How do I get an appointment?

Call our office at 410-788-5483. Staff or a counselor will take your contact information, and some brief information about your concerns.   Then a counselor will call you back for a 15-20 minute telephone intake, during which we ask questions you might expect, such as where you live and when you’re available for an appointment, and some you might not expect, such as family history, and what medications you’re taking. We ask so many questions prior to your appointment because we want to make sure that Lighthouse is able to offer the services appropriate to your needs, and we want to match you with a counselor whom we believe will be a good fit for you. After we get the intake information, our Clinical Director assigns a counselor to your case, and that counselor will call you to schedule your first appointment.

Who does the counseling?

Counseling is provided by Licensed Clinical Professional Counselors (LCPC), or by Licensed Graduate Professional Counselors (LGPC) and clinical interns, under the direct supervision of a Board Approved Supervisor.  Because Lighthouse is a training agency for several graduate counseling programs in our area, many of our counselors are interns, completing their graduate degrees.  Lighthouse has been a training agency for more than 25 years and much of the reputation that we enjoy is due to the outstanding work by our counseling interns.

What if I can’t pay for counseling?

No one at Lighthouse is turned away due to an inability to pay.  We have a number of options available for payment, including accepting third-party payments and using a sliding fee scale based on net income.  You will know what your fee is prior to your first appointment, when your phone intake is completed.  If your financial circumstances change during your counseling at Lighthouse, your counselor will discuss any necessary fee adjustments with you.

Do you prescribe medication?

No, Lighthouse does not have a medical doctor on staff to prescribe medication.  We are able to refer you to psychiatrists for evaluation to see if medication is indicated.  If you are under a psychiatrist’s care, your counselor will be willing (with your written permission) to contact your doctor and work collaboratively in the interest of your mental health.

I’d like for my child to get counseling.  Why does the whole family have to be in counseling?

Lighthouse is a child-focused family counseling agency.  That means that many of our clients call us because of some behavioral, social or emotional challenge in a child’s or adolescent’s life.  We have found, after many years of serving families, that when one family member is feeling distress, the entire family is affected in some way.  Our philosophy is to empower and encourage every member of the family to make the changes that they can make to help restore balance and health to the family.  We’ve also found that sometimes children serve as “emotional barometers” of the family, exhibiting symptoms of anxiety, depression or behavioral disturbances that call attention to the whole family system’s need for help.

How is Lighthouse different from other counseling centers?

 There are a number of factors that we believe set us apart.

• We are a mission-driven agency, dedicated to improving the overall health of our community through our work with families and children. We affirm that play is the work of childhood and we integrate therapeutic play into many of our services.
• As a well-established training agency, we use a competitive selection process to choose highly qualified counseling interns from accredited colleges and universities. We are known for providing excellent clinical supervision, which means that our clients who work with counseling interns get the benefit of the very latest in research and knowledge in the field, as well as years of clinical experience – the benefit of two or more counselors’ attention, for the price of one.
• We consider the child’s or adolescent’s entire system, not just the one area in which he or she may be exhibiting overt symptoms.  When indicated, and with our clients’ permission, our counselors may collaborate with school personnel, physicians, other therapists, daycare providers, extended family members and others, in an effort to provide “wraparound” services that support the growth and health of the entire family system.