“Hey, Jen…I have some questions for you!”

Do you see clients in person or virtually?

That depends! While I’m licensed in Colorado, Florida, and Wisconsin, I currently live in Wisconsin. If you are a fellow “Cheesehead,” I have an office in Wausau and offer both in-person therapy as well as virtual.  For Colorado and Florida residents, I offer virtual therapy (telehealth) only right now.

The advantage of being a telehealth therapist is having the flexibility to provide services to clients no matter where I happen to be at the time without interruption!

So how does telehealth work exactly?

Great question! I use Google Meet, which is a HIPAA-compliant platform. I send the link a the time of our appointment and all you have to do is click on it to join the session.

What are your hours?

8:00am-4:00pm CST Monday – Friday.

4:00pm-7:00pm CST on request Monday – Thursday.

Because I offer services to residents in three different time zones, sometimes gets a bit tricky, but I do my best to accommodate clients when I can.

How long are sessions? How much do you charge? Do you take insurance?

The answers to all of the above questions are connected.

The standard “therapeutic hour” in the industry is 50 minutes. I tend to spend a full hour (60 minutes) with individual clients. For new clients/initial intake sessions, I like to allow for an hour and 15 minutes (75 minutes).

Wisconsin clients: Currently, I accept Optum (which includes United Health Care, United Oxford, and Optum EAP), Aetna, and Cigna. 

Colorado clients:  Currently, I accept Aetna, Oxford, United Health Care, and Oscar Health.

Florida: At this time, I do not accept insurance in this area yet, but hope to be able to do so soon.

Out-of-Network/ Self-Pay: If you would like to use your insurance but don’t see it listed above, please check your policy regarding OON (out-of-network) benefits. Some policies will reimburse you directly if you submit a “superbill” (which I would provide for you).

Some thoughts regarding insurance: Using your insurance to pay for therapy is understandable and often financially necessary. However, some people still prefer to  pay out of pocket for a number of reasons.

Paying out of pocket (self-pay) offers flexibility to accommodate any special treatment requests that might otherwise be rejected by insurance. For instance, while many clients will do just fine with weekly one hour sessions, there are times when a client needs more. When I am working with clients around eating disordered behaviors, for example, or clients experiencing extreme depression or anxiety, having the option to meet more than once per week or for longer sessions, when it is clinically appropriate, is extremely helpful. Having the professional freedom to schedule clients in a way that best meets their needs (not the needs of the insurance company) is very important to me.

The other reason to consider self-pay is that insurance companies require a diagnosis in order to reimburse. In other words, whether you are coming in for relationship issues, or body images issues, or trauma, I would need to give you a mental health diagnosis in order to submit an insurance claim. Mental health diagnoses can be a useful way of understanding a particular set of symptoms and can validate one’s experience, but not everyone who comes in for therapy necessarily meets criteria for a mental health diagnosis.

Although HIPAA ensures that any diagnosis and medical information remains confidential, some people are not comfortable being given a mental health “label” or having sensitive mental health information on record with insurance companies.

If you would like to hear more of my thoughts on this, I’d be happy to discuss in person.

All that said, my fees are as follows:

• Initial Intake $160 (60-75 minutes)
• Individual session $140 (50-60 minutes)
• Couples session $150 (60-75 minutes)

Do you offer discount packages or sliding scale fees?

I do offer the following prepay bundle packages:

4 Individual Sessions Package: $440.00 (a $120 savings)

Couples’ Package: Intake plus 5 sessions $735 (a $175 savings) 

While I do not offer a traditional sliding scale, I do reserve a number of slots in my schedule to accommodate clients at a reduced fee. Please contact me for more information and availablility.

How do I set up an initial appointment?

Call me at 507-222-9018 or email me at jen@alifebeyondmeasure.com.

What is your cancellation policy?

I understand that things come up in life! If you are unable to attend an appointment, I simply ask that you provide at least 24 hours advance notice by texting, emailing, or calling directly. I can be reached at jen@alifebeyondmeasure.com  or 507-222-9018.  Texts generally work best for me but any method of contact is fine. 

In order to maintain the integrity of our therapeutic relationship and to respect your time and mine, same-day cancellations and “no show” appointments will be billed the full session rate of $140. On the flip side, if I have to cancel our session with less than 24 hours notice, or I fail to show up for our session, I will offer the next session free of charge.  

In the event of an emergency or sudden (unpredictable) illness, when 24-hour notice is not possible, the late cancellation charge will be waived once within a four-month period. You will be charged the full session fee ($140) for any subsequent late cancellations within that four-month period. This policy will be in place for me as well. If I have to cancel with less than 24-hour notice due to an emergency or sudden illness, our next session will NOT be offered free of charge; however, if I have to cancel due to an emergency more than once within a four-month period, your next session WILL be offered free of charge. 

 

What kind of clients do you see?

I see women, men, adolescents, and young adults.

I see people struggling with depression, anxiety, trauma, eating disorders, body image issues, low self-esteem, survivors or narcissistic abuse, childhood or family of origin issues, co-dependency issues, grief and loss, relationship issues, life transitions issues, women’s issues.

What age ranges do you work with?

Generally, ages 17 and up.

What do you actually do in sessions with clients?

Great question! The answer actually varies from client to client based on what works best with any particular individual.

If you want to do the majority of the talking, I listen and I give feedback, and comment when appropriate. Sometimes people are oral processors and find it helpful to just talk, vent, share with limited interruptions. In that case, I am tracking and making a mental note of things to come back to, what themes seem to be emerging.

Other sessions are more a give and take, back and forth discussion, interaction. I give feedback, validation, constructive observation about patterns in behaviors that I notice.

I talk. I share my thoughts and reactions honestly with clients. I share stories, anecdotes, songs, and poems that relate to a client’s experience.

I will give recommendations for books that I think will be helpful, Ted Talks, links to various sources on the Internet, video clips, movies/documentaries. Sometimes we will take a look at a clip in session, other times I just suggest clients take a look when they have time.

I make suggestions for journal assignments and “homework” that is therapeutically appropriate, but these are mere suggestions. Clients are of course free to try them or not.

What therapy modalities do you use in your client work?

Like many therapists, I am “eclectic” in my approach.

There are a great many individuals, philosophers, and theorists who have shaped my beliefs and my work. I pull from all of them. (Carol Gilligan, Brene Brown, Irv Yalom, Harriot Lerner, Jean Kilbourne, Victor Frankl…these are just a few of my favorite “go-to” authors). What’s most important to me is meeting clients where they are and basing my interactions on what I believe will best meet their needs.

That said, I tend to incorporate mindfulness based theories, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and strength-based, positive-psychology based concepts. I use methods that move clients towards empowerment, helping them “find their voice.”

I am also very family-systems oriented in that I do view individuals in the context of their original family system. This includes exploring, or at least considering, the family dynamics from one’s childhood – how each of us has been shaped and influenced by our families of origin. This is never about blame or meant to be a witch-hunt, it is about understanding, validating, and accepting.

We do not exist in a vacuum, and sometimes taking a look at some of our past helps us understand our present choices and behaviors. The goal is about increasing our own self-awareness. This is often where we learn how and why “we make sense”.

What is the difference between THERAPY and LIFE COACHING, and how do I know what I need?

Lots of people wonder about this. The biggest difference is in the kinds of issues we work on. Therapy is appropriate for any and all of us who have struggled with clinical issues: depression, severe anxiety, trauma, eating disorders, family conflict, relationship conflict, suicidal thoughts or behaviors, and severe mental illness, for example. As a therapist, when I work with clients I tell them that in therapy sometimes it feels like things get worse before they get better. That’s because in therapy we work on the painful things from our past, or the things going on in our present that have just knocked us on our butts! I’ve definitely been there myself at times in my life and I’m very grateful to have found the right therapists to help me over the years.

So then, what’s a life coach and how do they fit in? The truth is, there ARE times in life when we don’t need a therapist. We don’t need to go deep into our past and we don’t need to spend time processing our emotions. We just need some support, some guidance, some education, some encouragement, and maybe a (gentle) kick in the butt. We need tools to get us from point “A” to point “B.” We need accountability. The issues that we work on with a life coach are not clinical disorders, but they’re still painful! They are things we’re struggling with that are getting in the way of optimum mental health, emotional health, or physical health.

The reason I offer both therapy and life coaching is to be able to support women in particular in more ways.

Life coaching is appropriate when we have specific goals or we’re struggling in life, but it’s not a clinical issue. As a life coach, I am passionate about helping women be their own heroines. For more on my life coaching services, please check out the life coach page.

One is not better than the other, they just serve different purposes and meet different needs, which is why I offer both services.

What is your professional experience?

I’ve been in the field for 25 years post-graduate school.

In that time, I’ve worked in many different settings, including school-based counseling, in-home crisis services, outpatient mental health agencies, residential drug and alcohol treatment for adolescents, intensive outpatient services for eating disorders, and private practice.

I’ve been very blessed in my professional experiences, as I have learned much from wonderful colleagues and mentors around me, as well as from my clients over the years.

You say you are from Wisconsin. Are you a Green Bay Packer fan?

Most definitely!

But as huge hockey fans as well, we are Avalanche fans all the way. Fortunately, during our time living in Colorado, we got to catch a lot of games! (It’s a little easier to score Avs tickets then tickets to the Frozen Tundra).

Sorry, I don’t follow baseball.

Favorite book, favorite musicians, guilty pleasure, bad habit?

Pride and Prejudice, Keith Urban and James Taylor, Netflix, staying up too late watching Netflix.

What brings you joy?

So many things!

In no particular order, my kids (most of the time), sunshine, tulips, that first cup of coffee on a quiet morning, writing, my work, my clients, friends, a good glass of wine, puppies, good food, fresh air, mountains, the beach, sitting by a fire with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book on a cold day, the fall leaves in Wisconsin, good chocolate, seeing kindness and compassion practiced in the world, yoga (when I get there), and more tulips.