Psychology Clinic

Frequently asked questions

Please click on the question to read the answer

What kind of problems can the clinic help with?

Will What I Tell You Be Private?

What is Therapy Like At the Clinic?

Client Forms

Self-Help Resources

What kind of problems can the clinic help with?

We currently treat adults who struggle with:

• AD/HD
• Anxiety
• Anger Control Issues
• Bipolar Disorder
• Depression
• Family Problems
• GLBT Issues
• Grief and Loss
• Job-Related Stress
• Phobias
• Relationship Difficulties
• Sexual Abuse
• Stress
• Trauma Related Difficulties and PTSD

LIMITS OF SERVICE

The Psychology Clinic does not have a psychiatrist on staff and as a result does not provide medication or medication checks. A list of area medical providers who perform those services will be provided to you upon request. Due to the nature of the services provided, walk-in appointments will not be accepted. Please contact the Clinic at 912-478-1685 to schedule an appointment. The Clinic does not provide emergency mental health services. In the case of a mental health emergency, please call East Georgia Regional Medical Center at 912-486-1000 or dial 911 to report your emergency. You may also call Pineland’s Mental Health Helpline at 764-5125 or 1-800-PINEL AND. Clinic hours are limited to those posted, and after hours services are not provided.

How Much Does it Cost?

Gross Household Income	Fee for Individual Service Group Fees are ½ of Individual (Minimum of $5)
$ 0- 14,999	5
$15,000 – 19,000	10
$20,000 – 24,999	15
$25,000 – 29,999	20
$30,000 – 34,999	25
$35,000 – 39,999	30
$40,000 – 44,999	35
$45,000 – 49,999	40
$50,000 – 54,999	45
$55,000 – 59,999	50
$60,000 - 64,999	55
$65,000 - 69,999	60
$70,000 – 79,999	65
$80,000 - Up	75

Fees will be collected at the beginning of each session. We take checks or cash. If you are concerned about payment of these fees, please visit with your counselor.

How Do I Make An Appointment?

To schedule an appointment or make a referral to the Psychology Clinic, just call us 478-1685. One of our clinicians will help you find a time convenient to your schedule.

Will What I Tell You Be Private?

About Confidentiality

We will treat with great care all the information you share. It is your legal right that our sessions and records about you are kept private. That is why we ask you to sign a “release-of-records” form before we can talk about you or send my records about you to anyone else. In general, we will tell no one what you tell your therapist. We will not reveal that you are receiving treatment from us, and if we see you in a local setting, will not start up a conversation or say hello (though we are happy to visit if you do so).
In all but a few rare situations, your confidentiality (that is, your privacy) is protected by state and federal law and by the rules of our profession.
Here are the most common cases in which confidentiality is not protected:

• If you make a serious threat to harm yourself or another person, the law requires us to try to protect you or that other person. We will try first to work with you to address the situation, or get your permission to provide this protection, but this usually means telling others about the threat. Therefore, we cannot promise never to tell others about threats you make.

• If we believe a child or vulnerable adult or elder has been or will be abused or neglected, we are legally required to report this to the authorities.

• If a State or Federal judge sends a court order to us, we will immediately contact you to seek a solution. We are, however, obligated to provide to the court the specific information they request. If you are being sued or involved in any legal action, you may wish make your attorney aware of this concern.

• This is a training clinic. For the purpose of therapist supervision, you must agree to audio or video recordings of all your sessions. Your therapist will review the recordings with their supervisors and clinical team to assist with your treatment. Each recording is destroyed as soon as we no longer need it, or, at the latest, when treatment is ended. We cannot provide treatment to you without this permission to tape.

Except for the situations described above, our clinic staff will always maintain your privacy. We would also ask you not to disclose the name or identity of any other client being seen in this office.
Our clinic staff makes every effort to keep the names and records of clients private. We will try never to use your name on the telephone, if clients in the office can overhear it. All staff members who see your records have been trained in how to keep records confidential.
You can review your own records in our files at any time. You may add to them or correct them, and you can have copies of them. We ask you to understand and agree that you may not examine records created by anyone else and sent to me. In some very rare situations, we may temporarily remove parts of your records before you see them. This would happen if we believe that the information will be harmful to you, but I will discuss this with you. If your records need to be seen by another professional, or anyone else, I will discuss it with you.
If you agree to share these records, you will need to sign a release form. This form states exactly what information is to be shared, with whom, and why, and it also sets time limits. You may read this form at any time, or remove this permission at any time. If you have questions, please ask.
It is our office policy to destroy clients’ records 15 years after the end of our therapy. Until then, we will keep your case records in a safe place.
Your evaluation therapist will review these issues of privacy with you, and we encourage you to always feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Who Will be My Therapist?

Clinic Director, Thresa Yancey, Ph.D

Assistant Director, James Pugh, Ph.D

Clinic Coordinator, Marsha F. Warren, Ed.S., LPC

Director of Clinical Training, Jack Rainer, Ph.D

Associate Director of Clinical Training, K. Bryant Smalley, Psy.D

Preston Elder

Christina Hyers

Heather Lambros

Brendan McCollum

What is Therapy Like At the Clinic?

Individual Therapy

Most people, one time or another, experience difficulties in life for which they seek help. Some of these problems or emergencies may be issues dealing with anxiety, depression, or in relationships with other individuals. Most often the client and therapist will meet for the first time to determine what the client’s problem is. This is a collaborative relationship. The client is encouraged to talk openly about his or her problems. The therapist may take notes periodically to ensure that the therapist understands the client as well as possible. The therapist and client try to discover new behaviors, thoughts, or alternate explanations that may help a client overcome or reduce the effects of the current problem. The therapist does not give advice but empowers the client to make his or her own choices and try out new behaviors in a safe environment. Therapy can last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months or more depending upon how complex the problem is and the available resources that the client may have. As the client progressively achieves his or her goals and begins to overcome problem issues, the therapist will meet less with the client over an extended period of time. The therapist, along with the client, will continually evaluate the client’s needs and determine when therapy will end. The therapist will discuss termination with the client several sessions before therapy ends.

Group Therapy

Some individuals find therapy in a group format most helpful. Because people often experience similar but different symptoms or illnesses associated with depression and/or anxiety, it is encouraging to see other individuals who can understand what another client may be experiencing on a daily basis even though experiences may be different. In this group format, clients learn how to cope with their illnesses or life difficulties through structured exercises. Clients also learn strategies that can alleviate symptoms as they focus on behaviors and thoughts and explore new ways to act and think in a safe group environment. At the same time clients are encouraged by the group’s progress to change. Other groups are interactional groups. In these groups clients discuss fears, thoughts and feelings with other group members. Doing so allows for growth and awareness of other people’s perspectives. In this way, it is possible to better outside social relationships and communication with other people.

Family Therapy

Sometimes problems exist within the family that are best suited for family therapy as opposed to individual therapy. Usually in family therapy, the family meets together as a unit. Therapists facilitate examination into how family members interact with one another and find strategies that can help better family interactions. Families usually meet about once a week and treatment lasts anywhere from 3 to 4 months or more. Family therapy can address issues related to divorce, eating disorders (anorexia or bulimia), depression of a member in the family, emotional issues, work related stress, etc. Sometimes family therapy is used to help family members cope with a mental illness in the family. Family therapy can also be used in conjunction with individual therapy or other types of therapy but does not replace the primary therapeutic technique used to address the individual’s illness.

Self-Help Resources

These links will take you away from this site.

AD/HD
Attention Deficit Disorder Association

Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

ADHD of the Christian Kind

Healthy Place: ADD Focus

APA Online

CDC Website

NAMI

National Resource Center on ADHD

Anxiety
Anxiety Disorders Association of America

Freedom from Fear