
When you enroll in therapy, you have every reason to expect a personalized experience that is tailored to your needs, your goals, and the areas that you want to work on. When you enter my practice, you get me … my knowledge, expertise, life experience, and my personality. If you and I are a good fit – a good therapist-client team – then you can expect that therapy will be an experience you look forward to each session, and one that enriches and broadens your life in wonderful ways.
A therapist that is a good fit for you is someone that gets you – she is someone who can enter your world while staying firmly grounded in her own. She is someone who truly loves her work and is fulfilled by helping people like you heal and grow to the next level of their lives. Please, don’t stay with a therapist that you don’t feel a strong connection to. Give her a chance – after all, relationships need time to grow and develop – but if it’s just not happening, close out your treatment and search elsewhere. That includes me! Therapists are only human, and sometimes the connection between human beings just doesn’t form for some reason.
And please, don’t just go to a therapist because she is in-network for your insurance! You don’t know how many times I pick up the phone, and before the caller even explains why they are seeking therapy, they ask “Do you take X insurance?” Sometimes the answer is yes – but being on your insurance panel does not mean I am a good fit for you! I still even have men calling me, when it is clear from my website and other marketing materials that I have a niche practice focusing on women and children. They just found me on their insurance list and called. Although I have made great connections with many people whose initial concern was whether I was on their insurance, it would have been a lot less risky for them to screen me in other ways first.
A related concern is when I have to tell the caller “No, I am not in-network for your insurance.” All too often that is the end of the conversation. This really is a sad situation, because that caller and I might have made a great team. So, I would like to make a case for allowing insurance to go on the back burner when you’re deciding whether to go to therapy and which therapist to partner with.
Therapy pays stupendous life dividends. No really, it does. How many times have I heard someone say as we are concluding treatment, “I didn’t really think I needed therapy, but my doctor wanted me to go, so I did … and now I have gained so much from this experience.” Can you put a price tag on recovery from depression and anxiety? Can you put a price tag on getting your life back after a trauma? Can you put a price tag on having a safe place to grieve and heal? I didn’t think so.
Therapy is really not that expensive. Oh, I know it seems expensive when you first hear the hourly rates. However, remember that it’s a flat rate for my time. I don’t prescribe medications or take people to surgery so you are not facing astronomical hospital or pharmacy bills when you come to see me. Also, I accept that, for the most part, long-term therapy is a thing of the past. Our lifestyles just don’t allow for being in therapy indefinitely. Rather, early in the treatment process we identify the core issues you want to work on, and we frequently evaluate where you are in achieving your goals.
Therapy is flexible. Unlike medical treatment, I can provide treatment on a schedule that you find personally and financially comfortable. Yes, I prefer for you to schedule a session every week because you achieve your personal goals faster that way. However, I don’t schedule you more frequently than weekly, because you need time to reflect on what we’ve talked about and to practice new ways of being.
Therapy is a real thing. It’s real people working on their real problems with the help of someone with real expertise. It is backed by science and regulated by state governments. I am fully and independently licensed by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists (which is an arduous process!). I have a PhD in clinical psychology with a concentration in parent-infant mental health. I have experience with women and children of all ages, and particularly experience with perinatal women. Perhaps most importantly – I wouldn’t be investing my own life in this if I did not firmly believe that therapy improves lives.
Therapy is worth every penny. Even with my level of education and experience, I still engage in my own therapy process from time to time. I pay for it just like everyone else. I want to move to a higher level in my life, and engaging with a therapist who really GETS me and my life issues is the way to do it.
Honestly, we frail humans tend to value what we have to sacrifice for. I suspect that people work harder to improve their lives when it costs them to do so. Viewed in this way, paying full price out of pocket for a really good therapist is a positive, not a negative. It makes you more determined to be a valuable member of the team.
If we are a good team, and I am in-network for your insurance, then that’s awesome. I hope you work just as hard in therapy as if you were paying out of pocket. You won’t regret it! If I’m out-of-network though, please don’t let that one factor keep you from teaming up with me. Let’s explore whether your needs and my expertise, as well as our personalities, mesh well together. Therapy doesn’t last forever, but the positive effects of therapy will.
ABOUT ME
I am Dr. Kimberly Thompson, a clinical psychologist in private practice in Lubbock, Texas. I work with mothers and their children to help them heal, grow, and live their most vibrant lives. My particular expertise is pregnant and postpartum women, and moms of “littles.” My book, Perfect Mothers Get Depressed, is available on Amazon and from Praeclarus Press. If you live within driving distance of Lubbock, you can work with me face-to-face; if you live anywhere else in the state of Texas, you can work with me via online therapy. Send me a message if you need more information, or call my office at (806) 224-0200 if you’re ready to book an appointment.