Considering Your Care
Trust & Transparency are essential to a strong therapeutic relationship at Living Story Therapy.
2022 Good Faith Notice
In compliance with the No Surprises Act that goes into effect January 1, 2022, all healthcare providers are required to notify clients of their federal rights and protections against “surprise billing.”
You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical and mental health care will cost.
Under the new law, health care providers need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the expected charges for medical services, including psychotherapy services.
You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency healthcare services, including psychotherapy services.
You can ask your health care provider, and any other provider you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule a service.
If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill. Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate.
For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises
Responding to COVID-19
To prevent the spread of the novel Coronavirus, all appointments are being scheduled via Video Teletherapy. If you're looking to submit sessions for Out-of-Network reimbursement, please contact your specific plan to ensure Teletherapy is covered. Feel free to contact Amanda directly with any questions or concerns.
Thank you.
Learn More from Listings
Review the following links for additional information about services at Living Story Therapy, PLLC
Get Connected
Contact Amanda directly with additional questions.
Because Amanda is often in session, the quickest way to get in touch with her is by sending an email to amanda@livingstorytherapy.com. Please expect 1-2 business days for email response or up to 5 business days for a returned phone call.
Invest in Yourself
When it comes to the therapeutic process, the old saying stands: You get what you give.
Building trust and safety with a new therapist takes time and energy. Research also shows that therapy is most productive and effective when clients attend on a consistent basis. New clients of Living Story Therapy, PLLC are strongly encouraged and expected to schedule one session per week during the initial few months of care. While Amanda emphasizes collaboration and respects client autonomy, she also recognizes her role is to support you in achieving your wellness goals as efficiently as possible.
FAQs
Find Your Answers Here
How do I become a client?
A strong client-therapist relationship is an important catalyst for success in therapy. All potential clients are asked to schedule and participate in a free Initial Phone Consultation. This phone call typically lasts 20-30 minutes and will allow Amanda the opportunity to learn about your specific needs for therapy determine if her services will be a good fit or if you might benefit from referrals to a different provider or agency. Similarly, you will have an opportunity to ask questions about her style and background to ensure there’s an initial level of comfort.
To schedule the free Initial Phone Consultation, please email Amanda directly at amanda@livingstorytherapy.com, or call (720) 987-0897 and leave a voicemail with your name and callback number.
What is your Session Fee? Do you accept insurance, Medicaid, FSA or HSA cards?
The cost for a 50-minute Individual session is $175. Amanda offers a free 30-minute Initial Phone Consultation, and pro-rates the first appointment by half (total is $87.50) to ensure her services are a good fit for your needs and for you to determine your level of comfort with her.
For information on session costs for therapeutic groups, please CLICK HERE.
As of August 2021, Living Story Therapy, PLLC is no longer considered In-Network with any insurance panels. However, Amanda would be glad to send you Superbill statements for you to submit for Out-of-Network insurance reimbursement. Please know that the First Appointment cannot be included on your Superbill due to the cost being discounted. Additionally, a mental health diagnosis from the DSM-5 is required when utilizing insurance benefits and will need to be discussed in session prior to any claims submission.
Amanda is NOT a Medicaid or Medicare provider and, therefore, cannot serve clients with either of these plans.
Yes. HSA and FSA cards are accepted to cover the costs of therapy. However, clients are encouraged to list a second credit card on file, as HSA and FSA funds cannot be used to cover Late-Cancellation or No-Show fees.
Will I need to complete intake paperwork?
Yes! Once the First Appointment is scheduled, you will receive two follow-up emails: one directly from Amanda outlining instructions for the First Appointment, and the second coming from her scheduling system, SimplePractice, where you will be given access to a Client Portal. All clients are required to review and electronically sign various practice forms and authorizations, measures, and place a credit card on file at least 4 hours before meeting. If any documents are left incomplete, your appointment may need to be rescheduled for a later time.
What can I expect in the First Appointment?
The first half hour of the First Appointment is considered an extension of the free Initial Phone Consultation where you will be able to meet Amanda (either in person or virtually) to further determine your level of comfort and safety. If you choose to continue for the full-hour appointment, the session cost will be pro-rated by half of your regular fee.
Because Amanda values transparency, about 15 to 20 minutes of the First Appointment will be spent reviewing the paperwork you signed, highlighting important policies, and allowing time for you to ask any additional questions or gain clarifications. Your rights as a client, confidentiality and its limitations will also be thoroughly explained.
Coming from non-profit healthcare, Amanda has designed a more formalized Intak Interview where she will aim to ask questions about various realms of your life and gather historical information about your life’s narrative. This interview process will be balanced with Amanda meeting you where you’re at in that first session and addressing any immediate concerns as they arise.
How long will I need to be in therapy?
It really depends! Amanda strongly encourages all clients start out scheduling weekly sessions and continue for at least 3 months. This will allow you and her time to build a strong foundation of trust, safety, and clarify your therapeutic aims. Ideally, general frequency of counseling sessions will reduce over time to every other week as you’re starting to feel more confident, then to once a month for continued maintenance of progress, and eventually to termination of services.
For clients interested in addressing short-term concerns and/or focusing on skill-building, meeting weekly for 3 months may be sufficient. Amanda practices Narrative Therapy, which is more depth-oriented. The overarching goal is for you to re-claim and re-write your personal narrative which can take up to 2 to 3 years, depending on the level of self-understanding you want to achieve. Life often happens faster than we can process, so length of counseling may need to be extended due to new or re-emerging stressors and concerns.
Amanda emphasizes collaboration and personal empowerment in the client-therapist relationship. While she will continually assess your progress and offer suggestions for support, you will be involved in all decisions regarding your care and your autonomy will be prioritized.
What are my options for managing costs?
Paying out of pocket for therapy can quickly become expensive. Amanda is committed to working with you to reduce barriers to accessing quality mental healthcare. Superbills can be automatically emailed for you to submit to your insurance plan for Out-of-Network reimbursement. If you need support determining your plan’s coverage, please let Amanda know and she will send you a script of questions for you to gather and interpret important information. FSA and HSA cards are also accepted to cover session costs.
Referrals to lower cost support groups, process groups, and other community resources can be utilized to supplement individual therapy sessions. You and Amanda can get creative with scheduling frequency, as well as utilizing supportive and relevant Homework assignments in between appointments.
If, after exhausting various options, you are still finding that cost is barrier for care, Amanda will work with you to find referrals for clinicians who accept your insurance benefits or agencies that can help connect with you providers offering reduced fees, such as the Open Path Collective or the Rocky Mountain Crisis Partners hotline directory. While Amanda greatly values each client she welcomes to her practice, she recognizes that financial stress can become counterintuitive and hinder success in therapy.
Do you work with Couples?
No. Amanda is not able to offer Couples Therapy at this time.
Although she was supervised by a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, Amanda has tailored her skill and specialty to support individuals navigating relationship issues and concerns. Her emphasis is placed on re-building intrapersonal trust (i.e., trust and knowledge of one’s self) in order to better foster interpersonal functioning (i.e., relating to others). When discussing partners, Amanda maintains neutrality and compassion for all people as she recognizes the complexity of building and sustaining relationships.
If Amanda determines you might benefit from Couples Therapy, as a supplement to your individual work, she will offer referrals to trusted colleagues for you and your partner(s) to connect for services.
If desired, Amanda is open to having clients welcome in their partner(s) or a family member for one-two sessions to witness their therapeutic process. Please know multiple conversations on goals and intention will be had prior to inviting anyone into your sacred therapeutic space.
Are you able to write me a letter for gender-affirming surgery?
Yes! Amanda is experienced in writing letters for Top and Bottom surgeries that follow WPATH standards and have been successfully submitted to insurance plans and medical providers. To reduce her role as a “gate-keeper”, letter-writing is a collaborative process and you will be encouraged to review and offer feedback on drafts before they are submitted. Amanda wants you to feel as empowered as possible in pursuing medically necessary gender-affirming care.
Please know that starting Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) does NOT require a letter of therapeutic support, and Amanda has resources for people looking to get connected with LGBTQ+ affirming and friendly providers today.
For those seeking gender-affirming surgery or HRT, it is recommended (NOT required) that you sign a Release of Information for Amanda to consult with your medical provider(s). It can be beneficial to you, as the client, to have your entire care team in communication.
Amanda does not charge for time spent writing letters or consulting with providers. She is continually completing trainings and research, along with consultation and supervision to better support the LGBTQ+ community and recognize her cisgender privilege and internalized biases. Amanda is truly honored to serve transgender and gender expansive folx and wants you to feel uplifted and supported through her allyship.
How do I get my loved one connected to your services?
If you believe your loved one could benefit from my services, please have them contact me directly. Out of respect for people's privacy and autonomy, it is my policy to reply only to individuals who have directly contacted me to begin services for themselves and given me permission to contact them via email or phone. I will not accommodate requests to reach out or schedule services with your loved one if they have not directly initiated the service.
What is your style as a therapist?
I emphasize an active, creative, and collaborative approach to therapy. While using silence can be a helpful intervention, it’s not the only intervention. Sessions will consist of dialogue, as I will offer honest feedback and reflections on the stories you share. I will pose questions to help deconstruct and foster new perspectives on how you view yourself, others, and the world. Safety is built through trust and transparency, and I am glad to answer certain personal questions and embrace vulnerability with you.
Other familiar interventions will involve psychoeducation and outside articles and media; teaching and practicing new coping or self-soothing skills; and use of role play and rehearsal to find authentic language, new communication skills, and improved boundary-setting.
Can we talk about culture, politics, or religion in session?
On Culture:
Yes, as long as it’s something relevant to you and your experience. There are so many cultural identity factors that influence how we experience and interact with the world, whether it be our race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, spirituality, abilities and disabilities, etc. For example, I recognize that being a white cis-female queer millennial influences my personality and therapeutic style. Narrative therapy further places emphasis on exploring and deconstructing how one’s cultural identity and the larger systems one navigates though shape our lived stories (which ultimately impact how we view ourselves).
On Politics:
I believe in the feminist concept: the Personal is Political. The leaders and laws we vote for impact our livelihood and ability to move freely and thrive in this world. Today, modern politics has become divisive and can instill an intense emotional response and impact. I will follow you when it comes to introducing and discussing politics in session.
On Religion:
Similarly, It is completely your decision when it comes to therapeutic exploration of religion or spirituality. I do not consider myself a Christian or other religiously-affiliated counselor. I will offer my support and professional experience in helping you process your religious or spiritual background, experiences, and beliefs; however, I will never pressure these conversations or project any of my personal values or beliefs onto you. This is your narrative; my role is to help you write it.