FAQs
Do You Have Questions About Virtual Therapy in Florida with Anna Filipski?
Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions about how I work as a mental health counselor. Please feel free to reach out if you don’t see the answers to your questions below.
Virtual counseling in Florida
How long are your virtual therapy sessions? My therapy sessions can last from anywhere from 50-80 minutes depending on what feels right for you.
Why virtual counseling? My therapy practice used to be exclusively in person. Covid forced me to shift my sessions online. Initially, my clients were skeptical about meeting virtually. But during the pandemic, something shifted. We both began to see the amazing benefits of being able to conduct our sessions online; They are more convenient. You don’t have to make long commutes or arrange family or work schedules around your sessions. You simply hop on where you are. They are more comfortable in your own surroundings. When you are virtual, you can attend in your sweatpants with a cup of tea and a blanket on the couch. Some clients bring their pets, which is soothing. It allows me glimpses into your life that often shed’s light on areas I wouldn’t have seen otherwise. This dimensional understanding gives me the ability to counsel you with a fuller understanding and get to know you on a more personal level. It allows me to serve clients who are not in my area. We are no longer limited by geography. If you live in other areas of Florida, I can still be your therapist. If given a choice, many of my clients now prefer to meet virtually. Book a call to experience the many positive results of online therapy.
How do we get started? We start with a free call to see if we are a good fit. If I feel like someone else would serve you better, I can provide you with a referral. If we decide that we are a good fit, we’ll start by meeting weekly to build a relationship. This gives me time to understand what you need and for therapy to begin to work. After some time, we will reassess and shift appointments to bi-weekly if that is what makes sense for your schedule and care. I will only take you on as a client if I have a recurring spot available. This is to ensure that your service isn’t disjointed or broken up by long stretches of time.
Do you see people outside of Florida? I am licensed in the state of Florida and can only see people who reside in that state.
When are you available for sessions? I see clients on weekdays during business hours. I will not take you on as a client unless I have an ongoing opening in my schedule. This is to ensure that there aren’t long gaps between your sessions, which can impact the effectiveness of your therapy.
About Therapy
How long will I be in therapy? Your therapy journey is highly personal and customized to what you need. Therapy is a collaborative process. I will check in routinely with you in regards to your current needs. My goal is to provide a warm, safe, and welcoming space where communication about your therapeutic journey can take place regularly.
What is a therapy session like? Your session is your time, so you can decide what direction they take. I will always invite you to start by talking about what is on your mind. We often have goals that you would like to pursue in therapy. Also clients often come with something that is bothering them or a recent event that they would like to process. If you don’t have anything particular in mind that’s okay too. Sometimes, if I feel it would be helpful, I might recommend homework or books. Homework is not mandatory and no one should feel bad about not completing it. Therapy sessions are an opportunity to connect, share, and receive helpful feedback. They are 100% collaborative. My training has taught me that you have the answers and are the best guide for your own journey in therapy. Together we will talk about the techniques that might work best for you, like talk therapy, parts work or brainspotting.
How often will we meet? When we first start, we will meet weekly in order for us to get to know each other. That learning phase is foundational to the work we do together. Depending on your preference and how you are feeling, we can decrease the frequency of your visits to every other week when we both feel you are ready.
Fees and Insurance
How much does a session cost? I charge $185 for a 50-minute session and $290 for 80-minute sessions.
Do you take insurance? I am a self-pay counseling practice. Though I am not in-network with any insurance companies, some will allow you to submit your bill for reimbursement. If this is the case, I will provide you with a “super bill” ( a receipt prepared specifically for insurance companies). You can submit this to your insurance to request reimbursement. To find out how your insurance coverage could apply to my services, contact your insurance provider. Many of my clients have struggled in the past to find the right fit in a therapist. They signed on with someone who their insurance company pointed them to. Often those therapists offer a broad array of therapies for all kinds of people. As a result, the choice is less about compatibility and more about convenience of bureaucracy. It doesn’t feel tailored to them and their issues because it’s not. I believe your success in counseling has a lot to do with choosing the right person with the right expertise for your situation. That’s why my therapy services are limited to a specific type of client and areas of counseling, such as trauma counseling, anxiety or difficulty connecting emotionally. I have focused my training to make sure I am as knowledgeable as possible in helping you where you need it. I use tools that are the most effective for certain instances. Participating therapists on an insurance panel elect to seek participation on that insurance panel, and are accepted per the insurance company's availability for new providers. More often than not, there is not a careful selection process, but instead, insurance companies typically include therapists based on location, price, or therapeutic approach. This may mean that access to customized, quality mental health coverage is limited and you find your therapist is not a good fit for you.
How can I pay for therapy? Payment can be made with a credit card, debit card, HSA, or FSA card. I require that you have an active card on file in my secure online portal in order to receive my services.
Brainspotting
What is Brainspotting? Brainspotting is a method of therapy where a therapist observes where a client looks to access unprocessed trauma. The theory is that feelings from trauma can get stuck in the body and cause emotional and physical ailments. Brainspotting can help reset the body’s memory of the event, allowing the patient to release the trauma. Brainspotting is another tool to help me dive deeper into the underlying causes of your roadblocks.
What does a Brainspotting session look like? We will set goals for your Brainspotting session and identify what you would like to work on. As we discuss the issue, I will help you notice how you feel or experience the issue in your mind or body. We may use bilateral music, or sound that alternates from the left headphone to the right repeatedly back and forth. The music is generally calming and soothing, and is optional. There is clinical evidence that bilateral sound helps reduce anxiety and assists in trauma resolution when combined with Brainspotting. We will identify the eyespot or related "brainspot' by scanning your visual field from one side to the other. Once a spot is located, you will focus on what comes up for you. You may talk as much or as little as you like, or process internally. I will check in with you periodically. Toward the end of the session, we can talk about your experience and process through what came up for you during the session.
Internal Family System (IFS)
What is parts work or Internal Family Systems? We all have various parts to our inner selves. Parts work addresses where these different pieces of ourselves run into conflict. By addressing these differences, we open up the opportunity for emotional healing. The particular model of Parts Work that I use is Internal Family Systems (IFS), established through the IFS Institute, a training organization for this therapy. Under this model, each person has a core self with other parts or aspects that exist around it. A core pillar of parts therapy is to accept and befriend all of our parts so they can be in harmony despite their differences.
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