FAQ

There are many strong mental health clinicals in our communities, and we need them. In fact, we appreciate working as a team with many of these professionals  for the betterment of our clients.

What makes us different is our Philosophy of Care. For every client, we strive to show our care for them, their families, and their circumstances by making a truly customized care plan that uses every part of our philosophy.

We strive to give such a good experience to clients that, whether they see us once a week, once a month, once a year, they say “That’s my therapist.”

Randy and Micah are fluent in Spanish and English.

Therapists at Kardia exhaust every possibility to find appointment times for new clients. Please call at 515-267-0030 to talk with us about it. If you leave a voicemail, we will return your call by the next business day.

Therapy techniques are often called modalities in the counseling industry. Below is the list of modalities we utilize at Kardia.

Adlerian

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy 

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

Gestalt Therapy

Internal Family Systems

Client-Centered Therapy

Somatic Therapies

Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

We do both, based on client needs. For virtual sessions, we use a secure, HIPPA compliant software named thera-LINK. This platform is very easy to use – create a username and profile and then it automatically syncs with you calendar of choice. You can connect to session via phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop.

Finding a good counselor is a tricky endeavor. At first, you’re basically sharing your intimidate life details – and often the toughest ones – with a total stranger. So, hold back a little if you find a need to. If you’re not ready, that’s okay.

The best way is to use your resources to find a professional who fits the profile of background, values, techniques, and price points you are looking for. Resources may include referrals from your personal network, referrals from medical professions or education partners, website content and bios,  professional social media posts, and insurance networks. When you find the right fit, call the therapy office to ask any questions you may have. After that, schedule an appointment to try it out. If it does not feel right, your inner voice will tell you – follow your voice. If it does go well, that’s great…keep moving forward and do some good work!

Below are additional resources.

• Recommendations on finding a counselor for yourself
• Recommendations on finding a good couples counselor
• Recommendations on finding a good counselor for your child

Mental health counselors and therapists must adhere to the American Counseling Association’s Code of Ethics, most recently published in 2014.  Take a look at the link to learn more.

Short answer…with respectful curiosity.  We know our team does not come with lived experience in many walks of life, and we never will.  To help with that, we strive to embrace personal and professional experiences that enhance cultural competence.  Genuine curiosity about your circumstances helps us come to know the many parts and perspectives of a person, all of which help our clients get to the heart of the matter that bring them to our office.

First and foremost, welcome.  We are glad you are here.  In truth, there is no way we can fully empathize or relate to your exact experience.  What we can do is call upon the experiences of visiting or living in other countries.  Collectively, we visited 19 countries and lived full time in one.  Such experiences form a template with which we interact with people from countless backgrounds.  We have lived the experience of not knowing languages, fumbling through conversations, going the wrong direction, and receiving kindness from those kindly assist us; we strive to offer the same grace to others in hope of forming strong relationships. 

Kardia does not do inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation.  We do, however,  offer counseling to individuals who may be struggling with sobriety and sobriety as part of their life struggles.

Counseling is designed to direct clients in areas where they are stuck or to resolve specific topics and goals.  Therapy is meant to bring healing – it is often more long-term and is designed to help clients understand themselves and bring change to deeper parts of oneself.  Good news…at Kardia you get both!

A guiding principle of our therapy at Kardia is “bonding not division.”  This guiding principle means that we aim to establish a strong therapeutic alliance with our clients, and we work with techniques that heal and unify relationships with oneself and those in a person’s life.  Another way to think of this principle is that you will never hear us say things like,  “There’s no hope for our marriage” or “My last therapist wouldn’t treat me because I wouldn’t go to AA.”

Absolutely – at Kardia will never find yourself “at the bottom of the pile.”  If you are in emergency, we respond quickly to identify with you the treatments that best address your crisis.  We respond at all hours of the day, and we do not just say “call 911.”

If you or a person you know requires mental health attention, you have three options:

1. Call 9-1-1: This option is usually best when a person is an imminent risk to themselves or someone else.  In this case, simply call 9-1-1, explain the situation, ask for help, and follow the prompts of the operator.  When first responders arrive, they will assess the situation and facilitate next steps, which may result in a visit to the local ER or hospital behavioral health unit.

1. Call your therapist: If time allows, call your therapist to discuss the nature of the situation.  In most circumstnaces, this results in an emergency session where you work with your therapist to stabilize the situation.  In rare circumstances, you and your therapist may pursue an evaluation and/or inpatient stay at a local hospital.  In that case, Kardia therapists make warm transfers to the hospital and, when able, even meet you there in order to provide the best care possible.

1. Go to the ER or Behavioral Health Hospital: When a mental health emergency may lead to physically compromising yourself or someone else, a local ER or behavioral health hospital is a very good place to be.  If this is a best option, merely go to the intake area of the emergency room or behavioral health hospital, and staff will conduct a physical and mental health assessment.  Based on the assessment results, they will outline potential next steps.