Frequently Asked Questions

When you first contact our agency, a trained, experienced screening specialist will ask you some preliminary screening questions. The purpose is to gather basic information to begin to clarify what your unique situation is and what issues you wish to address with mental health services. Once this brief screening is done, an appointment will be set with an intake clinician to begin a more thorough evaluation of your situation to assess the problems you are facing. The information provided during this initial assessment feeds into the deeper evaluation your assigned therapist will conduct. The screening process will take 60-180 minutes and may involve up to three appointments. Once the registration and screening assessment paperwork is finished, you will be assigned a therapist at which time you are considered admitted to Beacon Place Mental Health Center.

Prior to your first counselling session, the assigned therapist will review your screening information as a basis at your first session for conducting a deeper evaluation with you about your concerns and possible symptoms. This comprehensive evaluation facilitates us to provide a diagnosis and to work with you collaboratively to develop your treatment plan. The deeper evaluation process and treatment plan development may take 1-3 sessions. We know that finding the right therapist is important to your success in treatment. This initial time with the therapist is a time to get to know you and for you to get a sense of whether you feel the “fit” is good between you and the therapist. We will work with you to help find the therapist that you feel comfortable with and will best meet your needs.

Here are some sample questions that you may find helpful to address at your first therapy session. It is normal to feel slightly nervous approaching the first- time meeting with your therapist so we suggest you write down your questions so that you don’t forget to ask any of them. What is the therapist’s professional background and qualifications including any relevant specializations? What is the therapist’s experience with similar issues to those you are facing? What approach will the therapist use? What is their treatment philosophy? Any other questions or concerns you may have.

Sometimes as people start talking about issues that they have been dealing with, they report a temporary feeling of relief. This is normal and the result of unburdening themselves to a therapist or group.Long-lasting results come from making positive changes over time in an effort to reach your personal goals. The treatment plan that you and your therapist work to design in your first few sessions will identify goals you want to work on. Measurable goals and outcomes may include but are not limited to: Creating a change in attitude, belief and behaviors (such as “I can’t” to “I can”) Reduction in or elimination of symptoms such as depression or anxiety Learning new coping skills to deal with relationship problems or traumatic events How to deal with sudden changes in life that result in anxiety, loss, grief or many other possible reactions To track progress toward those goals, you and your primary therapist will review the plan you constructed during the first appointment, adding objectives or making other changes as necessary throughout the course of your treatment. Your progress is also tracked through periodic use of assessment tools that give you information about how the changes you are making have affected your functioning.

Different goals take different lengths of time for different people. The time for you will be derived from your therapist and yourself collaboratively writing you goals and the amount of time you need to complete them. We do not practice “one size fits all” treatment. You are the driver in the process, we are the navigators (or GPS) assisting you in getting where you want to be safely and effectively.

The first step is to openly discuss the issues or concerns with your therapist. If the issues remain unresolved you may ask to communicate with the clinician’s supervisor. If discussion with the supervisor does not satisfactorily address the issue you can follow the formal Beacon Place grievance procedure. The steps and forms necessary to do so will be provided to you on admission or you may request them from the Beacon Place receptionist at any time. As part of this formal grievance process you may ultimately meet with the Executive Director to discuss your concerns.

Beacon Place has arranged for after-hours emergency coverage with the Orange County Crisis Call Center. This after-hours phone number will be given to you in your admission packet plus it is noted within the recorded answering message on the Beacon Place phone line if no one is available to personally answer our phone lines. The Crisis Call Center trained clinicians will handle emergency mental health issues during Beacon Place office closures and will follow up with communication with your primary therapist at Beacon Place to inform them of your after-hours call and how your issues were resolved. Your primary therapist will follow up with you to assure that the issues triggering the after- hours call are either resolved or will schedule time with you to further work on the issues.

Beacon Place Mental Health Center is a participating provider for most insurance plans in New York State including Medicaid and Medicare. Our intake specialist will check with your health insurance carrier to confirm that our services are covered through your insurance plan and determine what your deductible or co-payment will be. For reference for persons self-paying for services, costs differ depending on type of service-- individual counseling, family or couples counseling and psychiatry have different rates. Cost is also dependent on length of time of a session. Our intake specialist will discuss cost of services and means of payment with you during the intake process once we ascertain what type(s) of services you need. Information about the Beacon Place sliding fee scale for private pay individuals or for clients experiencing financial hardships is available as well. You may ask your therapist or our receptionist for further guidelines related to the sliding fee scale.