Frequently Asked Questions
How many times will I need to be seen?
Most people want an answer to this one, but as you can imagine, it's pretty hard to predict. However, we're not talking about the type of therapy popularized by Woody Allen movies, where someone sees the therapist five times a week for years. In fact, my interest is in brief therapy, in which you're seen for as many sessions as necessary but no more than you need. Vague answer, I know, but doing therapy is as much of an art as a science, and it's often hard to predict how folk will respond. If you want to pin me down to a number, I'd say that the average number of appointments I have with clients is from 10-12, give or take a few.
What will therapy cost?
Hopefully, you'll only have a small copay to make, as your health insurance will often pay for treatment. But insurance cover varies a lot, and there are “coinsurances” and yearly “deductibles” to take into account as well. Then again, insurance companies will often not pay for some treatment, such as for smoking cessation or weight loss. So, it’s always a good idea to give your insurance company a quick call before making an appointment, and confirm that I am a provider with them and whether they will pay for what you want help with. The procedure codes that I often use are “90801” for an initial evaluation appointment and “90806” for follow-up individual therapy. You often will not need to be “preauthorized” to be seen, but if they tell you that you are, then please get a preauthorization number and let me have it in our first session.
What insurance do you take?
I am an approved provider with Aetna, Capital Blue Cross, Highmark Blue Shield, Magellan, Medicare, Quest and United Behavioral Health.
How do I find your office?
You can go to Mapquest and enter my address: 10 South Rockburn St., York, PA 17402 for directions. You’ll find that my office is at the corner of East Market St. and South Rockburn St. in York. Coming from York city, you’ll travel east on Market Street until you go under the Rte. 83 underpass, which is a few blocks beyond the new Turkey Hill (where the old Lincoln Hwy garage used to be). Continue for a couple of blocks until you come to South Rockburn St. My office is the Cape Cod house on the right hand corner. Coming from the Lancaster end of Market St., travel toward York city on East Market St. until you see South Rockburn St. on your left. My office is on the corner. From the south, travel north on Rte. 83 and get off at Market St and bear right at the end of the exit ramp. Continue straight until you get to South Rockburn St. on your right. From the north, travel south on Rte. 83 and get off at Market St. (the exit after West Market St). At the end of the exit ramp, take a right at the stop sign, onto Belmont St. Go to the lights and take a right onto Market St. Go under the Rte 83 bridge and continue going straight until you get to South Rockburn St. on your right.
Walk up the ramp to the front door and take a seat in my reception area, which is the room on your left. If this is your first visit, there will be some paperwork for you to fill out, which takes 10-15 minutes.
Always please give me a call to reschedule your appointment if for any reason you can’t make it in on the day we have arranged. This is because I would have earmarked the time just for you, and I can’t give the appointment to anyone else if I don’t have at least 24 hours notice. Thanks for respecting this rule.
What is Hypnosis?
Hypnosis is a naturally occurring dreamy-like state in which you can experience changes in your thoughts and feelings, leading to changes in your behavior. You go through a hypnotic state twice each day. That is, when you wake up, and when you fall asleep, you go through a state in which you feel very relaxed; you know where you are; and you’re in control of your thoughts. So, hypnosis is not anything all that unusual.
Why use it? We’re all more suggestible, not gullible, in hypnosis. So, if you hear a suggestion in hypnosis, it’s much more likely to have an effect at a deeper level, rather than if you heard it out of hypnosis. Using hypnosis thus tends to make therapy briefer. You can’t be made to do anything against your will in hypnosis, and as long as I know what you want, my suggestions will all be going in that direction.
How is it used? We only do hypnosis once you feel totally comfortable about it. You can ask any questions about hypnosis before we do it for the first time. I’ll then test how hypnotizable you are in a very interesting way. I’ll explain what we’re going to do in hypnosis, after which we’ll have our first session. A number of suggestions will be offered to help you become more relaxed and to learn the skills you’ll need to get over the problem that you want help with. In hypnosis, you'll be able to hear my voice just as easily as when you’re out of hypnosis. You'll be aware of where you are. You won't be asleep or unconscious. You'll simply be in a more suggestible state, in which your mind can hear what I say at a deeper level, and use my words in such a way to help you get what you need from the experience. You'll remember everything that we do, and I often give clients a CD of the session, in order for you to hear my suggestions over and over again. This helps make sure that you’re able to make the changes that you want.
How do I know if hypnosis can help me?
You don’t have to be highly hypnotizable to get benefit from hypnosis. For smoking and weight loss, your motivation to change is the best predictor of how well you’ll do. For anxiety management, you only need to be moderately hypnotizable. There is a “practice effect” with hypnosis, and so the more times you practice it, the more benefit you’ll get. Hypnosis will either have no effect, or a positive effect on you. It should never make you feel worse, but it does not help everyone either. I have used hypnosis since 1978 and have taught doctors, dentists and psychologists how to apply it in their work. I have also published journal articles and chapters in books on how hypnosis can be used for pain control and anxiety management. I have found hypnosis to often be invaluable in helping people make significant changes in their lives. For more information, go to www.asch.net.