Commonly Asked Questions

How long will my wait be for an appointment? Why is there a waitlist?

Our Client Care Specialist reviews each online appointment request in order to place you with a clinician as quickly as possible. Factors that may contribute to your wait time for an appointment include: requesting evening, afternoon, or weekend appointments; requesting a specific clinician; or requesting in person versus telehealth appointments. Because our clinicians generally see the same clients each week for recurring appointments, openings for new clients are only available if a recurring appointment time opens up or we add clinician hours, or a new clinician to our team. For these reasons, we keep a waiting list that we evaluate on a weekly basis. If you have completed the form and have not heard from us, we do encourage you to email (info@traumaspecialistsofmd.com), call (301-304-7108 x 812) or text (301-323-8015) to let us know that you’re still interested in obtaining an appointment.

How does scheduling an appointment work?
  • We do our best to match each client with a clinician that will be able to address their specific treatment goals as we understand that the building of therapeutic rapport is essential for success in therapy.  If you have requested an appointment with a specific clinician and they are not available, we often have another wonderful clinician that may be able to see you in a timely manner.  All of our clinicians are trained in EMDR and receive extensive ongoing training in order to best serve our clients.  

  • When an appointment is offered, we allow 24 hours for you to respond before offering the time to another potential client.  These appointment times are specific for each clinician and will be the time that you will be seen each week unless you request another arrangement with the clinician at their discretion. Please note that there may not be additional flexibility due to the nature of our office schedules.  

 

How do I access my Client Portal?
  • Your client record is entirely electronic. All intake forms will be sent via our client portal. You can also use your client portal to access and view your billing. When you are scheduled for your first appointment, you will be provided with access to our client portal with the email that you provided when completing your appointment request. Please see the following guides if you have questions about accessing your portal.
  • Client Portal Login How to Guide
What should I expect when arriving at my first in person appointment?
  • If your visit is in person, please take a seat in our waiting room upon entry to one of our offices.  We ask that you limit your cell phone usage so as not to disrupt clients that may also be waiting or in session with their clinician. Your clinician will come to the waiting area to bring you to their office at the time of your appointment.  If you find that you are left waiting for more than 10 minutes after your designated appointment time, please call or email your clinician directly.  If you are a parent accompanying a minor, we ask that you not stay in the waiting area during the appointment to limit the number of people in our buildings and waiting rooms.

What should I expect for my first Telehealth appointment?

If you have a Telehealth appointment, please make sure you are in a comfortable, private space free from distractions and a reliable internet connection.  Due to Licensing regulations, you must be physically located in the state of Maryland for all Telehealth sessions.  There are some exceptions to this rule, based on state by state licensing regulations.  Please talk with our Client Care Specialist or your therapist if you will be in a State other than Maryland for your Telehealth session. You will receive an email link 10 minutes prior to your session and will be placed into a virtual waiting room until your clinician is ready for you.  If our system is down, we will often use Google Meet as a back-up.  Should Google Meet be required, your clinician will send you an individual link and communicate via email.  Further instructions regarding Telehealth will be provided to you when you are scheduled for your initial appointment.   If you find that you are left waiting for more than 10 minutes after your designated appointment time, please call or email your clinician directly. 

What Covid precautions are you taking?
  • Upon entry to our offices, you will find the seating in our waiting areas is socially distanced and air purifiers are present to prevent the spread of germs.  Please put on a mask prior to entering the building.  If you need a mask, one will be made available to you when your clinician brings you to their office for your session.  If you are a parent bringing a minor we ask that you do not stay in the waiting area during the entire appointment to limit the number of people in our buildings. We also ask that anyone experiencing any Covid symptoms please refrain from entering our office space. 

  • If you are ill or have been exposed to COVID-19 and have an In-Person appointment, please notify your clinician immediately to reschedule or arrange for a Telehealth Appointment.  Per Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations, we are limiting the number of individuals in our offices to limit potential for exposure to our staff and our clients.  This policy is subject to change as CDC recommendations are updated.  You will be notified of modifications or changes to our policy through your clinician or notification via your client portal in Simple Practice.

Do you offer couples or family therapy?
  • We seek to meet the needs of all of our clients and do provide resources for relationship support.  We do not exclusively offer couples therapy and would be happy to refer you to other providers that may be able to assist in this important aspect of your life.  Family therapy is often provided to our minor clients as we believe that supporting the family ultimately supports the child.  If you have multiple family members that would benefit from therapy, we will connect each person to their own clinician.  It is possible that couples therapy may not be a covered benefit with your insurance plan.  Please let us know if you have any questions about scheduling these appointments. 

 

What other resources does Trauma Specialists of Maryland offer to support my therapy?
What type of insurance do you take?

Trauma Specialists of Maryland  is in network with most Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, excluding Maryland Medicare and Medicaid. We highly recommend that new clients verify their mental health insurance benefits before scheduling an appointment with us. If you have a BCBS plan, we will contact your plan and verify your specific financial responsibility (typically before your first appointment) and you will be notified of your portion of the cost. If you are covered by an insurance plan other than Blue Cross Blue Shield, we require full payment at the time services are rendered. We can provide you with a monthly Superbill that can be submitted to most out of network insurance plans for reimbursement, if you are eligible for out of network coverage.

If you are a self-pay client, we have Clinical Interns that are available to see you for a reduced rate of $30 per session.

 

What is autopay?

We prefer to set all client accounts to autopay. This allows our system to automatically charge the credit card on file overnight for any balance due. This means that all copays, co-insurance, deductibles, and no show or late cancellation fees would be charged automatically to the credit card you provided securely through the client portal.

What is your cancellation policy?

Please remember to cancel or reschedule 24 hours in advance. You will be responsible for the entire fee if cancellation is less than 24 hours.

The standard meeting time for psychotherapy is 55 minutes. It is up to you, however, to determine the length of time of your sessions. Requests to change the 55-minute session needs to be discussed with the therapist in order for time to be scheduled in advance.

Telehealth appointments are available to our clients as a means of accessing therapy.  Please be aware that certain Insurance Carriers may have different coverage for Telehealth appointments.  While we do our best to verify your coverage for these appointments, the client is responsible for any additional fees or coverages that may not be covered with their insurance provider.

Cancellations will be subject to a full charge if NOT RECEIVED AT LEAST 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE. This is necessary because a time commitment is made to you and is held exclusively for you. If you are late for a session, you may lose some of that session time.  The clinician reserves the right to fully cancel your session and charge the missed session fee should you arrive more than 15 minutes late for your appointment without notifying the clinician. This is applicable for both In-Person and Telehealth Sessions.

Clients that have a high frequency of missed appointments, late arrival to appointments or late cancellations may be subject to termination of services as outlined below.

What is your Financial Policy?

Please visit the Fees and Policies section of our website for further information regarding our Financial Policies.

 

What services do you provide?

Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

Neurofeedback

Group therapy

Family therapy

Alpha Stim

Internal Family Systems (IFS)

What types of concerns does your practice treat? 

This list is not in any way comprehensive of all things our clinicians treat. It is simply a glimpse of some common requests.

Anxiety

Depression

Grief

Trauma

Sexual abuse

Suicidal thoughts

Interpersonal violence

Self harm

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Behavioral issues

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

Attachment

Life transitions

Bipolar

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

Dissociation

Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

How does Trauma Specialists of Maryland provide support to the Frederick Community?

Trauma Specialists believes in promoting growth and understanding of trauma not just for individual clients but for the community as a whole.  We have partnerships with Frederick County Public Schools, Family Partnership, The Child Advocacy Center, The Frederick County Department of Social Services, The Rotary Club of Carroll Creek, 2nd Street and Hope and City Youth Matrix.  We are also the leading provider for EMDR training in the region and have trained clinicians within Frederick County Public Schools, the Mental Health Association and the Department of Health and Social Services in Delaware.  We also offer ongoing training towards EMDR Certification through our EMDR Circle for Clinicians across the country. 

What is Neurofeedback?

Neurofeedback is a computer-based biofeedback program that uses EEG (electro encephalogram) brainwave monitoring to help clients retrain and regulate their brainwave activity to improve brain function. Neurofeedback can help to alleviate your symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, mood and anxiety disorders, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficits, sleep disruption, and seizure conditions. Using neurofeedback, clinicians identify areas of brainwave dysfunction and help you to regulate brain function by treating the issue at the source.

Treatment consists of weekly appointments for an average of 20 weeks. Every brain is unique and neurofeedback is highly individualized. Some people need fewer sessions, and others more. During neurofeedback, a trained, licensed mental health clinician will place sensors on your head that allow a computer to read your EEG. It translates the information into a computer game that uses sound and visual feedback to help you learn to create a calm, more stable brain. Between sessions you should begin to notice changes in the symptoms that brought you to therapy.

Unless you are already in the care of a mental health professional, neurofeedback training at Trauma Specialists of Maryland typically includes psychotherapy. Neurofeedback will not change your personality, make you do things you don’t want to do, or allow the clinician to read your mind. Most people find it helps them.

Please see https://isnr.org/neurofeedback-introduction for more information, including site links to research showing positive results.

 

 

What is the difference between a therapist who is a licensed social worker and a licensed professional counselor?

There are two types of Master’s level therapists. LCSW-C, LCSW, or LMSW licensed therapists hold a master’s degree in social work. LCPC and LGPC licensed therapists hold a master’s degree in professional counseling or psychology.  Both degrees prepare therapists for individual, group, and family therapy through coursework as well as intensive clinical internships. In our practice both licensed social workers and licensed professional counselors go through the same training to be able to treat trauma.