What to Expect on Your First Visit
We Offer a Compassionate and Effective Approach to Healing and Personal Growth
If you are dealing with persistent issues such as depression, anxiety, anger management, bipolar, OCD, ADHD, or other condition, it's essential to receive an accurate diagnosis for effective treatment and improvement.
Our licensed mental health clinicians conduct thorough assessments to identify the underlying problems causing your challenges. At your first appointment, you will be scheduled for either Medication Management, Psychotherapy (Talk Therapy), or Psychological Testing.
Psychotherapy “Talk-Therapy” Appointment
We help empower individuals with the coping tools and techniques needed to help handle life’s challenges.
Discussion of your concerns: The therapist will ask you about the problems that led you to seek therapy, including any symptoms you may be experiencing. They may ask you to provide specific examples and details about your concerns.
Mental health history: The therapist will also ask questions about your mental health history, including past diagnoses, treatments, and hospitalizations. They may also ask about any family history of mental health issues.
Building rapport: Finally, the therapist will work to build a rapport with you and establish a safe, supportive environment for therapy.
Overall, the initial therapy appointment is an opportunity for you to share your concerns and goals for therapy, for the therapist to assess your needs, and for the therapist to determine the best approach for your treatment. It's important to be honest and open during this appointment to help ensure that you receive the most effective treatment possible.
During follow-up therapy appointments, you can expect to review progress, discuss current concerns, build coping strategies, potentially adjust treatment, and evaluate treatment goals. These appointments are meant to help you continue working toward your therapy goals with the support of your therapist. Initial and subsequent therapy appointments usually last a little under an hour.
Psychological Testing
ADHD Testing: To evaluate ADHD, we use QBcheck and QBtest, which offer objective criteria. The QBcheck is convenient as it can be conducted at home, while the QBtest is available at our Downtown, Plainfield, and Lafayette locations. While the QBcheck offers greater convenience, it solely assesses inattention and impulsivity. In contrast, the QBtest evaluates all three aspects of ADHD, including hyperactivity. Compared to alternative assessments, the QBtest demonstrates exceptional sensitivity (88%) and specificity (93%).
The BASC-3 gives us insight into children's and adolescents' feelings and behaviors. The test utilizes information provided by the patient’s teacher (or equivalent), parent, and the patient.
The MMPI-2, a 567 true-false assessment, has been the cornerstone of psychological testing since 1943. It is used by mental health professionals to diagnose mental health and personality disorders. Despite its effectiveness, you must be honest and frank to yield accurate results. However, the test has invalidating parameters to protect its legitimacy, and if invalidated, patients are offered a redo at a discounted price.
The Career Assessment Inventory is designed to survey an individual’s interest in a variety of areas and then provides information on how those interests match up with the interests of people in over 100 occupations.
Depending on your circumstances, your clinician may determine that you require more specialized care from a Psychiatric Nurse or Psychiatrist.
Our Comprehensive Mental Health Team Consists of:
Board-Certified Psychiatrists
Board-Certified Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners
Clinical Nurse Specialists
Clinical Psychologists
Licensed Clinical Social Workers
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists
Licensed Mental Health Counselors