Are You Considering Entering Counseling?

WHO WE ARE

The Samaritan Center is a not-for-profit agency which has served Elkhart County since 1972. Our mission is to offer quality counseling and psychotherapy services, to present a multidisciplinary approach which treats the whole person, and to be respectful and supportive of faith issues.

The professional staff and consultants at the Samaritan Center represent several disciplines, including pastoral counseling, family medicine, clinical psychology, and social work. Each therapist has undergone extensive education and training; you may expect skilled and caring treatment.

GETTING STARTED

If you are coming for your first session, you may feel some anxiety about what lies ahead. This is not unusual. The decision to seek help is almost always a courageous choice, even though it may also be a frightening choice at the same time. Your therapist will be respectful of you, your courage, and any uneasiness you might feel.

The therapist's main concerns are to understand what brings you to us, and to determine how we can be of most help to you. In order to do that, you will be asked to talk about the concerns that bring you here, about background information regarding these concerns, and about your goals - that is, how do you want things to be different? How do you want therapy to help you? The therapist will help you set specific goals for your work together.

THE ASSESSMENT

In order to be of most help to you, the therapist needs to do an "assessment," which is a formal process of learning about you and your situation, and then making decisions about what approach will be the most effective. You will be asked to fill out a questionnaire which covers broad areas of your experience. In subsequent sessions, the therapist will "take a history," which means asking you to walk through the story of your life. The assessment process may also involve other components, such as psychological testing, medical consultation, or psychiatric evaluation. Your therapist will let you know what components are appropriate.

The assessment process is important because it is not unusual for important issues or sources of problems to be hidden from awareness. In other words, a problem that seems clear-cut may have hidden complexities. A part of your therapy may be to discover these unknown elements and learn how they affect your situation. Once these underlying issues are identified, realistic and long-lasting solutions can be created to address them.

HELPING THE WHOLE PERSON

Mind, body and spirit are connected and interrelated. Problems in one area involve problems in another area. Emotional or psychological concerns can lead to physical distress; physical problems may lead to emotional distress. Spiritual problems can be similarly involved. While the therapist's expertise is in dealing with emotional, psychological, and relational problems, physical issues are also of concern. At times, it is advisable to schedule a medical or psychiatric consultation. If the therapist believes this will be of help to you, the therapist will make an appropriate referral.

Among our psychotherapists here are pastoral counselors, who are theologically trained, and can deal effectively with faith concerns. Our policy is that faith concerns are discussed only at the initiation of the client; if you do not wish to talk about spiritual or faith concerns, you can rest assured that your therapist will not introduce them.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Your relationship with your therapist and with the Center is a personal and private matter. On occasion, your therapy may be assisted by the sharing of information between the Center and other professionals with whom you have had contact. No such contact will be made with any outside person or agency, however, without your written permission. This procedure is rigorously followed in order to respect your privacy.

Confidentiality is your legal and ethical right. With few exceptions (such as physical danger to yourself or others, or possible child abuse) you may expect that this right will be protected.

APPOINTMENTS

Therapy sessions generally last between forty-five and fifty (45-50) minutes. It is hoped that you can arrive within minutes of your scheduled appointment. In general, sessions are on a weekly basis; you and your therapist will probably settle on a regular day and time.

FEES AND PAYMENTS

A standard fee is charged for each session, the amount determined by the cost of service delivered. In some cases, this fee can be adjusted where necessary and as our funding allows. We raise funds from private sources only, and do not accept federal funding - due to this, we are unable to provide free counseling. If financial arrangements are a concern for you, mention it to your therapist during the first session. We ask that you make payment at the close of each session. If you wish to file for health insurance coverage, we will be happy to assist you in seeking this reimbursement (in order to determine if mental health services are covered by your insurance company and to what extent, we advise you to contact them directly). No appointment can be scheduled following the third session in which payment is not received, unless special arrangements are made. This policy is maintained so that we may remain fiscally sound, and therefore able to provide consistent quality service. Any exceptions must be approved by your therapist and the Executive Director.

CANCELLATIONS

If you are unable to keep a scheduled appointment, please notify the office at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance. A standard session charge is made for cancellations with less than twenty-four (24) hours notice. Insurance coverage will not reimburse for non-canceled appointments. If you must cancel without 24 hours notice due to unforeseen emergency situations, please discuss this with your therapist.

OFFICE LOCATIONS and HOURS

Our main office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with counseling appointments generally beginning at 9:00 a.m. We normally begin our last counsling appointment of the day at 5:00 p.m., but in some cases, later appointments can be made by special arrangement. We are not open on weekends.

Main Office-Elkhart 221 East Crawford Street, On the grounds of (behind) First Presbyterian Church (the Church is located at 222 East Beardsley Avenue, just east of the intersection of Main and Beardsley, and just west of the intersection of Cassopolis Street and Beardsley near Ruthmere Manison) - the Center is located in the house adjoining the Church's back parking lot

Southwest Elkhart Branch First United Methodist Church, 400 W. Mishawaka Road in Elkhart (across the street from Old Farm Apartments between Prairie Street and Benham Avenue, east of the U.S. 20 bypass/State Road 19 connection)

Middlebury Branch Middlebury Church of the Brethren, 507 West Bristol Avenue/County Road 8 (west of State Road 13, between State Road 120 and U.S. 20)

Bristol Branch St. John of the Cross Episcopal Church, 601 E. Vistula Street/State Road 120 (just east of State Road 15)

Dunlap Branch Dunlap United Methodist Church, 23674 U.S. 33 East (between Meijer and Concord Mall, southeast of the U.S. 20/U.S. 33 bypass connection), at the intersection of County Road 13/Lewis Street and U.S. 33, across the street from Bontrager Pools)

Goshen Branch First Presbyterian Church, 215 East Lincoln Avenue/Highway 4 (located in the downtown area of Goshen, just east of Main Street/U.S. 33/S.R. 15)

Wakarusa Branch Yellow Creek Mennonite Church, 64901 County Road 11 in Goshen (at the corner of C.R. 11 and C.R. 38, west of State Road 19)

Please note that not all therapists are available at all locations and that not all locations are available on all weekdays. Please call the Center at (574) 262-3597 for more information on satellite office availability.

IN CONCLUSION

We hope this information enables you to begin your counseling with a sense of clarity. Feel free to ask questions at any time. If you would like more information, please call the Center at (574) 262-3597.