FAQs

We are strictly an outpatient clinic and do not provide hospital-based services. If someone needs to be considered for hospitalization we will help arrange for this and will carefully discuss this with you.

Yes. We are as concerned about your privacy as you are. All client-therapist conversations are confidential. It is also confidential information that a person is meeting with a therapist. You would need to sign a Confidential Release of Information before our staff or professional therapists would even acknowledge to another person that you are a client at Family Innovations. Only in rare exceptions when the safety of a client or others is at risk can disclosure of confidential client-therapist information take place.

You can view our Notice of Privacy Practices and Client Bill of Rights here.

From time to time a specific counselor’s style is not a good fit for a client. If that is the case, clients usually know that in the first two or three sessions. It is important to bring that issue up with your therapist. You will not offend him or her if you would like to try a different therapist. It is sometimes part of the counseling process. Your therapist can then refer you to another counselor who may be a better match for you.

Yes. A description and biography of each therapist from Family Innovations is available on our “Locations and Staff” page on this website. We have male and female counselors at all locations providing professional counseling services, such as marriage counseling, family counseling, child counseling, and adolescent counseling as well as specific behavioral counseling services. At times, insurance limits the type of licensed mental health therapist you can see – your insurance company can provide you with that information.

When a counseling relationship is working well, people experience new insights into their situations, clearer thinking, increased energy, better understanding of their feelings and needs, release of troubling emotions that have held them back or been confusing, and a greater sense of wholeness and peace within themselves. Learning new and more effective strategies to improve relationships, or to learn different ways to address parenting concerns are often gained through counseling. Therapy is a process, and a working partnership develops between client and therapist. Therapy is not always comfortable or straightforward as difficult emotions and ways of being often have to be sorted through in order for change to appear. Clients should feel comfortable with their therapist and be able to ask about whatever is on their mind regarding the process. In spite of the uncomfortable emotions experienced, clients often feel that the temporary pain of the working through process is well worth leaving behind the continual pain of living the way they had previously.

Twenty years ago and more, professional counseling services carried a certain stigma. Today, most professional counselors agree that it takes a very strong person to walk into their office and face personal and relationship struggles head on. Being in counseling is commendable. In Family Innovations counseling sessions, your therapist will help you use your strengths to overcome the difficulties you are facing. Living with difficult problems or pretending they do not exist just prolongs the freedom that comes with conquering them. Give us a call, and begin to move closer to experiencing that freedom.

When a teen is told he or she needs professional counseling, it typically means he or she is seen as the problem in the family. No one wants that label and generally, we all play a role in problems that prevent our families from working well together. It is sometimes easier for a teen to agree to see an adolescent counselor when they know mom, dad, and possibly other family members are going together to focus on family counseling issues. At Family Innovations, therapists can work with several members of a family, individually and together in order to improve overall family dynamics like communication, conflict resolution, trust, mutual respect, and honesty.

During your first appointment for psychotherapy or counseling, your counselor will need a summary of the problems or questions that have brought you to counseling in order to work with you to establish goals and an appropriate treatment plan for your counseling. Adults will meet alone with the counselor. Children and adolescents will usually have some time with the parent present and some time alone with the counselor; a session that allows observation of and discussion among family members may also be held. The counselor will want to hear your history, including: family history and dynamics, significant relationships, work, substance use, cultural background, major losses, traumas, medical issues and any other information that may prove helpful. Parents will be asked to provide information about their child’s developmental history, schooling and social relationships, as well as other information that may be relevant to the difficulties the child is experiencing.

If your referral question is very specific (for example, a fear of flying) one session will usually be enough to provide the necessary information to develop a treatment plan. If it is more complicated (for example, serious marital conflict or a long history of unsuccessful relationships) more time will be needed for the two of you to develop a plan.

Therapy sessions are 45-50 minutes in length. This leaves your counselor 10 minutes to take notes and prepare for his or her next appointment. Although your counselor will likely ask questions and lead the discussion during the first appointment it is important for you to take the lead as much as possible in future appointments. Your counselor will often wait to see if you have important issues you would like to bring up in any given session. It is a good idea for you to report on progress or setbacks and to let your counselor know of any significant events since your last appointment, and provide honest feedback to the counselor regarding your treatment.

Out of network refers to the fact that you have a choice in your health plan to go outside of your particular HMO or Managed Care Network. This gives you options and typically you will have a deductible and then an 80/20 plan. The advantage of this is that you have more choice about the care given to you.

Almost all medical insurance plans cover outpatient mental health services from mental health clinics such as Family Innovations. However, it is important that you confirm your benefits with your insurance company. Some will allow you to see any mental health professional while others require that the professional be on their approved list. Your insurance provider may have restrictions about frequency or maximum number of appointments: please familiarize yourself with any such requirements. We will usually not know your diagnosis when we first call your insurance company to estimate your benefits. Please remember that you are responsible for fees for your treatment such as co-pays, spend downs or deductibles. We will assist you in confirming your benefits but we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information that we receive. It is not uncommon to receive one interpretation of your benefits from an insurance representative on the phone and then receive a different interpretation when we actually submit the sessions for reimbursement.

Most plans have the client pay a co-payment with a general range of $5.00-$30.00 per visit. Some plans have deductibles which means you have to “meet” your deductible in a given calendar year before your plan pays benefits. Typical plans like this pay 80% of charges after the deductible is met. Your insurance company can give you more specific information for your benefits for mental health counseling.

By all means come anyway. At Family Innovations, clients frequently report relationship growth even though they are the only one working to improve it. In fact, sometimes spouses or teens are more willing to come to counseling when they see positive changes in their spouse or parent.

Family Innovations offers morning, afternoon, and evening appointments Monday-Thursday, and morning and afternoon appointments on Fridays. We do not currently offer Saturday appointments. Hours of operation vary from clinic to clinic and therapists have differing schedules; our intake department will do whatever they can to accommodate your schedule when connecting you with a therapist and will provide further details on your therapist's availability during the intake process. Please note: in order to secure regular after school or evening sessions, it may be necessary to schedule out 4-6 weeks in advance due to high demand for these times.

Please call either the clinic location that best suits you, or call our intake department directly at 612-924-3807. You may also send us an email request through the “Appointments” tab on our website. After a brief conversation with one of our intake coordinators during which contact and insurance information will be collected as well as the general nature of your concerns for which you are seeking counseling, you will be scheduled with a qualified clinician to work with you.

Typically we recommend that you schedule your first 3-4 appointments during the intake conversation to ensure you are able to be seen for several follow-up appointments soon after your first appointment. Alternatively, scheduling after your first counseling session can take place when you come in to the office by speaking with the front desk, or by calling any of our offices at any time.

Most health insurance plans allow you to contact us and schedule an appointment at Family Innovations, and a referral is not needed.

There is no single answer to this question. For some people that may take as little as a few sessions. Others may continue for months or years, often with increased periods of time between appointments. The length of therapy depends on your situation and the types of concerns you have. If you are coming to an office for therapy, a typical expectation would be to attend 8-12 sessions. Typically, early in the course of therapy, sessions are weekly until you are doing better. You and your therapist agree on a schedule to taper your office visits as your situation improves. This frequency is established between you and your therapist.

We recommend that you follow through with counseling until you have accomplished the goals that you and your therapist discussed at your initial appointment. It is important that you know that you are in charge of your counseling. When you feel that you have accomplished as much as you want from counseling please let your therapist know and the two of you will plan for termination of treatment. If you find at any time that you would like to terminate your counseling we do recommend that you schedule at least one last appointment to discuss your progress and how to maintain it in the future. And, like a family doctor, we are here for you if you should need us again in the future for help with another problem.

Family Innovations welcomes adults, families and children of all faiths and belief systems. Given the locations of our counseling clinics, we reach a diversity of people seeking a listening, empathetic ear. Spirituality is deeply important to us as human beings and is the source of meaning, purpose, and healing in our lives. Human beings are so much more than simply their behaviors, thoughts, or feelings. Struggling with one’s spiritual beliefs is often a normal part of being human. Occasionally, we even have clients come to us who have been hurt by individuals in the Christian church and have sworn off Christianity altogether. Often important healing needs to take place in this realm, as clients come to understand how they have been shaped, hurt, and/or blessed by their spiritual practice. Family Innovations therapists are experienced, compassionate, and supportive in their work with people of all walks of life. Please feel free to contact us to learn more about our unique, diverse approach to counseling.

Family Innovations offers home based mental health services for children and youth, ages birth to 18, and up to age 21 in some circumstances. This program is managed through the Minnesota Department of Human Services, through Children’s Therapeutic Services and Supports, or CTSS. The youth must be enrolled in Medical Assistance (MA), and qualify as having an emotional disorder. This is an intensive program that involves up to two home visits per week with 3-5 face to face contact hours. It also requires the parent(s) to be actively involved.

The program for adults is called the Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services, or ARMHS program. The main criterion for this program is the adult must have a diagnosed mental illness. A mental health practitioner is assigned and the services are considered rehabilitative in nature. Medical Assistance and PMAP’s cover this program.

See our website under “Home Based Counseling” for more information on our programs for home based services for both children/families, and for adults.

Family Innovations does not provide counseling services specifically for individuals concerned about alcohol or drug abuse. The harm associated with chemical abuse can affect marriages and families – we can provide relationship counseling for those concerns.

We are not a crisis clinic. Please call 911 in an emergency and/or life threatening situation. All clients are assessed for any crisis concerns, and therapists can facilitate the development of a crisis plan, with local crisis resources included.