Frequently Asked Questions

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A Licensed Professional Counselor-Associate is a professional counselor with a provisional license to practice. After completing a Master's level counseling program and passing required national examinations, an LPC-Associate works toward full licensure by completing a designated amount of supervised clinical counseling hours. An LPC-Associate is qualified to provide counseling, psychotherapy and related mental health services. As a practicing LPC-Associate, I am supervised by Michelle L. Jacinto, MA, LPC-S.

I do not take insurance, but I can provide you with a statement that you can submit to your insurance company.

Yes. I offer a sliding scale for therapy and counseling services for individuals that may be experiencing a period of financial hardship. This reduced rate may be determined at the time of initial consultation following a discussion of needs and therapy goals. Let's talk, let me know what's going on. Please keep in mind I will work with each individual to come to an agreement of the rate determined on a sliding scale and this will be revisited periodically, as needed, and when financial circumstances change with fair and reasonable notice in advance. 

Additionally, I am able to offer clients reduced rates through OpenPath, a professional directory for mental health professionals' services to be accessible at reduced rates when the full fee and regular rate is not possible for clients. Please visit https://openpathcollective.org/ a one-time fee for lifetime membership is required by OpenPath. 

Therapy and Counseling services involve the treatment of mental health and illness conditions. This includes processing past experiences or current emotions to provide clients with necessary coping skills. Often, this may mean simply being in a safe space to talk. I am only able to work with therapy clients who are Texas residents.

Coaching is typically focused on personal and or professional growth and development. It is often more brief in duration, and is for clients who are mentally and emotionally ready to achieve their goals through a solution-focused approach. Coaching does not involve diagnosing or treating mental illness. As a Board Certified Coach, I offer life coaching, mental health coaching, mental wellness coaching, grief coaching, and Psychosynthesis Life Coaching available online for anyone, regardless of where you live.

*To learn more about Psychosynthesis Life Coaching please visit (copy and paste link) https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/psychosynthesis 

You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your mental health care will cost one day before your medical service. Under the law, mental health providers need to give patients 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 such as therapeutic services. If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your good faith estimate you can dispute the bill. For more questions or information about your right to Good Faith Estimate visit www.cms.gov/no surprises or call The No Surpises Help Desk at 1-800-985-3059.

A form of holistic, complementary and alternative medicine based on the belief that a vital energy flows through the human body. The goal of energy-healing therapy is to balance the energy flow in the patient. It is used to potentially help reduce stress and promote well-being.

Energy therapy techniques are alternative and complimentary techniques that aim to harmonize the energy fields in and around the body to potentially promote health and well-being. They may also help encourage positive thoughts and emotions. A trained practitioner or healthcare professional performs energy balancing treatments using various noninvasive techniques.

Many holistic schools of energy healing exist using many names, among these are: biofield energy healing, energy psychology, spiritual healing, contact healing, distant energy healing, remote energy healing, therapeutic touch, Reiki or Qigong.

Religious Trauma Syndrome (RTS) can be a result of religious abuse. RTS can occur when a person is conflicted with leaving behind a set of beliefs, (or religion) from prior indoctrination. The separation or choice to emancipate oneself from a controlling environment, or religious lifestyle can be traumatic. Researchers have found that religious trauma symptoms are like those of Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD).

RTS can affect people in different, unique ways, but can harm a person's sense of self-esteem, sense of identity, and sense of self-worth. Religious trauma can result in a person's self perception as "being bad" or "condemned" and this can be experienced even long after a person abandons the formerly accepted ideas and beliefs of the religion they used to belong to.

Although RTS is not an official diagnosis in the DSM-5, (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) it is seen as something that affects millions of people. This is because religious beliefs are often weaponized and scripture interpretation can be distorted to accommodate religious group leader(s) agendas and goals. When a person leaves behind or tries to leave behind beliefs that they no longer accept, shame, guilt, and grief are experienced and the individual feels a sense of being condemned. These are just a few of the negative consequences experienced by the former member and lead to lasting and deep mental health wounds and damage to the psyche (Schiffman, R., 2019). People who leave cults and high control groups experience symptoms such as these.

Churches are typically conventional, religious organizations. A cult can be a religious or other ideological framework of belief system, (e.g., political) that deviates from the conventional with novel practices, beliefs and or rituals. A sect is also a religious organization that deviates from traditional practices and belief systems. Cults are also known as high control groups (HCG) or high demand groups.

A cult is not always easy to define or recognize and identify. Generally speaking, a cult is involved when a group of people share atypical beliefs and isolate from the world relatively or completely. The tendency is to share a commitment to a leader (usually charismatic) or an ideology. Often the group has belief system that claims to have all the answers and solutions to life's questions and problems. Followers can gain and benefit from this special information only by strictly adhering to the group leader(s) rules. Typically, there are negative consequences to members who question, disagree, or wish to leave the group. Fear of the outside is promoted to discourage members from leaving. Often there are intrusive rules for members and an "us versus them" mentality.

Religiosity and spirituality are not synonymous. Religiosity can be defined as a strong religious feeling but more accurately refers to the degree to which a person is involved in religious practice/activity and the degree of influence religion has on a person's behavior. Examples are church membership, attendance, accepting beliefs, doctrine, etc. Spirituality can include religiosity but is more closely understood as a belief in God or some higher power, or alternatively, a personal quest for meaning in life and or a connection with something greater than the self, and or the interconnectedness of all things. Some researchers have termed this SBNR "spiritual but not religious." Spirituality is a broad concept of a belief in something beyond the self.