Sliding Scale Therapy & Reduced Fee Counseling

Louis Laves-Webb, LCSW, LPC-S and his team of Austin counselors are committed to helping those in need of support. To assist clients that may have a greater financial need, we offer reduced fees and sliding scale therapy

About Our Sliding Scale Counseling

There are many people who are interested in counseling but are unsure of just how it will fit into their budget.

For those individuals and families, Louis Laves-Webb, LCSW, LPC-S & Associates offers the option for sessions at sliding scale rates which provide lower rates for those in need.

Clients who are uninsured or under financial strain can now enjoy affordable therapy in Austin without sacrificing quality for their care.

By doing this, our goal is to provide help to those who wish to better their life but who may have some present financial barriers to receiving treatment.

Sliding Scale Counseling Fees

Individual Session

$100–$120

Couples Session

$120–$140

Group Session

$40–$70

Please contact us for more information on our sliding scale slots, as we have a limited number of available spaces. Further slots may be available on an individual basis, based on need.

Advantages of Sliding Scale Counseling

Therapy and counseling in Austin might seem out of reach due to the concern about pricing and insurance. Sliding scale counseling provides a less expensive alternative so anyone can receive the benefits of counseling.

Some insurance companies might cover only a partial amount of sessions, pressuring you to feel rushed and not benefit from the full effects of counseling or maybe you don’t feel comfortable sharing that amount of information with your insurance provider due to your situation.

Our sliding scale counseling fees provide you a chance to focus on becoming a better you – without the added worries of payment, insurance, or how you will make ends meet if you choose to pursue help through counseling.

With sliding scale rates, you receive the benefits of counseling in a more affordable way.

Phase 1: History Taking

Before beginning EMDR, your trauma therapist will get to know more about your experiences and symptoms. This step is for you to share about events in your past that may be affecting your current mindset.

Phase 2: Preparation

This stage is about ensuring your readiness for EMDR. Even though EMDR therapy for trauma is completely safe, it can be problematic for individuals who commonly experience dissociation. As a safeguard, your trauma therapist will work with you to create your own “calm place” to concentrate on if you feel distressed.

Phase 3: Assessment

It’s now time to choose a target to be reprocessed during your next few sessions. In doing so, you’ll need to identify a vivid image related to the memory, a negative cognition about yourself associated with it, and emotions and bodily sensations that accompany both. Your therapist will then have you challenge that negative cognition with a cognitive one. They will have you rate how true your positive cognition feels and how much distress the target memory causes you on a scale from 1-10.

Phase 4: Desensitization

This is where Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing comes into play. When you feel ready, your therapist will guide you to process your negative feelings and memories using bilateral eye movements to facilitate the brain’s healing process. This will help to ground you and take more directed focus on the thoughts, feelings, and images associated with your target. Every minute or so, your therapist will check in on what you’ve noticed and ask you to rate how much discomfort you’re now feeling. When you no longer report distress related to your targeted memory, you move onto the next step.

Phase 5: Installation

Next, your attention will be brought back to the positive cognition you identified earlier. Your trauma/PTSD therapist will recheck how true this belief now feels. The goal is to get this belief to feel like it’s 100 percent true.

Phase 6: Body Scan

You will now be asked to check your body for any areas of tension in your body caused by the target memory. Are your teeth clenched? Is your chest tight? Any uncomfortable physical sensations will be reprocessed using the same procedure as before until you can think of the target memory without feeling any tension.

Phase 7: Closure

At the end of every session, your trauma counselor will make sure that you are leaving feeling more relaxed than when you arrived. If you are feeling agitated, they will lead you through self-calming techniques until you regain your sense of control.

Phase 8: Reevaluation

At the beginning of each subsequent session, your therapist will ask you questions to ensure your positive beliefs have been maintained. This will also help them to identify any new problem areas that may need to be targeted.

EMDR therapy for trauma is considered a success once you are able to bring up memories of trauma without feeling the distress that brought you to therapy. Your trauma therapist will also provide you with the techniques and skills you need going forward to deal with upsetting feelings.