What do I need to do to schedule an appointment?
You can either email, submit a contact form, or call indicating your interest including days and times that work best for you. I get back to clients faster via email or contact form. Your therapist will offer to send you the intake paperwork via email or you can download the intake form at the "New Clients" page. To schedule, clients must send the intake paperwork completely filled out via email at angelaskurtu@gmail.com or fax at 314-881-8415.
What are your fees for service?
Any first time client can schedule a free 10 minute phone consultation to ask questions about the services.
Monday through Friday from 9am to 6pm, couples can schedule a 60 minute session for $250 or a 90 minute session that costs $375. Individuals can schedule a 45 minute session for $190 or a 60 minute session for $250.
Couples intensives are also available in two formats-A Jump Start Session and Couples Therapy Retreat. A Jump Start Session lasts 1 day and costs $2000. Couples Therapy Retreat lasts 5 days and costs $6000.
To schedule a couples intensive, you will be asked to pay a non-refundable to deposit. The Jump Start deposit is $1000. The Boot Camp deposit is $3000.
What if I can't afford the fees?
Ask your therapist about payment plans or package options. For clients who wish to come to therapy but the fees are too high, there are package options available to help you. In cases where you can show financial need, sliding scale fees can be an option.
What length of session should I pick and why?
A Couples Retreat is for couples who want to make serious progress on their relationship in a short amount of time. Couples attend a morning session from 9am to 12pm every day for 5 days (Monday through Friday). The first session is a comprehensive couples assessment and treatment plan. The days following focus on a different skill every day with structured homework assignments to help the couple move forward.
A Jump Start Session (Full Day Session) is appropriate when couples want to jump start therapy. The first 3 hours moves through the comprehensive assessment and treatment plan and the last 2 hours focuses on 1-2 skills couples can begin to work on right away to improve their situation. Typically couples move to traditional counseling after this session to continue making improvements.
For traditional therapy, couples typically start with 2 or 3- 90 minute sessions to move through the assessment phase and treatment plan quickly. After that, couples can choose to do 60 minute sessions or 90 minute sessions going forward. The average couple comes to therapy once every two weeks until they complete their treatment plan.
Individuals can choose between a 45 minute or a 60 minute session. Typically individuals come once every other week.
Do you offer evening or weekend appointments?
Yes. Some couples intensives can be scheduled on the weekend. The latest session during the week is from 4-5:30pm.
Do you take insurance?
No. I am private pay only.
Why should I choose private pay instead of using my insurance?
A mental health diagnosis goes on your permanent medical record. A diagnosis becomes a pre-existing condition and can be used to prevent clients from getting cheaper life and health insurance rates later in life. A mental health diagnosis can also prevent clients from getting certain jobs, or clearance to high security positions. Some jobs will even screen for mental illness before hiring new employees. Types of jobs that a mental health diagnosis could effect include, but are not limited to, federal and state jobs, military jobs, pilots, and some church positions.
Also, insurance is very restrictive in terms of the length of sessions. Insurance will only allow billing for a 45 minute session. Couples cannot opt to schedule extended sessions if they choose to use insurance.
How often should I come to therapy?
Keep in mind all couples and individuals have different needs. You come into therapy as long as you feel you are benefitting from the service and you are free to terminate treatment at any time.
There are essentially 3 phases of therapy-The Crisis Phase, The Skill Building Phase, and the Maintenance Phase. The most long lasting results for couples occur when they work through all phases and really put effort into long term, lasting change.
Phase 1: The Crisis Phase lasts anywhere from a few weeks to around 3 months. It is the time when couples (or an individual) really recognize there is a problem and are most motivated to resolve it.
During this phase, therapy can feel like a roller coaster because there are highs and lows. In the first 2 sessions, therapy focuses on assessment-understanding the problems, learning a couples history, and exploring patterns of behavior or communication.
Then, on session 3 or 4, you will receive a treatment plan from your therapist. You and your therapist will discuss what skills and strategies you will work on for the next sessions in therapy. This is your opportunity to ask questions, make sure you and the therapist are on the same page, and move forward with a plan of action.
Sessions following are meant to help couples and individuals start making progress on goals. This phase is the hardest phase in therapy. Individuals and couples are trying to break old habits, build positive connections and let go of resentments. Many couples drop out in this phase as a result. Please keep in mind that therapy is always hardest in the beginning. You will only get out of it what you put into it.
During this phase, couples tend to come in either weekly or every other week depending on the severity of the situation.
Phase 2: After the crisis phase, many of the intense emotions settle. That initial anxiety couples (or an individual) feel starts to relax. This is when the real work starts.
Therapy at this stage focuses on skill building. We move past managing emotions. Skills at this stage can focus on better ways to communicate your needs, healthy sexual habits, or personal mental health skills.
This phase is what I call "The Meat" of therapy. We are essentially doing a deep dive into what habits or patterns maintain old problems. Part of what makes it so valuable is that couples are no longer feeling heavy emotions. They are more capable of taking in all the information and really making intentional changes.
Couples tend to slow down the frequency of sessions at this stage. They may come in every other week, every third week, or once monthly.
Phase 3: In the Maintenance phase, we are tapering off from therapy. The couple has reached many or all of their goals. They are simply coming in for check-ins and accountability at this point.
Real lasting change is not an easy process. Most of the habits you have built have been there for years. The maintenance phase is really there for couples (or individuals) to make sure they don't fall back into old patterns.
Frequency of sessions at this stage tends to slow down substantially. Some couples will come in quarterly to make sure they keep up their habits. Other couples simply terminate and contact the therapist if something is needed.
How do I know I am making progress in therapy?
There are 3 types of work people do in therapy: 1) Behavioral Work; 2) Mental Work; 3) Emotional Work.
Behavioral goals are the easiest ones to see. Progress could include going on more date nights, showing more affection, having less frequent or intense conflict, and/or following through with personal goals, etc. Often times couples and individuals look for behavioral changes to see progress. Since our behaviors are motivated by our thoughts and feelings, behavioral change can be slow at first.
A second type of work people do in therapy is mental work. For this work, your therapist is looking for inner monologues, personal blocks, and/or thoughts that either encourage or discourage change.
Examples of this type of work include exploring self criticism, overthinking situations, blaming others, and learning to recognize the ways we sabotage ourselves. Progress in this area could include being kinder to yourself, taking personal responsibility, learning to talk yourself through anxiety, or developing more compassion in your relationship.
The final work that people do in therapy is emotional. How you feel about a situation impacts your feeling of progress. This type of work can include learning how to manage emotions or develop awareness of emotions, finding ways to forgive resentment, investing in a relationship again, or grieving a tremendous loss.
When individuals feel progress in this area, they state they feel better about their relationships. They are less stressed about their problems. They feel heard and understood. They are more emotionally ready to tackle life's issues on their own.
Do You Take Sides when you work with Couples?
Couples therapy is not about taking sides. If you are coming in expecting the therapist to say, "you're right, she's wrong." That is simply not going to happen. Commonly couples are engaged in complex interaction patterns that prevent them from resolving conflict. There are roles each partner plays that contribute to that pattern. As a result, you will likely both experience times in which the therapy focuses on your personal behavior.
With that being said, there are situations in which one or both parties are behaving in ways that are abusive (emotionally and/or physically) or harmful. When this occurs, your therapist will likely point this out directly (and tactfully). Then, your therapist will teach you skills for how to correct this behavior. Many people have grown up in abusive environments and don't know what a healthy relationship is supposed to look like. When your therapist sees behaviors that cause more harm then good, it is my duty to teach you how to communicate respectfully and create healthy boundaries.
Another situation in which couples therapy may focus on one person is when there is a mental health diagnosis that needs to be addressed. For example, one client may have undiagnosed ADHD, depression, anxiety, or another mental health diagnosis that is contributing to communication problems. When this occurs, your therapist will mention it and may even take time to do a full assessment to help the individual improve their symptoms. Your therapist may also suggest that the individual get additional care for this diagnosis with other providers.
Quality couples counseling involves looking at the bigger picture of a couple's life. That includes conflict style, mental health and physical health. If there is any issue that prevents a couple from working well together, your therapist will bring it up and help you brainstorm ways to improve upon the issue.
Do You See People Individually?
Yes. Many couples will need to take time individually to discuss different issues.