How do I know whether I need psychotherapy?
There are a few indicators that will help you to distinguish whether you need therapy or no:
- You are concerned about something in your life and it has been getting worse in a few past weeks.
- You are having trouble concentrating at work or school.
- You have tried stopping or reducing this on your own but you were was not successful in your attempts to do it.
- You have read books or went on the Internet to discover more about behaviour or feeling that is troubling you.
- If you want to fill in the whole questionnaire to help you determine if you need to go to therapy you can visit the following webpage.
What is going on during psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy is realized mainly through interviews during individual sessions. They are usually held on a weekly basis . If it is necessary, you can agree on more frequent meetings (e.g. 2 times per week) or less frequent meetings (e.g. every two weeks). Place and specific time of the session are always negotiated in advance.
The psychotherapy session lasts 50 minutes. In case of couple or family therapy, longer meeting can be arranged, because everyone needs his or her own time for expression.
What is allowed and what is not allowed during psychotherapy?
In accordance with the Code of Ethics from Slovak Chamber of Psychologists, psychologist is required to maintain confidentiality about information from client. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. The first case is supervision when the psychotherapist consults her work with other psychotherapists, which is done to provide even better treatment for client. Another exception from this obligation is the case of prepared or already conducted criminal offense, when psychologist likewise everybody else in Slovakia is expected to report it. The psychologist is also required to provide information when s/he is asked so by court. According to the Code of Ethics for Psychotherapists, it is unacceptable for a client and psychotherapist to have any other kind of relationships outside of psychotherapy sessions. It also means that your psychotherapist must not be some one who you personally know.
Why do I pay for psychotherapy?
This private practice facility is not included in the list of health care providers contracted by Health Insurance Companies. This means that the full price for psychotherapy is paid by the client himself. Because of several limitations in health care contracts there is a whole network of non-contracted health care providers. First of limitations is that the client must have recommendation from another doctor. E specially in Bratislava, there are long waiting lists for clients wanting to go to psychotherapy. The insurance companies reimburses only one therapy session with one client per week, and up to 25 therapy sessions altogether, and also the number of clients receiving psychotherapy per month is limited by particular health insurance company. According to the research, clients, who pay, are often more motivated to change because of their own financial interest. For many people it is a relief that they do not owe anything to therapist if they pay for treatment. Your only limitation is your idea of how much you want to invest in yourself and what are your available funds.