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Here are some Frequently asked questions for your perusal. If you have any other questions, feel free to call our offices or contact Dr Davis by email.

• Should I use insurance for psychological services?
• What is hypnosis?
• What is hypnosis used for?
• What does hypnosis feel like?
• Does hypnosis always work?
• How does hypnosis work?

Should I use insurance for psychological services?

Health insurance can be a wonderful and necessary thing. Discussions of the need  some kind of broad coverage of health insurance is an important issue that is being widely discussed by current political candidates. Certainly, if you get sick and need expensive care, such as hospitalization or intensive in office procedures, insurance is vital. But is may not always be such a good thing to use insurance for mental health care, particularly if you want to use therapy as a means of personal growth. It can actually be more problematic than helpful.

Here are some of the main issues of concern in using insurance for mental health services.

• Having great health insurance does not mean you have great mental health benefits, primarily because policies are put together by the employer, often with different companies providing medical and mental services. This means you can't be sure who is on you plan when seeking therapy unless you really do some investigation. (read more below). Currently there is no mental health parody, meaning that benefits are not equal for mental health than for medical treatment. Since the employer chooses the policy, it can be quite lacking when it come to mental health benefits.
• Many mental health policies are inadequate, with strict limits on the number of available sessions. The insurance company also reserves the right to not pay if they don't believe the patient is "sick" enough. The insurance Sometimes, you won't know for months that they won't pay and get stuck with the bill after all- and what a hassle trying to get it all worked out. Got lots of time to hang on hold?
• You have to have a mental diagnosis in order receive payment for services. Further,  Insurance companies are notorious for passing protected information within their own ranks. Information such as diagnosis, nature of treatment, and other pertinent information (from the insurance company, not from your counselor) is fed into a national medical information database (MIB) that centralizes information for approximately 700 insurance companies. MIB states that it was designed to prevent fraud on insurance applications. At the very least, they would have on record that you saw a counselor for some type of mental disorder. This database information is accessed if you subsequently apply for any individual health, life or disability insurance for 7 years. And, since you have signed a general release, the insurance company can get more detailed information from the previous insurance company that paid for the treatment. And that can include more details about specifics of plans, goals, treatment information or more. ( For $9.00 you can obtain a copy of your record at MIB. It is worthwhile to check for accuracy in all your medical records.) Years down the road, a bout of depression could be out there on your medical record in the insurance data base, affecting your ability to get insurance because you are a "risk".
• As previously stated, you must have a psychiatric diagnosis for insurance reimbursement. Since there is no current diagnosis for family or couples (relationship problems), you can't really use insurance for those services. (However, some professionals will tweak the diagnosis and service codes they submit to insurance companies for payment to be acceptable. There is always a chance they will refuse payment. Sometimes the insurance company will even lead you to believe that they pay for those services. In reality, it is insurance fraud to "tweak" the claims to get payment for couples or family problems. (sometimes a therapist can justify seeing a couple together by suggesting that the identified patient needs the spouse to attend as part of their treatment.) I have had many insurances refuse payment billing for couples counseling. For that reason, among others, I do not accept insurance for this work.

So, as you can see, their are some compelling reason to not to use insurance for therapy services. This is not an exhaustive list, I just got tired of writing about it. Please feel free to ask more about these issues with a free consultation or

If you are intent on using insurance, contact your insurance to verify coverage and get a list of participating providers. It is not always clear as to what your policy covers and to who are the covered providers (many mental health policies are written differently from the standard health insurance and have a different list of in network providers.)

What Is hypnosis and can It help me?

Hypnosis is a natural, normal, relaxed, and focused state of attention. It is characterized by:

•  A feeling of well-being

•  Relaxed muscles

•  Less sensitivity to pain

•  Ability to access memories, both good and bad

Hypnotherapy is the use of hypnosis to enable a person to take control of feelings, behaviors, habits, and self-image. A person who is in a hypnotic state or trance responds to guided imagery and suggestions for new, positive behaviors after the trance is over.

Hypnosis is an entirely natural state of consciousness. It is not the same as one’s normal waking state. When people are hypnotized, they are completely awake and alert. They know exactly what is happening during every moment. Their awareness is heightened and focused.

It is not possible to be under someone else’s control during hypnosis. People do only what they want to do and are always aware of where they are and what they are doing. They are in control at all times. They become highly receptive to positive suggestions, but only if those suggestions are acceptable. The trance may be ended at any time, just as a person can come out of a daydream when necessary.

What kinds of issues Is hypnosis used for?

A professional therapist with formal training and experience in hypnotherapy can use hypnosis as an effective tool to help people with a wide variety of problems and concerns.  These are a few examples:

•  Eliminating destructive habits

•  Building positive habits

•  Controlling responses to stress

•  Overcoming fear

•  Regulating emotion over reactivity

•  Effectively treat IBS and other gastrointestinal disorders

As with other tools in psychotherapy, the goal of hypnotherapy is for the client to learn new ways of thinking and behaving in order to take control of his or her life. Hypnosis is not a quick fix or magic cure, but it can be very helpful to a motivated client who is willing to work and take responsibility for change. Hypnosis is really another tool for change, whether it be self hypnosis or hypnotherapy conducted by a professional.

What does hypnosis feel like?

A person may become hypnotized in one of two ways: by listening to another person’s voice (either on tape or in person) or by listening to one’s own thoughts. The hypnotherapist uses vivid imagery that stimulates the subject’s imagination, and makes positive suggestions for new behaviors after the session is over.

Most people find that during a trance, they have more access to their feelings and past memories. The subject’s awareness ebbs and flows during this time. Thoughts come and go and there may be parts of the session that he or she won’t consciously remember afterward. However, the subconscious mind remembers everything.

People usually awaken from a hypnosis session with very pleasant feelings. There is a sense of well-being and even euphoria.

How long does improvement take?

Most people say they become aware of the suggestions that were made during hypnosis soon after the first session. The subconscious mind begins to prompt the person for the new thoughts and behaviors immediately. If a hypnosis session is especially intense or if a person has listened repeatedly to a self-hypnosis audiotape, these prompts may be more noticeable and effective. The person’s level of motivation also has a major effect on how quickly he or she begins to change for the better.

Does hypnosis always work?

With any goal, people sometimes have a hard time achieving success. There are a few reasons for this. First, the subconscious mind is generally attracted to the behavior that has the strongest emotional charge connected to it. We tend to choose behaviors that make us feel immediately good, even if we know they are bad for us in the long run. This is sometimes why we continue to make the less healthy choice.

A second reason that success seems elusive is because people make the mistake of focusing on negatives rather than positives. If you tell yourself what not to do, like trying not to smoke or not to eat cookies or not to be nervous, you will have a hard time succeeding because the mind responds to positives, not negatives. It is more effective to say “I am free of the desire to smoke” or  “I am calm and confident,” and to visualize the details of your goal as if it were happening in the present.

How does hypnosis work?

The conscious mind functions mostly like a computer. It is black and white, logical, and reasonable. The conscious mind is where we spend most of our time.

For a variety of reasons, people tend to disregard their subconscious feelings and perceptions because they are viewed as irrational and not based in reality. Still, the subconscious mind is a very powerful force for all of us. It contains the most important elements of our psyches: our dreams, fantasies, and emotions.

These two parts of our minds, the conscious and subconscious minds are quite distinct from one another. The language of the subconscious is imagery and metaphor, which the conscious mind does not easily understand. The conscious mind prefers reason and facts, which the subconscious mind does not comprehend.

There are times in our lives when we are reminded of our powerful subconscious mind. When we face emotional turmoil, loss, or trauma, we may experience the subconscious mind’s ability to affect both brain and body. When stress is high, our ability to eat, sleep, talk, and think clearly is often impacted. Even though we thought that we had resolved an important issue, the subconscious creates a symptom or illness as a way of telling us that the feelings have not been resolved.

For the most complete and effective healing, it is important for both conscious and unconscious processes to work together. using self talk, changing your conscious thinking can be a part of healing and personal growth. Healing can be enhanced by engaging subconscious process. First simply spending some time in the trance state, being that deeply relaxed can enhance health in a variety of ways. You have access to the part of your mind that controls many habitual activities.  Also,  In the relaxed trance state, you can use your imagination to build a picture of how you want your life to be and describe the steps you will need to take to make it real. When you return to normal waking state, you can continue to focus your mental energy on the images you created when you were in the trance.

Go to hypnosis page

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Last modified: 10/18/08