Are sessions currently conducted in person?
All IOP sessions are currently operating in-person only. Evening groups have an in-person and virtual option through a confidential video, tele-health application.
What are the benefits of group therapy?
Group therapy can help struggling individuals find people to relate to, develop better communication skills, and improve socialization skills. It also allows the patient to increase their ability to express themselves in a clear and authentic way. This also opens the door for patients to get constructive feedback that may allow them to be more effective in their lives outside of the therapy environment.
Do you need a doctor’s referral?
No. You do not need a referral to attend our programs. We are able to conduct the initial pre-authorization with your insurance company in order to establish the medical necessity for your participation in our program.
Are the sessions covered by insurance?
We are an out-of-network provider for all insurance companies. It is important for you to contact your insurance company to make sure you have out-of-network mental health benefits which cover intensive outpatient programs (CPT code S9480).
We do not submit billing invoices/paperwork to your insurance company. Patients need to submit invoices directly to their insurance company for reimbursement. Petoskey Center requires patients to pay upfront for their treatment and will provide patients with superbills/invoices that can be submit for reimbursement. Petoskey Center does not accept any payment directly from insurance companies.
Insurance companies have stringent requirements for what constitutes medical necessity for any given treatment. Insurance companies view the IOP level of care as crisis intervention. Consequently, that often limits the time that they allow for patients to participate in IOP level of care.
By contrast, we consider IOP level of care as an opportunity to work beyond crisis and into a more thorough management of patients’ mental health difficulties. Therefore, you may want to continue treatment with us beyond the time that your insurance agrees as medically necessary. Every six weeks we will collaborate with you to determine whether it makes sense to discharge or to continue for another 6 weeks.
Do you prescribe medication?
No. We do not prescribe medication, however we may suggest that you consult with a psychiatrist if we feel that medication could be a useful addition to your treatment regimen. Additionally, we are happy to collaborate with your psychiatrist or primary care physician to coordinate care.
If you are in need of group therapy or intensive outpatient care (IOP) and you live in the greater Houston area — Sugarland, Katy, The Woodlands, Conroe, League City, Pearland, Bellaire, Richmond, or anywhere in Texas — we encourage you to contact our office today to schedule your initial intake assessment appointment!
What is the intake process?
Before you can officially begin treatment at Petoskey Center, you will need to schedule an intake.
We encourage you to call to find out more about our programming and have an initial conversation with Dr. Markey. This will give you a better understanding of our programs/services and help our team collaborate with you to determine whether our program would be a good fit for your needs.
Upon scheduling an intake assessment, you will be sent forms to complete which we ask that you return to us on the day of or before your initial assessment. If you have had a psychological assessment or have recently discharged from the hospital, it can also be helpful to provide us with the reports or discharge summaries.
During the actual face-to-face intake, you will meet with Dr. Jennifer Markey. Together, we will 1) explore your current physical, mental, and emotional difficulties, 2) identify how these issues impact your daily functioning, and 3) clarify your treatment goals.
We will work to determine a treatment plan that fits your needs, and, when appropriate, we will determine your start date.
For some patients, it can be incredibly difficult to talk about and face the reality of their issues, but we will do our best to help you feel comfortable as you work to share your life experiences with us.
You can have the utmost degree of confidence that our team of expert therapists will respond to you with understanding and compassion at every turn.
What types of therapy are included in the Intensive Outpatient Program?
I. Mentalization-Based Therapy
Mentalizing tasks the patient with understanding the inner workings of their minds and the minds of others. Specifically, mentalizing is the psychological process individuals use to understand emotions, beliefs, and other factors that impact interpersonal interactions. Whether you are conscious of it or not, mentalizing is a critical part of the human experience. If you find yourself frequently caught up in negative thought patterns or making assumptions about yourself or others that don’t always pan out, learning to mentalize may help you come to understand the world, yourself, and others more effectively.
Peter Fonagy, Anna Freud Chief Executive, is Head of the Division of Psychology and Language Sciences at the UCL; Chief Executive of the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, London; Consultant to the Child and Family Programme at the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine; and holds visiting professorships at Yale and Harvard Medical Schools.
Jon G. Allen, PhD, senior staff psychologist at The Menninger Clinic, talks with Janice Poplack, LCSW, director of Social Work, about mentalizing and the role it plays in attachment relationships.
III. Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
Jonathan Shedler, PhD is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), faculty member at the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis, and Consulting Supervisor at California Pacific Medical Center. He is creator of the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure (SWAP) for personality diagnosis and clinical case formulation, and co-author of the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM-2).
IV. Family Dynamics
V. Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Dr. Marsha Linehan, the developer of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), explains who can use DBT Skills.