Deer Valley Counseling

"Skills for Better Living"

Offices in Phoenix and Yavapai County

Frequently Asked Questions

I'm not crazy. What good will seeing a counselor do?

You do not have to be "crazy" to see a counselor. Counseling can help you clarify your goals, give you an objective sounding board, enrich your relationships, help your career, and in general give you "Skills for Better Living."

I've never had counseling before. What's it like?

The first session will be spent filling out a small amount of paperwork, getting comfortable talking to Sandra, and giving Sandra a sense of who you are and what kinds of problems you are experiencing. Subsequent sessions will be used to explore issues in more depth and for you to develop new skills. It is likely that from time to time Sandra will give you assignments to do outside the session. It is also likely that from time to time Sandra will challenge old thought patterns. This will probably feel uncomfortable at first.

How much does therapy cost?

Individual counseling is on a sliding scale. You choose how much you can afford within that range. Group counseling is a low fixed rate. For more details please call Sandra at 602.750.8051.

Why should I invest time and money in therapy?

The skills you learn in counseling can affect your happiness for a lifetime. You may be holding on to old patterns of thinking, old fears, or old grudges that are holding you back from reaching your full potential. You may not realize just how happy and fulfilled you might be able to become. When you can learn to stop wasting energy on ineffective thought patterns and behaviors, you may find that the mental energy you save enables you to accomplish much more than you are accomplishing now. Although we do not offer any guarantees, the hope and expectation is that the time and money you invest in therapy now will pay off many times over in increased effectiveness and happiness in the future.

Do you take insurance?

We do not take any insurance. Insurance companies typically require that you be "sick" to receive counseling, which can preclude types of counseling that focus on improving life, rather than curing "sickness". When insurance companies pay a portion of the counseling cost, the insurance company naturally feels like they should control the number and frequency of sessions and the types of counseling that can be provided. We feel the client should control that. Insurance companies also typically require that the counselor provide information about the issues being discussed. This kind of private information can make its way into national databases and persist indefinitely. More information about these issues can be found at our Insurance Page.

How long will I need to be in therapy?

There is no set answer to this question. Some problems can be resolved in just a few sessions. Others take much longer. Therapy should continue as long as you are making progress and until the problems that brought you in are resolved to your satisfaction. It is always your decision to continue or discontinue therapy.

What kinds of issues can Sandra help me with?

Sandra's training and experience allows her to deal with a wide range of issues. These include improving your relationships, moving through grief, learning to manage mood and anger, improving the ways you deal with sexuality, reducing anxiety and stress, controlling addictive behaviors, and even serious mental impairment such as psychosis and depression.