How To Choose A Counselor

If you are sure that you have a straight indemnity health insurance plan, you can review the different counselors listed on the STAFF PROFILES PAGE and choose your favorite.  Try to choose the staff person whose style and specialties seem to best fit both your stylistic preference and focus of concern.

If you are in the majority of people who have some form of managed care or preferred provider plan, then you will have to go through a multi-step process.  Because of the intricacies and fast pace of change within managed care, it is impossible for us to publish an accurate accounting of which counselors are participants in the various sub-plans.  However, if you use the following proceedure, it should work out to your satisfaction:

1) Review all of the therapists listed on the STAFF PROFILES PAGE and write down a couple of names of the counselors you like best.

2) Call the telephone number for mental health benefits provided by your health plan.  Many health plan cards list this number on the back side of the card.   If you cannot find the mental health number, then call the main health plan number.   When you talk with them, ask them if any of your preferred counselors are listed as being participating providers with your health plan.  If so, then ask for an authorization to proceed with counseling.  If you can, try to find out the authorization number, the actual total number of sessions they are authorizing, and the amount of copay for each session.  If none of your preferred counselors are covered by your health plan, you may choose to either see someone else on their list or possibly consider self-pay with your most preferred counselor at Cary Counseling Center.

3) Telephone Cary Counseling Center at 467-1180 and ask for your preferred counselor to return your call.  It is best to leave both work and home telephone numbers.  The counselor will return your call to set up an appointment.  

A Final Consideration - Although we have done our best to give you the information you need to make a comfortable choice, we know that reality is not the same thing as the written word.  For this reason, we encourage for you to continue your selection process even through your first 2 counseling sessions.  In other words,  you should not view the initial sessions as an irreversable commitment that you can't reconsider.  If a counselor is very good, you should be able to intuitively tell within one or two sessions at most.  If you do not have a strong sense of trust in the counselor's integrity, clarity, and compentence after two sessions, then it would probably be best to consider someone else.  This is a good guideline no matter where you are looking for a counselor - Cary Counseling Center or elsewhere.