FAQs for Alliance Behavioral Health, and starting therapy
What age clients do you see?
Patience and Dr Kamtam both see preschool children through young adults/college age.
2. What conditions do you treat?
Anxiety, ADHD, Depression/Mood disorders, autism, Bipolar, Adjustment, Behavioral issues
3. Do you take insurance? What’s your out of pocket/private pay rate?
We take all major insurances except for MA and some CHIP insurances. There is a list on our website or ask Lynde, our admin to check for you. Out of pocket rate is $150/session however we offer discounts if you ask.
4. Are you taking new patients?
Yes! There is no waitlist currently, should be able to be seen within a week or two.
5. How do I get started?
First, contact Lynde at Alliance Behavioral Health: 484-872-8089, or administrator@abhpsych.com to register your child/self and check insurance. [Information we will need is the client’s name, date of birth, address, phone number, email, and insurance name and ID number.]
Next email Patience to schedule an appointment.
6. How do I know if I need to see a therapist, psychologist or a psychiatrist?
A therapist provides therapy and will provide a diagnosis to your insurance but does not do extensive evaluations.
A psychologist provides therapy, but also does extensive evaluations to figure out complicated diagnosis, or to see if need more services at school, or for other reasons (ex. Job, court, etc)
A psychiatrist provides prescriptions for medication and may do some therapy as well but mostly does medication management.
Usually it’s good to start with a therapist and the therapist will direct you to a psychologist if you need further evaluation, and to a psychiatrist if you want to pursue medication treatment.
Patience Domowski is a therapist, Dr Kamtam is a psychiatrist. We often refer to Dr George Villarose who is a psychologist.
7. What do I bring to my first appt? Should both parents attend with their child? What should we expect? What if I need to talk about something I don't want to share when my child is in the room?
Bring any paperwork that Lynde has requested unless you already sent it in and bring your insurance card. IF you want to bring any recent evaluations, discharge paperwork from another program, IEPs, etc you can, but not necessary.
It is helpful for at least one parent to attend with young children, and both if parents are not together or have different points of view on the child’s situation. For teens they can attend alone. The first appt is an ‘intake’ where alot of questions are asked to figure out what’s going on with the client, gather background information, and come up with a diagnosis for insurance and a plan going forward for treatment. Parents may come to the first session without the child if they prefer, or leave the child in the waiting room briefly while talking to the therapist if needed.
8. When are you available for sessions? I don't want to take my child out of school!
Dr Kamtam sees patients Monday and Wednesday evenings, and Patience sees clients every evening and sometimes Saturdays
9. How long does therapy take? How many sessions should I expect?
Therapy length of treatment will vary depending on the severity of the issue, the ongoing length of the problem, the cooperation of the client and more factors. Expect at least 4 sessions initially. Patience does 45 minute sessions, usually starts with weekly appointments if necessary, then moves to every other week, then monthly or as needed appts for check ins, depending on the situation.
10. Do you do telehealth or in person or both?
Both. For young children in-person is better. Teens and young adults- either is usually sufficient.
11. What do you do during the sessions?
For young children Patience will read books, color pictures, and talk -usually about problem solving and coping strategies depending on the reason for the child’s treatment.
Teens and young adults usually talk therapy which includes discussing a problem and figuring out coping solutions or problem-solving. Patience uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Behavioral Therapy interventions.
Dr Kamtam will discuss if meds are appropriate, how the medication is helping, if dosages need to be adjusted, or changing a medication may be helpful. It is very important to be honest with the doctor about any changes- good or bad with medication to how you feel, including side effects.
12. How do I explain to my young child what therapy is about?
Patience has written a book about this (“What is therapy and why do I have to go?”) and it is available in the waiting room to read, as well as on Amazon. Feel free to borrow it before the appt if you think your child needs this. Mostly framing therapy in a positive way to address whatever the child’s ‘problem’ is can be helpful. For example something along the lines of: “You’re going to see a therapist (or counselor/talking doctor/ teacher/nice lady/whatever term you prefer) to help you with your behavior/anxiety/etc… so you will feel happier and not get into trouble so much/not feel so worried/etc”