Frequently Asked Questions

What is therapy? Therapy involves discussing your painful emotions, experiences, and relationships with a professional who has training and experience to offer insight and advice to help you heal, change, and grow.

How long does therapy take? This is a common question that must be answered on an individual basis. Variables that affect the length of treatment include: number of issues a client wishes to address, how long has the current problem existed, does the client attend sessions regularly, and does the client make the suggested changes.

How often do we need to come? Most of our clients come once a week. When clients are experiencing a crisis, multiple sessions a week may be desirable.

Will our insurance pay for the costs of therapy? Your insurance company may pay for some of the costs of therapy depending on your diagnosis and your particular policy. Many insurance companies do not pay for marital therapy. Neither Dr. Laird nor Dr. Shari is a contracted provider with any insurance company. We do have clients who use the “outside of network” benefit of their policy to help defray the cost of therapy. (This option is not available for clients with HMO coverage.) This benefit reimburses you for psychological care at a lower rate than if you used a provider that was part of your network. Generally, we ask that you pay our fee at the time services are rendered (at each session). We will then supply you with monthly superbills that you may submit to your insurance carrier. Your insurance company will then reimburse you directly.

What methods of payment do you accept? We accept cash or a check made payable to BPS (Bridgman Psychological Services). Sorry, we do not accept credit cards.

How do I know if I, or someone I care about, need therapy? Any time you have emotional or relationship issues that are affecting your ability to function at work, at home, or at school, you probably need therapy. If you find yourself tearful, angry, fatigued, irritable, anxious, nervous or if others have commented that you “don’t seem yourself lately” these are good indictors that it is time to invest in some therapy.

What are the costs of therapy? Therapy costs vary from therapist to therapist, and may vary by the type of service being provided. Your therapist will discuss the fees with you.

How long is a therapy session? A typical therapy session is 45-50 minutes long. Dr. Laird works on a 50-minute session and Dr. Shari works on a 45-minute session.

What can I expect from my first session? Generally in the first session we review our therapy agreement, discuss the problems for which you are seeking help, get background information from you (which may include school history, work history, significant relationships and experiences among other things), and begin to set goals for treatment.

How can I maximize my therapy experience? It is always helpful when clients make their therapy a priority by consistently attending their sessions and completing any homework assigned by their therapist. We recommend that our clients bring a pad and paper to write down significant insights or information that they want to make sure they remember and incorporate into their healing process. It is important that you come to each session with an idea of what you would like to discuss. Many of our clients choose to use our form, “How to prepare for a therapy session” which is available for download from this website.