AHA Mental Health: Frequently Asked Questions

Stress, trauma and depression are the primary topics, but we speak with people about everything in the human experience.

 In your first meeting, you’ll explain your goal to the therapist. If you aren’t sure of your goal, that’s OK too. Sometimes (but not always), the first meeting is the most difficult because it requires voicing a desire to change something about ourselves. We may have felt this way for years and have finally decided to do something about it. Recognizing we’re not fully the person we want to become is the first step toward change. 

The initial meeting is a conversation where you share your goals for therapy. 

“I've done a lot of different types of therapy, and I've learned a lot of different ways to help people,” says AHA Founder Dr. Lee Harris. “So often I'll say, ‘If what we're doing doesn't work, let me know, and we'll come up with a plan of trying something else out.’ It goes back to that starting point of having trust in the relationship. I want you to feel comfortable in expressing a desire for change. From there, we set a plan based on your feedback.”

A skilled counselor can help people understand themselves and their motivations. With adults, this is mostly done through conversation. A counseling appointment should focus on listening, dialogue and feedback. It moves at the pace of the client, not on any preconceived schedule set by the therapist.

No. The schedule and frequency of appointments are entirely up to the client. However, experience demonstrates that change takes time. What is discussed in a session is then put into practice in real life. At a follow-up session, the results are assessed and input and feedback are given. The fact that each person and life circumstance are different means there is no standard number of appointments. However, one meeting is usually only enough to begin the process. After that, the schedule is up to the client. Sometimes appointments may be sporadic, while others choose a more consistent schedule. 

For adults, both are viable options. A telehealth appointment precludes the need to travel to our Lee’s Summit office. It can also provide flexibility for people with hectic schedules, even allowing you to set up an appointment over your lunch hour. Meeting in person, on the other hand, provides a private, quiet environment to meet face-to-face with the counselor. With youth and adolescents, the age makes a difference. Younger children are more likely to benefit from in-person therapy because their attention spans tend to be limited, especially on a 50-minute virtual session.

Absolutely. Confidentiality is the bedrock of the client-therapist relationship. Few people would be willing to discuss a personal matter without a guarantee that all discussions are 100% private. Not only are the contents of therapy privileged, the mere fact that someone is a client of a therapist is confidential. Psychology has a longstanding tradition of honoring privacy from ethical, professional and legal standpoints.

There are minimal and specific exceptions to this:

• If the client appears ready to harm himself or someone else
• If the counselor suspects the abuse of a child or dependent adult
• If a court order forces the release of records

In those rare instances where a therapist breaks confidence (apart from the three exceptions above), the consequences can be severe. Ramifications include fines, litigation and loss of professional licensing.

If you have questions about AHA Mental Health’s privacy policy, please ask. Each therapist will provide and explain the policy at your first session. 

While academic credentials are important, they are secondary to a client’s ability to trust a counselor. A therapist may make suggestions that challenge a client. Trust can help bridge the gap. 

In addition to trust, a profitable counselor-client relationship can sometimes hinge on personal chemistry. In other words, do you “hit it off” with the counselor? These feelings are sometimes subjective, but are still important.  Finally, therapists must be licensed in the state where they practice. 

 Mental health can be compared to our overall physical well-being. When we consider our blood pressure, cholesterol levels or bone density, we know it’s better to seek a lifestyle of health maintenance than to wait for a 911 moment. We inherently understand that waiting for a crisis is more painful, disruptive and expensive. Similarly, all of us experience strain upon our emotional health: family conflict, work stress, change, and trauma. We can seek to manage these stressors as they arise, or we can wait until they become too much to bear. Counseling is similar to routine doctor visits or preventative care. Although many people wait until there is a crisis, they don’t have to do so. 

In addition, counseling has a positive aspect: It can help us make something good even better. For example, while a parent may not be aware of any stress in her relationship with her children, they may desire to become more effective. Counseling can help fulfill this and other positive goals.

Trauma results when people experience events that overwhelm their ability to cope, upsetting their routine functions of life. Trauma can result from a single incident or years of distress. Some symptoms of trauma include anxiety, intrusive thoughts and depression. Sources of trauma include violence and abuse, accidents and relational loss.

Sometimes trauma is categorized in “Big T” and “Little T” varieties. Major types of trauma (Big T) include violence, abuse and neglect. Categorizing an event as Little T does not minimize its significance. Instead, it’s an indicator of its cause. Instead of experiencing violence, a client may be distressed by a cross-country move, a new occupation or a family death. 

Trauma therapy does not erase the impact of negative events, but it does provide opportunities to respond to memories in new ways. This begins with providing a safe and caring environment for clients to discuss their experiences. It also includes:

• Helping clients understand signs of trauma that intrude on their daily lives.
• Sharing productive ways of coping with traumatic memories and experiences.
• Training clients in self-care and redirecting them from harmful coping mechanisms.
• Teaching skills to process emotions, including relaxation techniques, stress management and problem solving.

Dr. Lee is a licensed play therapist. Play therapy can be a valid form of therapy for anyone, but is usually used with children and adolescents (generally ranging from age 3 to age 12). It can bridge the communication gap between children and adults. 

“The idea of a six-year-old sitting on a couch for 50 minutes just doesn’t work,” he says.

Play therapy is the practice of engaging in nonverbal approaches of communication. Most elementary age children would have difficulty responding to queries such as, “Tell me how you feel.” However, they are able to express these ideas through art, games or play-acting.

Therapy involves observing a child at play, in both directed and non-directed activities:

• How does the child play when a parent is observing? 
• When a parent is not? 
• What kind of stories does a child want to hear? 
• Or tell?

Play therapy uses activities including creative visualization, role-playing, music and toys to understand children and challenges they may be experiencing.

The therapist’s communication with parents is a key part of this process.

Here’s an example of how it works.