Frequently Asked Questions
Getting Started
Your first step is to reach out to our intake coordinator. You can give us a call at (608) 886-9595 Extension 0, send an email to hello@kindtherapyllc.com or complete our website contact form, whichever method feels most comfortable for you. We do our best to reply to all inquiries as quickly as possible, and no later than within two business days. Our admin team does not work on Fridays. We cannot guarantee that email and contact form submissions are 100% secure.
We usually have limited openings for new clients. Our availability is always changing as clients meet their goals and transition out of therapy, while new clients join us. Your best bet is to reach out to our intake coordinator to receive real-time information on our openings. Our after school and evening slots are often booked further in advance than our mid-day appointments. Our availability may depend on the flexibility of your schedule.
During the first appointment, your therapist will answer any questions you have about our informed consent and privacy policies. We will spend the rest of the time getting to know you, understanding your history and current concerns, and starting to talk through your goals for therapy. We understand clients coming to us are seeking answers and tools as quickly as possible, and we also know that we are going to be most effective in helping you find the right tools for change if we first have a comprehensive understanding of you and your needs and concerns. The second appointment will often be more focused on interventions and strategies.
Minor Clients
The first session for child clients is a parent-only session. This allows us to talk openly about the concerns that you have about your child, and ask detailed questions about their history and behaviors without the child present. It also allows us to get to know the parents and understand how we can best support parents with meeting their child’s goals.
We want to focus on building rapport and emotional safety in the therapy room during your child’s first appointment, and find that it’s hard to do this when we are talking about the child’s behaviors in front of them. Children will attend the second appointment with a parent/guardian present for the first part of the session. Teens ages 15+ can choose to attend the first session with a parent/guardian if they would like.
Initial appointments are usually 50-60 minutes. Ongoing sessions are usually 50-55 minutes in duration.
Scheduling, Insurance & Logistics
Absolutely! We strive to offer flexible appointment options to meet busy schedules. All of our therapists offer both in person and virtual sessions. Many clients choose to do a combination of virtual and in person sessions. All of our therapists offer in person sessions at our Fitchburg office. Some of our therapists also have dedicated virtual/telehealth days when they work from home.
Of course! The therapists on our team offer after school and evening slots (defined as 4pm or later). These are our most in demand appointment times, and we strive to schedule these as fairly as possible. We have more demand than available times for these slots, so we often ask clients to be flexible with daytime appointments as well. We are able to offer school and work excuse notes, just ask us if you need one.
We proudly accept Quartz, Dean, Blue Cross Blue Shield, The Alliance (including UW SHIP), and Medicaid/Forward Health plans with no HMO or the above HMOs. Some of our therapists are unable to take all of these insurances, so please check with us to make sure your insurance is a match for the clinician you would like to see.
Clients are responsible for the full cost of sessions if insurance does not cover services, and clients are responsible for knowing what their benefits and out of pocket costs are. If you have questions about your specific policy, we encourage you to call the phone number on the back of your insurance card. We also accept HSA/flex spending cards for out of pocket costs. Payment is due at time of service.
While we always want to support the use of insurance benefits, we do not bill insurance for couples therapy, as it is not considered a “medical necessity” by insurance. To bill insurance for couples therapy, we need to diagnose one partner with a mental health diagnosis, and all sessions and documentation must be focused on treatment of that partner’s mental health needs. This can interfere with our ability to effectively work with partners relationally, and it can skew the treatment towards one individual’s concerns rather than the relational dynamic between the couple.
Therefore, most couple sessions are an out-of-pocket expense. Health savings account and flex spending plan dollars can often be used for these appointments, if you have this benefit available to you.
Values & Specialties
Yes! All of our child and adult therapists are LGBTQIA+ allies and are tuned into the unique systemic challenges the LGBTQ+ community is facing. We provide affirming, competent, and compassionate care to LGBTQIA+ folx. We support clients with exploring identity, navigating relationship challenges, and addressing mental health concerns. We also maintain relationships with local community resources and organizations that specifically serve the LGBTQIA+ population so we can provide comprehensive support.
Our perinatal therapists have specific, advanced training and clinical experience serving the people during pregnancy and postpartum. We understand best practices and evidence-based interventions for this specific population. We support clients struggling with fertility challenges, pregnancy or infant loss, birth trauma, NICU experiences, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, identity challenges, relational concerns, and the adjustment to parenthood. We offer individualized care and understand the unique needs and experiences of the perinatal period.
Our practice is a locally owned practice designed to be a warm, inviting and inclusive space. We love what we do, and we think our passion shines through in our work with clients. We are intentionally small and strive to create a personalized environment for our clients and their families. All of our therapists live in the Madison area and are committed to supporting the needs of our local community. Many of our therapists have 15+ years of experience, and they all have specialized training in treating trauma and working with specific populations. We aim to provide the highest quality care to our clients.
Therapy Format & Frequency
This really depends on your needs, goals, and the complexity of your presenting concerns. After the first few sessions, your therapist should be able to provide you with a detailed plan regarding session frequency and estimated length of treatment. We generally recommend meeting more frequently (weekly is ideal) at the beginning of treatment so we can get to know you and get some interventions in place to provide relief. Once you begin to make some progress towards your goals, we often begin to space out the frequency of sessions, and work towards a gradual transition out of services.
It is most helpful to commit to at least 4 sessions initially to start to allow time for you and your therapist to work collaboratively on strategies for your goals.
Clients usually make more progress and reach goals more efficiently when they are willing and able to work on their therapy goals between sessions outside of the office.
Yes! Caregiver involvement is a strong value at Kind Therapy. You are the expert on your child and we want to collaborate with you to explore ideas for helping your child meet their goals. Please work with your child’s therapist to determine the right frequency of parent-only sessions for your family.
Additionally, our therapists will often request parents/caregivers participate in a “check in” or “check out” at the beginning or end of the child’s session to receive updates and share what their child can work on at home or school between therapy sessions.
Other Concerns
Starting therapy takes a lot of courage. Many people feel nervous about starting this process, and that is okay. Our intake coordinator will listen without pressure or judgement to your concerns and help talk you through your options.
We are always happy to offer a phone consultation with a specific therapist before moving forward with scheduling so you can get a brief feel for that therapist’s style and personality. If you’d like to have a call with a therapist before scheduling, just let us know.
We want you to receive the best possible care, so we refer clients to other community agencies when we believe clients would be better supported by a different provider or team with more specialized training. We refer out clients needing support with substance use disorders, eating disorders, and clients who are experiencing acute and/or chronic thoughts of harming themselves or others. We are happy to provide local referral options for agencies that provide these services.
We do not have the ability to provide 24/7 crisis support and do not specialize in crisis services. We are not the best fit for individuals struggling with thoughts of harming themselves or others. If this is the case for you or your loved one, we encourage you to reach out for crisis support.
