinician will help you explore your symptoms and come up with strategies to address them.

The first session sets the foundation for the counseling relationship. It usually lasts 60 minutes. Your clinician will explain and answer whatever questions you have about participating in counseling and review informed consent and practice policies. The rest of the session is about the issues that brought you to counseling. The clinician will ask a variety of questions to gather information about your symptoms, challenges, strengths, childhood experiences, relationships, work, and any other relevant information. This gives you a chance to explain and process what is going on while your clinician is coming up with their conceptualization about your situation, symptoms, and potential diagnosis. It may not be possible to cover everything in the first session. Anything doesn't get addressed can be discussed in future sessions.

Having a strong therapeutic relationship is crucial for effective counseling. Please bring up any concerns you have directly with your clinician. You may feel uncomfortable about it and want to avoid discussing it. However, talking about what you need and how you feel is the best way to be understood and make positive changes. If you don't, you may prematurely dropout of counseling or have an overall negative experience. Your clinician cares about you, wants you to thrive, and appreciates the courage it takes to be honest. They need that information to inform how to work with you. The majority of cases can be addressed and improved within that clinical relationship. However, if you and your clinician decide that you aren't a good fit, or they can't offer you what you need, they will work with you to connect you to someone else within or outside of the practice.

We know your issues are important and you want to get seen as soon as possible. However, we have seen have valuable the free 20-minute consultation can be. Most practices don't offer them. They take up valuable time and there is no payment. However, if you are assigned to a clinician at another practice, you have no idea what it is like to talk with them or if they will be a good fit. You might not discover that until 1-2 sessions which can be frustrating and make switching to a different provider challenging. With the consultation, you don't have to invest that clinical time or money to figure that out. If it's not a good fit, you can switch easily. The consultation also offers a chance to consult with a mental health expert about your issue, next steps, get answers to your questions, which saves valuable time in your intake so you can actually focus on your concerns not logistics. You can also find out about insurance benefits early so that there are no surprises. If you need referrals to another service, the clinician can make those recommendations during the consultation so you can start acting on them immediately. We know the consultation adds an additional step to the process but we believe that it is worth it.