Karen Kehler MA, MSHA Counseling Services
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Before you request the mental health counseling services I offer at Karen Kehler MA, MSHA Counseling Services, I highly recommend that you read my answers to the most common questions or issues that I hear when a person calls for information. If you have any concerns I did not cover, don’t hesitate to contact me in Frackville, Pennsylvania.
Do You Take Insurance?
Do You Take Insurance?
Counseling is considered by most insurance companies as “not medically necessary,” so they don't cover my level of care. It is a similar case with “cosmetic' surgery,” so I keep my rate affordable.
This does not mean you get lower quality care or attention. It is the approach I take – based on education rather than scientific testing. I teach clients how to manage their way through the issues they are facing.
Many find this approach very helpful as they leave the first session with real actions they can take, reflect on, and change to move toward their own goals. The client shapes the direction; I help by reframing, encouraging, empowering, and holding accountability.
If you have insurance, call the number for “behavioral health,” “mental health,” or “addiction” on the back of your insurance ID card first! Insurance companies MUST provide mental health services but very often contract them out to other facilities and professionals who they “preapprove” and contract with in advance.
This keeps costs contained, and they will guide you to those who are “in their system” or “approved,” so you don't have to worry if they aren't covered. If you are able to “self-pay,” then call me... but many don't know how the system “works” and how you benefit if you know to make contact with them first.
Do You Prescribe Medications?
Do You Prescribe Medications?
No, I don't and can't. I can definitely work with the physician of your choice, or I can refer you to one I have confidence in to get proper medications specific to your mental health symptoms. I also work with physicians and clients to note symptom changes, non-compliance, and relapses, so we work together to manage the chronic, long-term elements of mental illness and addiction.
Do You Have Evening Hours?
Do You Have Evening Hours?
Yes, I do – Monday to Friday.
What Can I Expect When I Come to Your Office?
What Can I Expect When I Come to Your Office?
My office is easy to find. Free parking usually available in front, and the atmosphere is more like visiting a friend than a sterile office. It is rare that you will see other clients in my waiting room area, and there is no staff with distractions. The seating is comfortable, and you can bring a beverage.
I will ask you to sign the appropriate legal documents to protect your rights as a client. I do not ask you to fill out lots of forms and papers – cutting into face-to-face time with me. I prefer to ask you questions about your history, environment, family, issues that brought you in, past successes, and future goals personally.
In that process, we may venture off into more details or immediate interventions. In the first session, I probably ask the most questions to establish a foundation of who you are and how I can encourage and support you in the future. My style is clear, down-to-earth, and sometimes even fun. I promise I will get you to look at what's happening in new and fresh ways that others may not have.
I also believe that when you can get to a place where we can laugh at ourselves, we really begin to enjoy life. That doesn't mean I don't take your hurt, sadness, and anger seriously. I do and will, but I will also help you to embrace it in a way that lightens the burden of it.
I encourage clients to come once a week for a short period of time – 1-hour sessions where we focus on the goals you have set – whether specific or general. Additionally, as you find that with encouragement, specific strategies, reflection, insight, and accountability, we start to shift to biweekly then monthly sessions.
Clients who have worked with me often discover that having a professional counselor in their group of “experts” helps when life hands them or blindsides them with serious and significant events.
I may work with a couple for a while to help with their marriage, help their teen children when serious issues arise, when an important family member passes away, when someone receives a serious medical diagnosis, and when a traumatic event is witnessed, or when employment changes. My role changes but I am committed to helping my clients long-term – even when there are years between visits.
“Stop ruminating, obsessing, and feeling helpless or hopeless. The sooner you start, the sooner you will find ‘yourself’ again!”
Reviews From Yodle
Reviews From Yodle
