FAQ

The Perspectives clinical team is comprised of a diverse group of highly-skilled and competent clinicians, including clinical social workers, licensed professional counselors, clinical psychologists, and marriage & family therapists. While each provider has a unique combination of education, professional background, and personality, all PTS clinicians are trained to provide quality mental health treatment in the form of psychotherapy.

Perspectives Therapy Services offers

• Individual Counseling
• Couples Counseling
• Family Therapy

Common treatment modalities our therapists use include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), mindfulness-based therapy (MBCT), solution-focused therapy (SFBT), and person-centered therapy.

We also have several providers who specialize in state-of-the-art treatment methods, including EMDR, sand tray therapy, art therapy, animal-assisted therapy, infant mental health, and internal family systems therapy (IFS), and Gottman-driven couples therapy.

Note that Perspectives therapists do not provide the following services:

• Medication management
• Psychiatric evaluations
• Disability application evaluations
• Custody evaluations or court appearances
• Emergency services

Clients are encouraged to seek such services elsewhere, such as from a primary care physician, psychiatrist, legal advisor, or a Community Mental Health agency.

Having such a diverse group of mental health providers, it’s more than likely PTS has the right therapist match for someone just like you.

Here are common concerns Perspectives therapists work with:

• ADHD & Attention Difficulties
• Anxiety, Panic, OCD
• Addictions (substance abuse, gambling, pornography, etc.)
• Bipolar Disorder
• Child Behavior Problems (incl. Oppositional Defiant Disorder)
• Depression
• Disordered Eating (anorexia, bulimia, orthorexia, binge eating, etc.)
• Family Therapy
• Grief & Loss
• LGBTQIA+ Support
• Personality Disorders
• Pregnancy & Postpartum
• Infertility
• Relationship Issues & Couples Counseling
• Sexual Problems
• Sexual & Domestic Violence or Abuse
• Trauma & PTSD

For a complete list of our providers and their respective specialties, visit our Meet the Providers page.

Yes! Our providers are paneled with the following insurance plans:

• Aetna
• Apostrophe
• Blue Cross & Blue Shield (BCBS)
• Blue Care Network (BCN)
• Blue Cross Complete
• Cigna
• Cofinity
• Health Alliance Plan (HAP)
• Humana
• McLaren Health Plan (Commercial & Medicaid)
• McLaren Health Advantage
• Medicare
• Meridian
• Molina
• Physicians Health Plan (PHP)
• United Healthcare (UHC)

While our practice certainly supports and encourages clients to pursue the maximum amount of financial reimbursement from health insurance companies, it is ultimately the client’s responsibility to ensure they receive all third-party payments for which they may be eligible. With that said, Perspectives will submit all insurance claims for health insurance companies with which your provider is paneled.

If you are unsure if mental health treatment is covered under your current health insurance plan and/or to what extent, please call the service number listed on the back of your insurance card to inquire about benefits.

Here are some questions that could be helpful to ask:

• Do I have mental health benefits under my plan?
• Do I have a yearly deductible?
• Do I have a limit on how many therapy sessions are covered per year?
• What is the coverage amount per therapy session, including my deductible?
• How much would my insurance pay for an out-of-network provider?
• Is approval required from my primary care physician?

We accept cash, credit card, debit card, and check. Checks may be written out to Perspectives Therapy Services. All payments are due at the time of service.

Most commonly, people attend a 50-minute therapy session once per week, but this can vary depending on the presenting problem and its severity. The overall duration of therapy (number of sessions) is difficult to predict as it depends on a number of factors, including both the severity of the problem and the individual’s response to treatment. Therapy lasts as long as you need in order to feel like you’ve eliminated or minimized the issue that’s been holding you back. This could last anywhere between just a few sessions to collaborating with your therapist over the course of several years. At Perspectives, our therapists work jointly with each individual client to determine their unique treatment path and conduct ongoing assessments to ascertain effectiveness and progress made.

Under Section 2799B-6 of the Public Health Service Act, health care providers and health care facilities are required to inform individuals who are not enrolled in a plan or coverage or a Federal health care program, or not seeking to file a claim with their plan or coverage both orally and in writing of their ability, upon request or at the time of schedule health care items and services, to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” of expected charges.

You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical care will cost.

Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services.

• You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency items or services. This includes related costs like medical tests, prescription drugs, equipment, and hospital fees.
• Make sure your health care provider gives you a Good Faith Estimate in writing at least 1 business day before your medical service or item. You can also ask your health care provider, and any other provider you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule an item or service.
• If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill.
• Make sure you save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate. For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises

We are so glad you are ready to take this fantastic leap for yourself! Seeking help can be difficult, and we want to ensure you feel completely supported through this process. To get scheduled with a Perspectives therapist, please call our main intake line (517-882-3732) to speak with one of our welcoming intake specialists. After greeting you warmly, they will ask you a few general questions to help guide you in the right direction: your health insurance type, availability, location, your issues/presenting concerns, and/or any other preferences. You will then get scheduled with the PTS therapist who best matches your criteria.

Each new client starting services with Perspectives will need to complete intake paperwork prior to their first session. Upon scheduling your first appointment over the phone, our intake specialist will email you a link, inviting you to complete the documents electronically via the HIPAA-secure platform IntakeQ. Paperwork is also available to download and print from our website here.  Whichever method you choose, it’s important to complete the paperwork prior to the start of your first session.

We also ask that you provide the following:

• Copy of your driver’s license (or that of the parent/legal guardian for clients under 18)
• Copy of your health insurance card (if you are using health insurance to cover costs)
• Payment for the session fee that will not be covered by insurance (copay or deductible amount)
• Custody paperwork for your child (if applicable)

We understand life doesn’t always go as planned. If, for any reason, you need to cancel a therapy appointment with us, please kindly do so at least 24 hours before your scheduled meeting time. Unless a session is cancelled 24 hours in advance, your therapist will automatically charge a “late cancel/no-show” fee of $85 to your account. Please consider that space and time are reserved for each scheduled appointment and cannot be easily filled without at least 24 hours’ notice.

Yes! PTS therapists are pleased to be able to provide a virtual therapy experience via your technological device of choice. In fact, research has shown that teletherapy is similarly as effective as in-person therapy, so don’t hesitate to reach out, even during this highly unusual time of a public health crisis. And given the current circumstances, most insurance companies are covering telehealth right now even if it’s not typically a benefit under your plan.

Learn more about our remote therapy services at PTS here.

At Perspectives Therapy Services, we believe in the importance of a strong therapeutic relationship between the client and therapist. Research shows this vital connection is the number-one factor in achieving successful outcomes through therapy. Given this essential element to positive treatment outcomes, we spend extra care during the intake process to match up a client with the special therapist that we believe will really do the very best job. Our intake specialists examine several factors such as clinical specialty area, treatment modality, personality variables, insurance acceptance, age, gender, and scheduling availability that may contribute to a meaningful therapeutic relationship match between client and therapist.