Our office is located at 16 N. Boylan Avenue, Raleigh, NC. It is on the corner N. Boylan Ave and Willard Place. in downtown Raleigh, sometimes referred to as the Glenwood South District. The property is surrounded by white picket fence so follow that until you get to the entrance on Willard Place. We have a large gravel parking lot entrance on Willard Avenue that is available for clients. Once you enter the parking lot, walk up the steps to the large porch and come inside through the double doors. Our offices are on the left side of the hallway on that first level.

Another landmark for longtime Raleighites is the Char-Grill restaurant on Hillsborough St. Our office building is essentially two properties behind the Char-Grill, and in the shadow of the new Willard Hotel.

Yes and No! Rather than taking a rigid approach, we prefer to take this case by case. Ideally, both partners meet their counselor for the first time together. We encourage partners having their own separate counselor for individual work. That being said, it IS common for individual sessions to happen from time to time over the course of a couples treatment. During those sessions the goal is still to support the growth and healing of the relationship. It can be difficult if the counselor is already familiar with one partner. It can lead the unknown partner to question if the counselor is taking sides. In addition, sometimes an individual requests to continue as an individual client after the couples’ work has completed. For more about relationship work see Our Approaches page and look at the Gottman Method, EFT, and Systems Therapy sections.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an evidenced-based behaviorist therapy that emphasizes accepting what is out of your personal control and committing to action that improves and enriches your life. For more on ACT see Our Approach page.

There are several reasons that we have decided not to build an insurance based therapy practice. First and foremost, we believe the health care system is so so broken and we do not want to support it by giving insurance companies more money and client information. Here’s a list of the other major reasons.

• Medical vs Wellness: Insurance companies view mental health through a narrow lens based on the medical model. For example, insurance companies are not required to provide mental health care. Each individual must ask if their plan includes it or not. Furthermore, insurance companies can cap the number of covered visits annually if they decide your therapy is not “medically necessary.” We believe that health should be viewed holistically by considering the overall wellness of a person. The health of our relationships matter, but couples counseling is not always covered. Your career might advance with some communication and conflict resolution work, but that’s not covered by insurance either.

• Privacy & Use of Information: Counselors need to take notes during sessions so that they can track client stories, progress, and setbacks. Referring to session notes is a great way for counselors to be prepared for a session. For clients using insurance plans to cover therapy costs, the client notes are required to be sent to the insurance company before payment is released. This is a way for insurers to review progress notes and judge if the client is making progress. If they decide sufficient progress is not made they will reject the claim. Many of us do not want our most private thoughts and feelings read by an insurance agent and filed into a database.

• Diagnosis: Insurance companies require that all clients must have a clinical diagnosis of a mental disorder for their claims to be accepted. Many people do not want to be labeled with a diagnosis that ends up on their health record for privacy reasons. Still others need counseling but do not meet the criteria for a mental health disorder. Both of these reasons discourage folks from receiving therapeutic services that they need to reach their wellness goals.

• Complexity: Bye our count there are 10 major health insurance companies operating in North Carolina, and more plans than we care to count. The complexity of the insurance landscape is to much for small mental health providers to manage. The process of getting credentialed with each company requires a big investment, and administering these contracts takes a lot of time and money as well. We believe that small practices like Longview Counseling provide an important service to the Raleigh community.

• Flexibility: Because we are not filing insurance claims that must fall into rigid requirements we can tailor our services to your needs. We have the flexibility to meet in a park and walk while we talk. Our sessions can flow between coaching and therapy depending on client goals. Insurance companies do not cover coaching.

• Quality Care: Our goal is to provide high quality mental health counseling services to our clients. It’s the least we can do to honor the investment the client has made. One way to do this, is to limit the number of clients we see each day so we can be fresh and prepared for your session. There’s nothing worse that pouring your heart out while your therapist yawns because they are exhausted! By setting our own fee’s we can ensure that we can take care of ourselves without burning out. We want to practice what we preach.

While working with minors (18 and under) it’s important to build and maintain their trust. It is equally important for the parents to know that their child is receiving appropriate treatment for their needs. To do this, we’ll share broad treatment goals and progress updates with the parent periodically during their treatment. Specific details the child has shared during sessions will remain confidential unless the child shares something that indicates they may be imminent danger. Parent-only sessions can be scheduled for updates, and/or parent can occasionally attend the child’s sessions as a guest for 15 - 20 minutes.

No. You will need to work with your medical provider to seek medication prescriptions. Typically, clients work with psychiatrists for mental health assessments and medication management. Start with your primary care doctors to see if they are willing to do mental health assessments and medication management, and if not, provide a referral to a trusted psychiatrist. How long does therapy tend to last?

Great question! For many it’s confusing to understand where the line is between professional coaching and therapy. A good rule of thumb is that coaching is about setting a goal and working forward towards it. In contrast, therapy often requires a client to go back in time and process trauma in order to move forward. Licensed counselors like us are authorized to provide therapeutic and coaching services, whereas a certified coach is not permitted to do therapeutic work with their clients. Common coaching goals include learning effective communication, improved organizational skills, conflict resolution skills, or preparing for career advancement.

To book a 15 minute consultation and find out which option is right for you visit our Contact page and send us a message.

Coming soon…