Scheduling A First Appointment
If you would like to arrange an initial appointment for yourself or a family member, please call the office to speak with Bonny at 603-778-0505 x 10.During the initial phone call, you will be asked for additional information such as who referred you, a brief description of the reasons you are seeking assistance and your insurance provider. This information will be reviewed and used to determine who might be best suited to provide the initial consultation and/or treatment.
Registration/ Benefits, Policies, Procedures and Consent to Treatment Forms
Once you have scheduled your first appointment, we will ask you to complete and sign our registration and policies, procedures and consent to treatment forms that you will need to bring with you to your first appointment. These forms, as well as our privacy policies and patient bill of rights can be downloaded or mailed to you. Please let us know your preference when you schedule your first appointment. The benefits questionnaire will provide us with more detailed information about your insurance benefits and billing. The policy and procedure forms provide additional information regarding our practice, including information about our fees, financial policies, privacy and confidentiality practices and billing services.Initial Consultation
The initial evaluation for adults is generally completed in the first appointment, although additional diagnostic sessions may be required. More than one appointment is often required for children, adolescents and couples to complete the evaluation and to have adequate time to discuss our impressions and treatment recommendations with you.Additional consultations and assessment procedures may be recommended such as psychological or neuropsychological testing, educational testing, medical consultation or laboratory tests. Depending on the nature of your concerns, on what type of treatment you may have already had and its outcome, and on your own preferences, our treatment recommendations may include individual psychotherapy, family or couple’s treatment, group therapy, parent counseling, and/or treatment with medication. One of the strengths of our multidisciplinary practice is that we are able to work as a team to provide both psychotherapy and medication when appropriate.
Emergency & After-Hours Coverage
24 hour emergency coverage is provided for our clients through our emergency voice mail. If you or a family member are in treatment at Coastal Counseling and are experiencing a medical emergency that will not wait until our normal business hours, call our office at 603-778-0505 and follow the instructions to reach your therapist or doctor. If you are concerned about an immediate safety issue and cannot wait for a call back, go to your local emergency room. If you or a family member are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, call 911.If you have a pressing concern or feel you need to speak to your therapist or doctor before your next appointment, but it is not a medical emergency, you can leave a message in their private, non-emergency voice mail box. (see Contact Us section.)
Billing and Insurance
Our clinical staff are contracted members with most insurance companies and managed care plans, including Anthem BC-BS, Aetna, Cigna, Pacificare, Health Care Value Management, Magellan, Private Health Care Systems, Harvard Pilgram/United Behavioral Health and others. Please call Bonny at x10 to inquire about specific provider coverage and to verify your insurance. It is a patient's responsibility to verify insurance coverage prior to treatment and during, if your insurance changes. More specific information regarding our billing services and financial policies are contained in the Policies, Procedures and Consent to Treatment Form. You must review and sign this form prior to your first appointment.Privacy and Confidentiality
We pledge to provide you with the highest quality of care and to build a relationship that is based on trust. This trust includes our commitment to respect the privacy and confidentiality of your health care information. No forms will be released without a separate form pacific to. For further details, please review our Notice of Privacy Practices.Coastal Counseling Therapy
Therapy is a treatment intended to relieve or heal. Meeting with a highly qualified staff member will help you understand the basis of how you are feeling and why. Therapy will help you reduce your stress level and resolve a large number of specific concerns, issues and symptoms.
You can find a list of our therapists here.
Coastal Counseling Psychiatrists
A psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner is a highly trained licensed medical doctor or nurse who specializes in preventing, diagnosing, and treating mental illness. They monitor the effects of mental illness on other physical conditions as well as psychosocial domains such as relationships, work, family. They are licensed to write prescriptions and monitor treatment via ordering tests such as bloodwork, scans, or coordinating care with PCPs and other specialists. Many mental disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, or ADHD can effectively be treated with medications. At times, your clinician may recommend a combination of medications and psychotherapy for treatment if needed. If that is the case, they may provide the psychotherapy themselves or refer you to a therapist or other type of mental health provider.