FAQs about Therapy in Ballwin, MO and Online Therapy in Missouri

We’ve compiled a few questions we are often asked or that we think people might be curious about as they explore our website and consider getting started.

We hope this fills in the blank for you a little bit but are always, always happy to answer other questions you have. We believe in good mental health and great mental health services. Looking forward to hearing from you soon!

How long are counseling sessions?

Most counseling sessions last for 45-50 minutes. This is the same whether you are doing in-person sessions, virtual sessions, or walk-and-talk sessions. This also is the same for kids who come to us for child therapy! A couples/marriage counseling session is 75 minutes.

How much do therapy sessions cost? 

Each session is between $115-$200. 

How often will I need to come to therapy?

We recommend setting up weekly at the beginning — usually, the first 4-6 sessions, so you and your therapist can get momentum and set you up for success in reaching your goals more quickly than not. After that, you and your therapist can talk about what frequency feels comfortable for you. You can continue meeting weekly or biweekly or change to something else. That will be influenced by your goals, how things are going outside of sessions, and other factors like your schedule and financials. The frequency of sessions can be revisited as often as you need.

How long will I need to go to counseling?

Each person has different needs so this answer varies for every individual. Length of the counseling relationship is something you and your therapist will absolutely talk about during the first few sessions, as your therapist assesses what challenges you’re experiencing. Some people may feel like they’ve achieved their goals after 8-12 sessions. For some people, counseling may last for 6 months, a year, or even over a year! Sometimes, people will take a few months away from the therapeutic relationship and then come back. There are no right or wrong answers!

How do I know if it’s time for therapy?

You may be wondering, “Is this normal grief? Is this just typical, low grade anxiety? Does this even count as depression?” The truth is that if you are looking at this page, you already know that it might be time to speak to a therapist. However, it’s very common for people to question their decision. We know this is a difficult decision. But, we also believe you deserve to feel better than you do right now. If your anxiety, depression, overwhelm, or grief is starting to impact your relationships, parenting, work, or other areas of your life, it is probably time to seek some extra support.

What will we talk about, especially during online therapy in Missouri?

Each person comes in for different reasons. During the first one or two sessions, your therapist will explore a lot about your life, so they can get a good idea of various things going on for you-which will include learning about your strengths! After that, you and your therapist will start to dive in more deeply. Some sessions you may do a lot of talking and in others, your therapist may do more. We believe in the safety of the counseling relationship, so when you are doing online therapy with us, we will encourage you to prepare your space accordingly to maintain privacy. As the counseling relationship grows, what you talk about with your therapist may change, but we will always keep your goals in mind. We will talk about building new skills, coping strategies, thought processes, and more! Sometimes, one of the surprisingly effective aspects of therapy is having the accountability piece. It’s pretty cool!

Online therapy — as far as what you talk about — is almost the same as in-person therapy! Especially now that we’ve all grown so adjusted to virtual meetings and use things like FaceTime so often, clients often settle into a virtual appointment very quickly!

As far as the things we’re really good at talking about, we have several of those! We are a practice where all of our therapists have at least one specialty. Here are our content areas of expertise:

Often, these challenges can be brought on by job dissatisfaction, job changes, a breakup, a move, or just life in general.

Whatever the reason you’ve started to feel the things that are having you look for therapy, we can work together to find a path forward!

I’m an overwhelmed mom in Missouri, which means scheduling sessions can be hard. How can you help?

If your baby is under 12 months old, he or she is welcome to be in the session. We also offer sessions virtually, for residents of Missouri and of Illinois, through HIPPA-compliant software. It has been a great tool for a variety of moms! Our therapists also offer park therapy, so if your baby is stroller-age, that can be a great option to get out of the house without having to find a sitter.

What kinds of hours do you have to work around my busy schedule?

Our therapists are available for therapy sessions Monday – Friday. We have availability as early as 8 am and have schedule into the evening. We can find a day of the week and time of the day that becomes your designated slot, or we can move your sessions around to accommodate the changes in your own fluid schedule.

I don’t live in St. Louis but I want to work with you. Is this even possible?

If you live anywhere in the state, we sure can do online therapy in Missouri! Our professional licenses allow us to work with any Missouri resident. And thanks to the ability to use virtual therapy for sessions, we can offer our services remotely.

I live in St. Louis but my schedule is pretty busy. Do I have to do anything special to be able to use online therapy as an option?

We get it-sometimes it can be hard to find that 50-minute chunk of time, so tacking on drive time can make it feel even harder to schedule therapy, no matter how much you want to do it! That’s one of the beautiful things about virtual therapy — it’s open to any client for any session. We can do all of your sessions virtually or you can use it as an intermittent option if your schedule is crunched or you’re feeling a little sick; or even in the winter months, it can be utilized to avoid roads and driving when there is bad weather.

I feel a little intimidated about coming into a counseling office, but I’m not quite sure I want to do virtual counseling. Any ideas?

Our therapists also offer park sessions, or walking therapy which we are happy to schedule with any client! There are a ton of benefits to park therapy and also movement therapy, or walk-and-talk therapy as it’s sometimes called. Park sessions can be your go-to for most sessions, or it can be used as an occasional option when you want some variety to your therapy environment!

Why don’t you take insurance for therapy sessions?

Great question! In order to go through insurance, your therapist must diagnose you with a mental health disorder. We don’t believe that everyone who wants or who can benefit from counseling reaches the level of needing a diagnosis. Also, having a diagnosis can be an issue later with new insurance applications or some jobs. Finally, insurance companies may dictate the frequency of counseling or counselor. We believe YOU should be in control of those decisions. 

What we can do, if you’d still like to see about off-setting any costs, is provide you with a superbill. A superbill means you still pay the fee for the session, but may be able to get partial reimbursement from your insurance company for your sessions. Head over to our Fees & Insurance page for more, or feel free to get us on the phone to help explain it further!

WAIT! I have more questions!

Good! We love questions. Give us a call or fill out the contact form and before you become a new client, our Client & Project Coordinator, Kim Ritchie, will have a 10-15 phone call so you can ask those others questions, make sure the practice is a good fit for you, and we can make sure our expertise is a good fit for you and your needs. We look forward to hearing from you!

Begin Counseling in Missouri with Marble Wellness

Your questions are answered. What you know what our West County, MO therapy clinic is all about? So, let’s get started! We can also chat via telehealth for online therapy in Missouri and online therapy in Illinois. Taking this first step is a big deal, so you are already making great progress! Just follow these simple steps and we will get started.

Other Mental Health Services at Marble Wellness

At Marble Wellness, our goal is simple: Counseling services designed to help set you on a path of living a more fulfilled, calm, and happy life. We specialize in anxiety, depression, grief, chronic illness, therapy for men, couples, and maternal overwhelm. We can also help new moms with various postpartum concerns, moms in the thick of parenting, and moms with teens. We can also chat from wherever you are in the state with online therapy in Missouri and online therapy in Illinois. No matter where you are in your journey, we would love to support you.