COMMON QUESTIONS

Yes! Dr. Poysky PhD is currently accepting new clients for evaluations. Ages 2 1/2 -18 Alyssa L. Muchaw, MA, LPC, ADHD-CCSP, NCC is currently accepting new clients for therapy/counseling services. Sarah Joyner MA, LPC , NCC is accepting new clients for therapy/counseling services. Chase Monroe, LPC Associate, NCC is accepting new clients for therapy/counseling services. Kate Ziegler, Performance Coach, is accepting new youth athlete clients. Kelsey Gibson, LSSP, is accepting clients for school district IEE's

Thank you for reaching out! At KCPA, we are a self-pay-only practice, so we do not bill insurance directly. However, we’re happy to provide you with a Superbill (a detailed receipt) that you can submit to your insurance provider for potential reimbursement. We recommend the following steps: Contact your insurance company to inquire about your out-of-network benefits. Ask about the process for submitting a Superbill for reimbursement and any documentation they might require. Keep records of all communications for reference. If you have any additional questions or need assistance with obtaining a Superbill, please don’t hesitate to reach out—we’re here to help!

An evaluation is recommended when there are concerns about different areas of functioning (e.g., social/emotional, academic achievement, behavioral, adaptive) and when there are concerns about more than one condition (e.g., a child is showing signs of anxiety, attention problems, and learning problems). Testing can also help us evaluate for the presence and severity of anxiety/mood disorders, AD/HD, behavioral disorders, and developmental disorders. Evaluation is also helpful in cases where the child is not making progress with his/her current treatment plan and they are being referred for evaluation to help figure out diagnostically what is going on to help guide the treatment plan (in therapy, educational planning, and medication management). In general therapy would be recommended when a child has already been evaluated and/or diagnosed and the family is seeking treatment for that issue, such as seeking cognitive behavior therapy for anxiety or depression or behavior therapy with parent training for oppositional preschoolers and children.

Please visit our Visit Rates page for detailed financial information. In general a 3 appointment evaluation with 2-4 hours of testing can range from $1380 - $2280. In some cases more time is needed and any additional testing hours would be $450 per hour. These fees include the initial consultation visit, testing appointment, scoring and interpreting the results, feedback appointment, and writing of report. The total is dependent on the testing protocols that are done for your child. It is advised that you contact your insurance provider to inquire about your mental health benefits, and out-of network coverage.

Alyssa Muchaw's session rate is $175 per visit. Sarah Joyner's session rate is $175 per visit. Chase Monroe's session rate is $140 per visit. A Superbill or Receipt can be provided to be submitted to insurance for reimbursement. It is advised that you contact your insurance provider to inquire about your out-of-network mental health benefits and the process to request reimbursement.

No. We will be happy to share evaluation results or recommendations with the childs primary care physician or other provider as requested by the parents and after a Release of Information form has been completed and signed.

Yes. In most cases when seeking an evaluation the child should be present for the first appointment, however, depending on what is needed they may or may not be involved in future appointments. Possibly. If you are meeting with our therapy provider for the first time, it may be recommended that only the parent(s) come to the first visit. This will allow sufficient private time for the parent(s) to share the reason for the visit and give the provider some background of the concerns.

Yes. Being on medication allows for a child to be assessed more accurately. The provider will inform you if they would like to see the child off medication for any future appointments.

Dr. Poysky Says: In general, it is important to be honest with children. They can usually tell when we are not telling the truth, and when we are hiding something from them. This can actually cause them more stress, and can send the message that they should hide things from their parents (which is a message you definitely DON'T want to send). Remember, our job as parents isn't to protect our children from all of life's difficult situations; rather, it is to equip them to be able to handle difficult situations in the future. The first step in this is communicating with them what is happening, in a developmentally appropriate manner. Here are some examples: For a child with academic problems: "Dr. Poysky helps kids who might be having difficulty in school, so we are going to meet with him to see if we can come up with a plan to help school be less frustrating." For a child with behavior problems at home: "We are going to meet with Dr. Poysky to see if there is anything we can do at home to all get along better, so you don't feel like you are in trouble all the time." For a child with anxiety: "Just like teachers help kids learn how to read, the doctors (therapists) at KCPA help kids learn ways to calm themselves down and not be a stressed out." Ask them what they think about this, and answer any questions they have. Alyssa Muchaw Says: Tell your child you have noticed them struggling with being (a) angry, (b) having a hard time staying focused, (c) getting into trouble at school a lot, or (e) other reason, and that you would like to help. Explain that sometimes it helps going to see someone who can show us ways to make our lives happier and easier. The person at KCPA helps kids understand their feelings, and you think they can help. If your child has a fear of doctors, share with them that while we may look like a doctor's office, we do not wear white lab coats or give shots. Most of our time will be spent talking, playing games, doing some worksheets, or writing on a dry erase board. That usually helps calm nerves. For children who are more resistant to coming and don't feel there is anything they are struggling with, stay calm and hold your ground with a gentle answer such as "Ok, if you and Ms. Aly decide you're not (scared, angry, etc.) anymore, then we will be very happy, but we love you, and we think this is best for right now.

Confidentiality is one of the most important components between a client and provider. Successful treatment or therapy requires a high degree of trust with sometimes sensitive subject matter that is usually not discussed anywhere but the therapist's office. KCPA will not share information without your permission. You may want to share information or give an update to someone on your child's healthcare team (Pediatrician, School Counselor, or other therapy provider). By law we cannot release this information without obtaining your written permission. State law and professional ethics require therapists to maintain confidentiality except for the following situations: • Suspected past or present abuse or neglect of children, adults, and elders to the authorities, including Child Protection and law enforcement, based on information provided by the client or collateral sources.* If the therapist has reason to suspect the client is seriously in danger of harming him/herself or has threatened to harm another person. • If the therapist has reason to suspect the client is seriously in danger of harming him/herself or has threatened to harm another person.

Play therapy is a treatment modality that helps build the natural way that children learn about themselves and their relationships in the world around them, through their language, play! Through play, children can learn how to better communicate with others, express feelings, modify behaviors, and develop problem solving skills. Play therapy helps children express their thoughts and feelings in a developmentally appropriate way. Read more about play therapy here. (https://www.a4pt.org/page/PTMakesADifference/Play-Therapy-Makes-a-Difference.htm) Who Benefits from Play Therapy? Although everyone benefits, play therapy is especially appropriate for children ages 3 through 12 years old (Carmichael, 2006; Gil, 1991; Landreth, 2002; Schaefer, 1993). Teenagers and adults have also benefited from play techniques and recreational processes. To that end, use of play therapy with adults within mental health, agency, and other healthcare contexts is increasing (Pedro-Carroll & Reddy, 2005; Schaefer, 2003). In recent years, play therapy interventions have also been applied to infants and toddlers (Schaefer et. al., 2008). How Long Does Play Therapy Take? Each play therapy session varies in length but usually last about 30 to 50 minutes. Sessions are usually held weekly. Research suggests that it takes an average of 20 play therapy sessions to resolve the problems of the typical child referred for treatment. Of course, some children may improve much faster while more serious or ongoing problems may take longer to resolve (Carmichael, 2006; Landreth, 2002).

It is important to understand the difference between testing and an evaluation. An EVALUATION is a comprehensive process that uses multiple sources of information and data to identify patterns, which then help the psychologist make a determination about what is happening, and what to do about it. TESTING is one of those data sources that can be used during the process of conducting an evaluation. Testing is helpful because it allows us to compare a child’s skills and characteristics to other children their age, in a way that is more objective. Unfortunately, there are sometimes limitations in what tests are available, or how accurate they are, for certain conditions in younger children. However, an EVALUATION can be conducted at any age. Even if there are limitations in what tests can be administered, there are often other ways of identifying challenges and “red-flags”. Most importantly, a plan can still often be developed to target any problems or concerns that are identified. Thus, it is never too early for an EVALUATION, because earlier interventions tend to be more effective and can, in some cases, prevent bigger problems from developing down the road.