It’s easy to make an appointment with one of our therapists! Simply reach out to the therapist you’d like to see by clicking on the email link on their bio page or calling their phone number, also on the bio page. You can also specify a certain counselor on our Contact page and the counselor will then reach out to you either via email, text or phone call. If you are unsure of who you’d like to see, you can indicate “no preference” on the Contact form, and one of our therapists will reach out to you within 24 business hours.

In general, the first session is an intake session where the therapist will review the paperwork you have completed and ask you a series of questions to get to know you and determine what you’d like to work on in therapy. Sometimes the intake assessment takes more than one session. Following completion of the intake assessment, a treatment plan will be developed and reviewed with you to help guide the therapy process.

How long a client is in therapy varies widely. Some clients come for a very specific issue that allows for a brief, solution-focused approach, and only requires a few sessions. Other clients have a number of things they’d like to work on or long-standing challenges that require more time and attention to unpack. The therapist and the client will work together to determine when treatment goals are complete and discontinuing counseling makes sense.

No, you don’t need a diagnosis to get started with us. If you are using insurance, a diagnosis is required, so your therapist will determine the one that makes the most sense after meeting with you.

Some of our therapists offer a sliding fee. Feel free to ask the therapist you are interested in seeing if they do. We also have graduate interns who see clients at a reduced rate.

We see children as young as 5 and adults 65+. We also work with individuals, families and couples.

All of our therapists are Blue Cross of Alabama providers, which includes All Kids, Blue Cross Federal and Peehip. Generally out of state Blue Cross plans and Anthem are also in-network, but this can vary by policy and employer. Your therapist will bill Blue Cross for you and will charge you the designated co-pay, co-insurance or deductible, depending on the policy specifications.

Some of our therapists take other private insurances but this varies so we suggest you ask the therapist directly. If the therapist doesn’t take your insurance, they can provide you with a Super Bill to submit directly to your insurance company to see if you are able to be reimbursed for some or all of your out-of-pocket expense. Some therapists will verify coverage for counseling in advance of your session and others will expect you to verify on your own. Feel free to ask the therapist you’d like to see if this isn’t clear.

Please note that Blue Cross does not cover couples (marriage) counseling. To see one of our therapists for this service, it is considered a private pay expense.  Some clinicians will bill couples counseling under individual or family therapy codes, but we do not do this at The Balanced Life. 

No, we don’t. Everyone at our practice is a master’s level therapist (apart from our interns who are working on their master’s Degrees). You will need to see a psychologist for testing or a Psychiatrist, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner or PCP for medication. Your therapist will be happy to give you recommendations or make a referral if such services are requested.

It is our duty to treat the information you present to us with great care. To the greatest extent possible, we keep your Protected Health Information (PHI) confidential. Under certain circumstances we are bound by law to release information. We will still strive to protect you as much as possible while releasing the information and will only release to the extent required by law.

These include:

• Child abuse or neglect
• Elder or vulnerable person abuse
• Imminent danger to others (duty to warn)
• Danger to self
• Court order release of information

All of our therapists offer telehealth but in varying degrees. Some will see clients exclusively via telehealth and others will use telehealth on an as-needed basis with established clients. Feel free to ask about this service delivery method when you reach out.

Because we have a large team and provide a wide range of mental health services, the list of modalities used is quite extensive.

Some models employed include:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
• Reality Therapy
• Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)
• Internal Family Systems (IFS)
• Narrative Therapy

Some treatment interventions used include:

• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
• Eye Movement Integration (EMI)
• Brainspotting
• Tapping
• Hypnosis
• Mindfulness
• Play therapy

We work with a wide range of clients and treatment issues and work to cater our treatment plans to each client’s specific needs. By reading each of our bios, you can learn more about what we each offer and can reach out to a specific therapist for more information. If you’d like specific guidance on who might be the best fit, you can reach out to the practice co-owner, Dana Hampson, via email.

While we are not a Christian counseling practice, we do have therapists who identify as Christian and are happy to bring in spiritual work to your session on request. We also have therapists who identify specifically as Secular and specialize in religious trauma, spiritual abuse and deconstruction if that is an area of need. All of our therapists respect client autonomy and agency and would never push a religious ideology on any of our clients, regardless of their own personal belief system.

Yes, we are an open and accepting practice and provide a safe, therapeutic space for all clients regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age or disability.