What are your fees?

 

 

- $170 Initial Intake session (up to 90 min.)

- $350 Focused Trauma / PTSD Comprehensive Assessment 

- $200 Focused Trauma Therapy Program per session 

- $145 Individual session (1 person)

- $155 Couples / Marital / Dyad session (2 persons)

- $165 Family session (3 or more persons)

- $  85 Group Therapy session (per individual, or $105 per couple)

- $  70 Missed Appointment Fee (for regular session, or per each missed Intensive Session slot)

- $150 Missed Appointment Fee (for missed Initial Intake session or Focused Trauma / PTSD Assessment session)

- Professional Parent Coordination fees (see Parent Coordination page)

Payment is due in full at time services are rendered.  All major credit cards are accepted.

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Do you accept Medicaid or Medicare?

No.

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Can you offer reduced fees?

We work hard so that our services are reasonably available to those who may find it difficult to pay.  We have provided substantial reduced and pro bono services in the past. This is considered on an individual case-by-case basis, and is unable to be offered if there is any existing insurance coverage.  Missed appointments not cancelled/rescheduled with at least 24 hours advance notice will result in termination of a reduced fee arrangement. Contact us to discuss a reasonable plan.

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Can you offer a monthly counseling plan?

People are on the go and insisting on more realistic and practical ways to seek healthcare. Our services can be offered in a method that is realistic, economical for one all-inclusive fee per month.  Whether it is for three 20-minute sessions a week, or 20 - 90 minute sessions once or more times monthly, whether by live chat, video, or face-to-face.  We also offer a similar telehealth-only monthly plan, ideal for our out-of-state clients in Florida and Arizona.  Contact us and we'll customize a flexible, realistic plan that works for you.

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What is your cancellation policy?

Lost time is prohibitively costly to any clinical practice.  There is never a fee charged for appointments cancelled / rescheduled with at least 24 hours notice, or missed due to emergencies. Missed appointments, or "no-shows", mean critically-lost time that cannot be given to another client who may need it, and often mean a significant investment of advance preparation. Appointments missed without at least 24 hours notice are charged a fee which must be paid before another appointment will be given. Missed appointments may result in future sessions not scheduled during higher-demand times, and will rescind any reduced fee arrangement. For our Intensives (two or more back-to-back sessions), a missed appointment fee is charged per each missed Intensive Session slot.

 

Do you provide therapy for active military / veterans?

It is a privilege to provide caring individual, couples, and family therapy for our military / veterans. We also provide trauma therapy for PTSD and MST (military sexual trauma).  We provide CPT, EMDR, CPT-SA, BCBT-SP.  We are an approved provider for our military and special forces on the Headstrong platform (https://getheadstrong.org/).  Go to the Headstrong website directly and get connected with us.

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Do you provide therapy for the legal profession?

Yes, we do. We are honored to be included as a Clinical Provider for judges, lawyers, and law students across the state for the Arkansas Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program (ARJLAP). Contact them directly at www.arjlap.org to get referred to us.  

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What are some therapeutic modalities, methods you utilize?

An ethical mandate that all therapists are held to is to practice in the best interests of the client, and to honestly and accurately represent their qualifications to the public. It would be irresponsible for Sincera Wellness to use a novel kind of therapy without proper training and a clear rationale for it. There's no fairy dust or unicorns at Sincera. Your life is serious business and that's how we treat it. We stick to work that is evidence-based (known as "EBT"), and respected in the profession.  

 

At Sincera Wellness, we practice evidence-based modalities that do not exploit or make you feel unsafe.  Our core masters-level and doctoral training was in systems theory, which recognizes that we are constantly in context of our surroundings. All are connected and we view you as a whole, complex, and marvelous, resilient being.  We practice a Rogerian (Dr. Carl Rogers) person-centered approach.  We take an eclectic, strengths-based approach that utilizes your competencies, successes, strengths, goals. We use principles of Ericksonian hypnotherapy, solution-focused approaches, emotionally focused therapy principles, relaxation / self-calming and resource development, visualization / guided imagery, mindfulness, attachment theory, emotion coach-parenting, radical acceptance, empty chair, principles of IFS (internal family systems) / parts work, as well as narrative therapy that encompasses workbooks, worksheets, books, articles, journalling.  We utilize CBT (cognitive-behavioral therapy) principles, where we explore options, and how thoughts, emotions, and behaviors all influence each other.  We take an intentional approach where you begin managing your life instead of it managing you.  

 

Our core philosophy at Sincera is that we never pathologize the client, or their efforts, and that even in trauma, we recognize and value that your brain is hardwired to instinctively move towards survival and healing. 

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Do you offer courses?

We absolutely do!  Contact us to explore our list of courses we have designed and offer that incorporate proven clinician-authored materials. Our courses run typically 6-8 weeks, meet once weekly from the comfort and privacy of your own home via Zoom for one set fee.  We lead courses on topics that include anger, attachment, anxiety, grief, marital/couples, premarital (specializing in the blended family couple), codependence / shame, divorce, cognitive-behavioral goals, parenting, coparenting (see our Parent Coordination page for more information on our coparenting courses that provide a certificate of completion to provide to your family court judge).  

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I want a therapist that is human, relatable, warm. I don't want a "perfect" robot treating me...

We're human.  And far from perfect. We've been through our own traumas, our own counseling, healing, deep losses, life lessons, growth.  One of the core principles of Sincera Wellness is that we do not take a "class distinction" approach, where the therapist is the "expert" and the client is stuck without the therapist's expertise.  You'll never sit in our office with the therapist poised imperiously behind a desk.  In fact, we explore, utilize and build upon your own expertise.  You know yourself better than anyone knows you. We passionately believe in your competencies, strengths.  In our sessions, we talk, we even laugh; it is safe, warm, and you are totally accepted and valued.

 

Relationship Checkup Assessment - 

- $165 per couple, including narrative report, which includes an array of proven, helpful resources. 

 

PREPARE / ENRICH Assessment - 

- Certified Facilitator couples assessment of strengths and growth areas.  Excellent for couples preparing for marriage, and married couples looking to enrich their marriage.  We specialize in working with the blended family couple.

 

Divorce Consultation - 

- $150 for one 1-hour consultation.  A non-therapy, focused, balanced consultation concerning divorce and what it may entail for you as an individual, couple, and family, particularly for the children, and we can provide grief / loss resources and coparenting resources.

 

Can we do counseling online and not just in your office?

Our telecounseling is private and HIPAA-compliant. We earned a State Board specialization in January, 2019, long before COVID's relaxation of rules, in TA ("technology-assisted") telemental health counseling for clients anywhere across the state of Arkansas. This is the "wave of the future"...the research tells us that across all healthcare disciplines, telehealth is as effective as face-to-face care  New Nationwide Poll Shows an Increased Popularity for Telehealth Services (psychiatry.org).   Telecounseling can take place by video, live chat, or telephone.  Face-to-face or remotely, our fees are the same. You can rest assured we are fully trained and meet all requirements per law, and our profession's ethics, concerning telecounseling. 

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Do you accept walk-ins?

Appointment only, please.  We offer flexible hours, including some evenings and Saturday mornings.

 

Do you provide emergency, crisis, inpatient, or after-hours services?

No.  If you have an emergency, please go to your nearest healthcare facility, ER, or call 911 or 988.

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Can you screen me for PTSD?  Can you provide therapy for trauma?

Yes. For both children and adults, we offer a comprehensive Trauma Assessment, as well as a separate Trauma Therapy Program if the Assessment demonstrates trauma / PTSD.  Please see our Trauma Therapy page.

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Can you offer counseling for grief / loss?

Certainly.  Grief and loss are not only about death, but any type of loss, whether the loss of a dream, a home, a pet, a relationship, body image, health, and the list goes on.  No grief, no loss, is silly or stupid.  We won't tell you you "should be over it by now" and we don't pathologize grief and loss. At the same time, we can identify ways when extended grief might be becoming problematic.  For example, clinical depression, inability to manage work and home, relationships, health, and quality of life are suffering.  We are a Certified Grief Counseling Specialist, honored to help clients of all ages with any type of grief or loss.  This is particularly helpful with our highly specialized training and work with trauma.

 

Are you available on any online platforms?

We are a licensed therapist on several various online platforms and provide contracted services through several corporations in three states to its members.  Many EAPs (employee assistance programs) actually refer out employees and their families to counseling through these excellent platforms and we provide alot of EAP counseling through online platforms.  

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Will you write a letter of endorsement for an emotional support animal?

Having decades of adopting rescue and shelter animals ourselves, we believe in the healing effect of animals.  Your service dog is always welcome at Sincera.  However, the issue of emotional support animals has become a contentious issue where some providers are unethically issuing ESA letters for a tidy profit and without an ongoing clinical relationship with the animal owner and virtually no veterinary or behavioral expertise in the breed of animal. Writing a letter of endorsement for an ESA can expose substantial liability to the animal owner, clinician, property owners, as well as to the public. The American Psychological Association and the American Counseling Association have issued position statements discouraging this practice Emotional Support Animal Position Statement - Human-Animal Interaction (apa-hai.org)    and   aca.final_version_esa14556_002.pdf (unh.edu) , and  Therapists should not write Emotional Support Animal letters (psychotherapynotes.com), https://www.apa.org/monitor/2016/09/pet-aid, https://www.apa.org/monitor/2016/09/pet-aid-sidebar.​

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My child is having a behavior problem. Can you help?

We believe behavior is a language. A symptom, not a cause, of a problem.  Kids often can't talk out a problem they're facing, so they act it out, and that's where "problematic behavior" comes from.  Behavior will tell you much - if you know how to listen.  We don't just treat children's behavior, but nearly any behavior of adults. We don't just topically treat "behavior", but go deeper and look for why it's occurring - as well as for how it may easily be being vicariously or directly reinforced.  What do you want to see less of, and see more of?  We believe from decades of experience and our training that positive approaches and reward instill more desired behavior than criticism and punishment.  "Anything rewarded, is repeated".  We are trained in conducting a professional and comprehensive FBA  (Functional Behavioral Assessment).  From there, together we create a realistic strengths-based plan to literally shape behavior.  

 

Do you turn anyone away because they might live or love or think or believe differently than you do?

That's a direct question, and we're going to give it the respect of a direct answer.  No.

 

What makes Sincera different than other, larger mental health providers?

Instead of trying to compete with larger, corporate-style providers, Sincera Wellness takes pride in specializing in its unique, smaller and more local nature. Bigger isn't always better. You are very important to us. We're boutique and personal enough to be relatable and warm, but still competent and professional.  We don't forget your name.  We regularly donate professional services, perform speaking engagements right here in our own neighborhood and well beyond. It is to all our benefit that the community, its families, businesses, churches, schools are healthy and thriving.    

 

We advocate for vulnerable populations who often cannot for themselves.  We welcome clients from all walks of life, experiences and backgrounds, and we treat everyone with respect and worth equally.  You'll almost never have to wait for your therapist, wait weeks or months for an appointment.  We are invested in you being a satisfied client.  You'll never be known to Sincera as just a number or an insurance reimbursement, but you, as the whole person. 

 

Can I just schedule my own appointment on your website without calling?

Convenient?  Of course.  But we're a little old school, and proud of it...we like the human approach.  It also circumvents the priceless opportunity we both have to talk with each other first. We're a believer that the therapeutic relationship begins long before you ever step into our office.  We look forward to the human touch and can't wait to talk with you!

 

Bariatric surgery is increasingly accepted. Sometimes counseling is required beforehand, though. Can you provide this?

Absolutely. Bariatric, or WLS (weight loss surgery), is finally recognized by major insurance companies as having enormous systemic benefits, including improved cardiac, diabetes, hypertension, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, and other conditions. WLS results in decreased healthcare costs and better quality of life.  We provide comprehensive counseling to prepare you for this life-changing procedure but also to help you set realistic goals, including empowering you to successfully handle the many permanent changes that will occur, and can include your spouse or partner in this approach.  Our approach empowers you to extend kindness and acceptance to your body that may have over the years come to feel like an enemy, that is non-punitive and gentle. Our philosophy is that you can't heal and learn to love and honor what you don't trust.  Often, there is an element of grief or loss involved for the body you no longer enjoy, and how it has affected your life.  It can also mean saying goodbye to sometimes lifelong patterns, habits, beliefs. We focus on not what you lose by taking this WLS step, but the good you are choosing to welcome in to your life. We can provide this service in coordination with your physician's or insurance company's requirement for pre-op counseling. One of the most frequently experienced areas of challenge or failure in this medical decision is not understanding necessary changes, as well as family influence and sometimes even cultural pressure.  We strongly recommend both post-op, as well as pre-op, bariatric counseling to help you better achieve the maximum long-term success.

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I'm not familiar with "Parent Coordination" and I need some help for my children in a nasty divorce...

This is a vastly unrecognized and underserved role and there are only a tiny handful of us trained PCs in the entire state of Arkansas.  Many legal and healthcare provider systems are unaware of the vast systemic benefits of this service and its multigenerational positive impact.  We are a trained Parent Coordinator (PC) for parents who are in a divorce or coparenting situation.  Please know that therapy, and parent coordination, are completely separate roles.  Coparenting counseling, and Parent Coordination, are not the same thing.  It would be unethical and not very objective for a therapist to provide Parent Coordination services while also serving as your therapist at the same time.  Parent Coordination is not a clinical, therapeutic role, and is not under HIPAA authority.  Typically, trained attorneys, therapists, psychologists, social workers may serve as PCs.   Working with an objective and fair trained PC can help prevent virtually years of traumatizing coparenting conflict and its effect on the children.

 

We are a certified approved facilitator in the "One Heart, Two Homes" coparenting curriculum, designed by MFT therapist team Jay & Tammy Daughtry.  We also offer the "Cooperative Parenting and Divorce" coparenting curriculum, designed by therapists Susan Boyan, LMFT and Ann Marie Termini, LPC. Both proven structured programs are endorsed by the legal, counseling, and pastoral professions, have been used in family court systems around the nation with great success, are oriented around systems theory, strengths- and evidence-based, and excellent when used as an individual or group course, coparenting class, or in coparenting counseling. Both programs include a certificate of completion for presentation to your family court judge. 

 

About half of all marriages will end in divorce.  Over 40% of children today are born into relationships that are often uncommitted and already experiencing coparenting strife. Sometimes if the coparents can't or won't come to a mutual agreement or work smoothly together for the children's benefit, the court must step in for the protection of the children.  Please see the "Parent Coordination" tab for more information. 

 

Do you offer Christ-centered therapy?

Yes, we do, and it is always at the choice of the client.  We are honored to pray with and for the client if they choose.  Our philosophy is that God is the ultimate Therapist, whose plan for living includes an understanding and mercy for our human fallibility, but also our minds, bodies, relationships, families, inner workings, and that He is an unconditionally loving and compassionate God.

 

Do you prescribe or recommend as a part of therapy, any alternative / naturopathic remedies, pharmaceuticals, psychotropics, psychedelics, herbals, oils, nutritional supplements, etc.?

Sincera Wellness would be venturing outside its professional scope of practice to either prescribe, sell, or recommend the use or effectiveness of any of these options.  We always encourage a medical evaluation by a physician to discuss any risks or benefits.  

 

Do you offer group therapy?

Groups are practical and economical.  $85 per individual or $105 per couple, per session. 

 

"Blended or Blitzed: Winning at the Blended Family Journey"... our own workbook.  Straightforward points on not falling prey to the most prevalent minefields determined to destroy your blended marriage and family before it even begins. Format suitable for e-course, group therapy, church, community group, seminar.  Available on Amazon Kindle (see link on "Library" tab).

 

The "PREPARE / ENRICH Assessment" is a proven resource that can help married and premarried couples quickly identify both strengths and growth areas.  We are a certified PREPARE / ENRICH Facilitator.  Contact us if you or your group, church, are interested in this valuable marital / premarital service, including offering a comprehensive premarital counseling program.  We specialize in working with the blended family couple.

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As a marriage & family therapist trained at Gottman method Level II we are qualified to offer the Gottman Relationship Checkup for couples. Astutely assessing 5 key areas of relationships, this psychometric tool is excellent for helping couples plan effective strategies and address particular areas. We provide a detailed narrative as well.

 

 

All couples, and parenting, options with Sincera Wellness, LLC can be easily customized for

the unique needs of the blended family and marriage.

 

 

We're coming from out of town and can't easily travel back and forth for weekly sessions.  Could you offer us "marathon sessions", or a "block" of sessions for one day?

Certainly.  We are pleased to offer convenient and practical back-to-back block sessions.  For example, several sessions in one day, with brief breaks in between.  We also offer Intensives, whether for couples, premarital, parenting, trauma, etc.  If you like, we are happy to recommend nearby good hotels, restaurants, etc. in this quiet award-winning lakefront resort community.

 

How does it usually work when you first see a client?  Generally, how do you do therapy?  What is your financial policy? 

The client is asked to arrive about 30 minutes early in order to complete paperwork.  Payment in full is due at time services are rendered.  The first session is a comprehensive initial intake up to 90 minutes and is $170.  When scheduling this intake session, your payment information (i.e. credit card) must be provided at that time in order for the appointment to be held.  If the Initial Intake appointment is missed without at least 24 hours advance notice, a $150 missed appointment fee will be charged.

 

The first session will be devoted to getting to know you, establishing the relevant history, and what goals the client would like to accomplish in therapy.  Therapy with Sincera usually takes an eclectic, strengths-based, person-centered and future-focused approach, focusing on your goals and your competence, always searching for your strengths and resources. We have a saying - "We look for the good in you. And we always find it."

 

Do you do speaking engagements for groups?

Absolutely, and we have done this frequently for both large and small groups.  We can discuss the array of topics that appeals to a range of audiences from married / premarried couples, families, women, classes, businesses, schools, clubs, churches, etc.  

 

Can I fill in the forms early and bring them with me to the first appointment?

Certainly.  Once your initial intake appointment is scheduled and your credit card information is provided to hold the first appointment, you are welcome to request the forms via MaryAnne@sincerawellness.net to complete and sign them in advance if you prefer, and bring them with you.  Or if it is more convenient for you, you may arrive 30 minutes early before the first appointment to complete them. 

 

Could you host a customized marriage encounter, intensive, or retreat for us?

Certainly. An Intensive is a set of two or more back-to-back sessions with brief breaks in between. We love creating Intensives, whether for couples, parenting, trauma, or other issues and they are replete with many options that can be customized just for you. Creative, open-ended options include doing so in the comfort of your own home, or at a resort location, which may include accommodations, a gift certificate for dinner for two, welcome basket, massage for two, in a relaxing setting, in an all-inclusive format.  We are in an award-winning, relaxing resort community, near a lake with record world class fishing, clean water, beautiful scenery, a new hotel with restaurant and spa services available, and award-winning golf courses.  Contact us for details.

 

Do you offer counseling / therapy services for employers and their employees?

Yes.  The research has confirmed that employees, being the human beings they are, do in fact "bring their problems to work with them", and this can have a dramatic impact on turnover, absenteeism, low employee morale, lowered profits and job dissatisfaction.  Happier employees - and their families - often make for a better business bottom line.  We take a preventive, wellness-oriented and strengths-based focus.   If you would like a consultation on providing a structured monthly or annual plan for your employees, please contact us.

 

I want to start therapy, but I'm afraid if my employer or family pays for it, or finds out about it, they'll be able to get information about me, or my records...

This is an understandable and common concern.  Clients have a right to confidentiality, but there are limits as well.  Someone else paying for or arranging for your therapy does not automatically mean they have the right to information about it. We are committed to protecting your privacy within HIPAA specifications. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with your rights and limitations of privacy and confidentiality at 

https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-individuals/guidance-materials-for-consumers/index.html .  

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What is your position on working with churches?

Any church is only as healthy as its leadership and members.  We can contribute a very helpful grief, parenting, divorce, coparenting, premarital, and marital resource to your church.  We can offer a 30-minute talk to a small group, to a half-day, full-day or 2-day teaching seminar or larger conference. Referrals by churches are always welcome, whether of staff or members, and again, confidentiality is assured under HIPAA guidelines.    

 

You work with blended families and marriages.  Can you explain what makes a blended family different than a traditional family?

Few counselors or churches are equipped to address the widely-systemic needs of the blended family.  Did you know there are over a staggering 60 versions of the "blended family"?  Ever heard of the "hybrid blended family"?  We are a Recognized Therapy Provider through the "Smart Stepfamilies" program by Ron Deal, LPC, LMFT, widely considered by clinical professionals as the foremost clinician in the nation on the blended family.  Our culture assumes that the blended family has few differences from the "traditional" family.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The blended family and marriage have usually already witnessed hurt, anger, loss of security and stability, shattered trust, loss of a support network, loss of a dream and plans for the future, present and future financial disruption, questioning of their faith, loss of a home, and have had to make severe adjustments that can often take years.  One area consistently ignored is that both children and adults in a blended family are often still suffering from grief and loss.  The remarriage statistically experiences another divorce about 65-70% of the time, with a third marriage at even higher risk.  

 

 

We are committed to not only supporting the blended family and coparents but helping the church, school, business, and community become more educated about and supportive of the unique challenges and strengths of the blended family and coparents.

 

 

We're going through a divorce.  Can I bring my children in for therapy?  Could we do therapy, even if we're divorcing, or already divorced?

Absolutely. In fact, we recommend counseling for any child (really, any parent) when the parents' relationship breaks up.  "Divorce or parental separation" are included as one of the pivotal "Adverse Childhood Experiences" (ACEs), a groundbreaking study by the Kaiser Permanente organization and the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention. ACEs have been absolutely proven to be associated with health and social problems that children suffer, sometimes over a lifetime. 

 

Sincera Wellness is a listed provider with the website "Divorceify" ( https://divorceify.com/professional/profile/arkansas/therapist/mary-anne-gunter).  Simply enter the zipcode "72088", for our profile.

 

I'm considering calling a divorce attorney.  I'm not sure how a divorce will affect me or my family. Is there something that might help me make a more informed decision?

The irrefutable fact is that about half of marriages will end in divorce.  Even as a professional marriage & family therapist, we realize that not every marriage can be saved. Or wants to be. We have seen some people become emotionally healthy after a divorce, as well as some make their marriage stronger than ever before.  We are not going to attempt to talk you into or out of a divorce.  We provide a non-judgmental, fair and balanced one-hour (non-therapy) consultation for anyone considering divorce.  It often isn't divorce itself that can deeply hurt children (yet it usually does), as much as the chronic parental conflict during and after the divorce. 

 

Seeking  professional therapy is often considerably less costly for everyone (not only financially) than actually proceeding with a divorce.  Divorce is ranked as one of the highest life stressors a person can experience.  Sincera Wellness cannot ethically advise you on legal matters.  Please seek legal counsel for any legal matter.

 

$150 for a one-hour professional consultation, which includes an array of proven, objective resources, goal-setting, and discussing cooperative parenting, all of which can aid in making this critically important lifetime decision a well-informed and responsible one.

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Can you help us rebuild our relationship after an affair?

​According to Divorcestatistics.info, "Surveys show that 22% of married men have committed an adulterous act at least once in their life, 14% of married women have had affairs at least once during their married lives...".  Contrary to popular cultural belief, often a marriage / relationship can be restored after infidelity.  It's not about a dozen roses and an apology, but requires deep, transparent work and commitment to rebuilding, as well as atonement and acknowledging the trauma inflicted on the partner and relationship. We will not offer this therapy where the partner who has engaged in infidelity rationalizes, justifies, or minimizes the devastation to the other partner, family, children, or to the relationship  The Cause and Effect of Partner Betrayal Trauma | Psychology Today , or is still involved in a relationship with the outside party.  Sincera can offer this therapy as an Intensive.

 

What is "The Good Goodbye"?

Endings are also beginnings.  Ending a relationship can also bring with it new growth, health, new goals and a re-start in life. We are truly unique in that we also offer a dignified and affirming "The Good Goodbye" session(s) for former partners who have made the conscious decision to end their romantic relationship, while still choosing to remain mutually-respectful partners in parenting, and/or to reflect on the things they learned positively and gained through the experience of their past relationship.

 

What is the policy on seeing children as clients?

As a systems theory-trained therapist, we examine the challenges children experience through the lens of the larger, surrounding context, such as family.  No minor may be seen by Sincera Wellness without the signed authorization of the legal custodial parent or guardian before the first appointment.  In cases of divorce, custody, visitation, etc., then a copy of an executed Court Order, designating the legal custodial parent / legal guardian, will be required before the first appointment before the child will be seen.  

 

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