Question to lakewooders! Chemed/lcsc?

amother

Pewter

Wed, Dec 07 2016, 10:16 am

For counseling for child. I have never been to any of them. What are the differences? I know I don't get to choose therapist I get. Who is the supervisor? Can someone give me any tips ? I need to use them as I can't afford to pay out of pocket. I know it's not what is the best but I have no choice.

So explain to me if you can, how they work. I will call them just want a heads up before I go. Thank you in advance. I know who is good there but I doubt I will get either of them. So who in your experience is good?

amother

Copper

Wed, Dec 07 2016, 10:37 am

I've sent my daughter to LCSC and was so impressed. I think their therapists have alot of in- house training and supervision. You call the office at 886-6964 at they set up an appt for you to come to complete the initial paperwork. Afterwards they assign the case to whom they think is the best match and you get called from the therapist. If you want a great therapist, you may need to tell them up front that you are flexible with the time/day of week. (You may want to stress that you are willing to come it during the day.)

Be prepared that therapy can be a long process, not a "quick fix", but if you stick with it, the results are really worth it. My daughter saw Mrs. Kotler, and her anxiety has shrunken significantly. My daughter still uses the skills she learnt there. I know there are other therapists there that are good - trying to remember their names - Nechama Kruk, Riki Raich, someone Shani....

amother

Violet

Wed, Dec 07 2016, 11:20 am

With Chemed, I think you can choose a therapist - as long as they have availability, and it might depend on your insurance. Not sure about Lcsc, but I don't see why you can't choose.

amother

Pewter

Wed, Dec 07 2016, 11:25 am

I'm trying to see which place is better in terms of a good therapist. Dc has ADHD. So I'm looking to see which place is more qualified.

Would like to hear as many people experiences and where they went. Thanks to the poster who gave good feedback.

amother

Lilac

Wed, Dec 07 2016, 11:38 am

I can't answer for children, but I've used both.
A previous poster mentioned that with Chemed you get to choose your therapist. I found that to be a much better system even though I ended up on a waiting list for a good few months, ultimately, I felt like it was a better match than the therapist who was assigned to me with LCSC that I had no choice about. The director even confirmed that the therapist assigned to me did not have experience in the needed area, but that they thought it was valuable to give a varied case load to all the therapists.

I also found that because they see a lot of Medicaid clients (I was paying the discounted rates they offered) they were totally ok with dragging things on and on and on with no end in sight. When I ended up going to a private therapist, she was much quicker to say that I wasn't in her expertise and closed the case...

Hatzlacha

amother

Pewter

Wed, Dec 07 2016, 12:36 pm

Thanks lilac amother. Did lcsc tell you they were giving you a therapist not for you before you started?

The reason I'm asking is I don't want to spend. Time getting the wrong therapist. Dc has issues and I don't want to add problems.

Anyone else have experience with either organizations?

amother

Lilac

Wed, Dec 07 2016, 1:05 pm

I had done my research before starting and had been given 2-3 names of clinicians that would be in the right field. When I was assigned to a different one, I called the director and questioned it and that was the answer that I was given. That they like to give each clinician the opportunity to develop skills in various areas - and basically, she was going to be training on me... It was a poor match needless to say.

amother

Pewter

Wed, Dec 07 2016, 1:11 pm

Didn't anyone use Miriam nuehouse from chemed?

Anyone else have experience with their kids in these 2 places?

Lilac who can I ask who's good in either place that would fit the bill for dc?
How did you find out who's good? Please help me

debsey

Wed, Dec 07 2016, 1:19 pm

Just keep in mind that in general, you get what you pay for! When people are good, they tend to leave these places because they honestly make about 35.00 an hour. A lot of times, the clinic will give you someone very inexperienced because those are the people who are willing to work for that kind of money, so yes, they are being trained in on your kid.

If the problem is minor, that might not be a problem. If it's more tricky, you may need to look for more experienced people.

cnc

Wed, Dec 07 2016, 1:21 pm

debsey wrote:

Also, therapist are usually working at these clinics so they can accumulate their hours that are necessary for licensure. Once they get their license (and experience) they can work on their own/ open a private practice.

debsey

Wed, Dec 07 2016, 1:46 pm

cnc wrote:

which can leave people high and dry.... you may start out with someone good, and then she leaves, and you end up with someone brand new. Again, totally depends on the kid and the issue. I've had friends be very upset with things like having a therapist switched on them, without the mother being notified, and I know people who waited months for a particular person, and were happy once they got in with him or her.

amother

Lilac

Wed, Dec 07 2016, 1:51 pm

debsey wrote:

But paying privately for a therapist would run over $6000 for a year and the good ones never take insurance. I don't have that kind of money.

Chayalle

Wed, Dec 07 2016, 1:53 pm

Many insurances do cover therapy at an out-of-network rate. My DD was seeing an OT this past year, and once I fill my out-of-network deductible, they pay 60% of the cost.

I once priced it out at Chemed, and because I don't qualify for their reduced rates, I would pay the same rate at Chemed as I pay a private therapist.

debsey

Wed, Dec 07 2016, 2:31 pm

amother wrote:

But paying privately for a therapist would run over $6000 for a year and the good ones never take insurance. I don't have that kind of money.

For my kids, it was consistently the more expensive option that ended up being WAY cheaper! Plus, with Catastrophic, I was fully reimbursed for every penny I spent.

mha3484

Wed, Dec 07 2016, 2:47 pm

I found that when working on issues pertaining to ADHD and especially boys it's important to use a therapist who has extensive knowledge working with the Jewish school system. It has helped us in a huge way.

debsey

Wed, Dec 07 2016, 5:46 pm

mha3484 wrote:

and someone who has the ear of the yeshiva! If the yeshiva recommends person A and you use person B, sometimes they are not as invested in making it work.

That's how I heard about Catastrophic - DS's yeshiva wanted us to use a specific psychologist in Lakewood who is amazing but very expensive. They told us about Catastrophic (if your child's healthcare costs are over a certain percentage of your budget, you can apply for relief from the government)

We would not qualify today, but back then, it was a huge help. The school also said that by using this top person, we ended up saving time and money, because she helped DS a lot faster than less experienced people would.

I also know with DS - if he wouldn't like the person, it would be OVER and we wouldn't be able to get him to go anywhere again for months, so I didn't want to risk not seeing the right person right away.

amother

Pewter

Wed, Dec 07 2016, 6:07 pm

Firstly, the school isn't recommending whom I should go to. I am totally taking care of this not because the school told me to. But because I have to. I "might" get financial help from a family member to go to someone private. That would be ideal. If that doesn't work, I will try chop. As this is a medical issue and he's there for other issues anyway. I'm assuming they have great people. Has anyone gone there for this reason? I'm willing to travel. He's on meds. Doing better. Technically he's ok, but he needs to learn some stuff. He's been working with a psychologist there and she's so so good. I'm thinking he can get so much for his issues there. I know it takes time to get approved.