Attachment Center of Kansas

General

1. What do I need to do to get services started?

   Call for a brief consultation with the therapist to determine if services at the Center are appropriate for your family and if a comprenhensive evaluation is needed.  If it is determined that treatment at the center is appropriate, an intake appointment will be scheduled .  You can either download the intake forms from this website or they can be mailed out to you.  These forms need to be fully completed or the process could be prolonged. 
   

2. What ages do you see for therapy?

   Attachment and trauma based therapies are provided for children age 10 and younger or an older child who has been referred to me by a Registered Attachment Clinician. My experience and training, as well as the assessment tools I use, is limited to these age groups.

   General therapy is furnished through the center for children of all ages struggling with depression, anxiety, relationship problems, grief and loss, low self-esteem and other common emotional and relationship struggles.

3. What type of treatment do you provide?

   Under the tab Services, you will find information on the treatment models and interventions I use for attachment and for trauma based therapy as the treatment process.

4. What training and experience do you have?

   You can obtain this information from my website under the tab Kim Cross LSCSW.

Cost

1. What is the cost of treatment?

   Treatment cost depends on your insurance plan's coverage of services as well as the co-pays and deductibles. Reduced fees are available for a limited number of families meeting income qualifications and attending weekly sessions. The comprehensive evaluation includes fees that may not be covered by your insurance plan and this can cost approximately $225 or higher.  You can review treatment cost by viewing the Billing Agreement and Consent form on the Services tab/Forms.

2. What insurance do you accept?

   I am a network provider for:
   

   BCBS

   Preferred Plus of Kansas

   Preferred Health Systems

   Triwest: Certified Provider (client pays full amount due and Triwest reinburses client).

   I do not take state insurance or have a sliding scale fee.
   

   I am also a provider through Three Rivers Professional Network, Health Partners of Kansas and PMCS for over 900 insurance companies/employer groups.  For a list of insurance companies through these contracts, click here.  If your insurance company is listed call them to check if your plan is covered under this contract.
   

   If your insurance company is not listed, you can check to see if your plan pays out of network benefits or if they will set up a special contract for services.

   It is also important to contact your insurance company on any limits concerning out-patient behavioral health benefits, deductibles and co-pays to ensure you fully understand your financial obligations during treatment as you will be responsible for any services not covered or paid for by your insurance.

Services

1. What can I expect at the first session?

   The intake session will involve reviewing the completed documentation from the intake packet and gathering other information needed for the assessment process and/or treatment planning and a preliminary diagnosis. Parents and children can also ask questions regarding the therapist, the assessment process and any other information they need.  Sessions are usually 45-50 minutes in length.

2. Why is a comprehensive evaluation required to begin trauma or attachment based treatment?

   Trauma and/or attachment related mental health disorders require specialized treatment interventions and specific parenting techniques.  The comprehensive evaluation assists in determing what mental health problems are present, severity and subtype, the client's and parent's strengths and needs and other possible problem areas that may be contributing to the symptoms that are being experienced.  The informaiton gained provides needed information for developing an effective and appropriate treatment plan regarding interventions to be used.  Without the evaluation, areas of need may be overlooked and barriers to progress missed which can result in prolonging treatment and possibly escalating the symptoms.
   

   Since attachment and/or trauma in children is often misunderstood as well as the impact of these mental health conditions on the child, parent and/or therapist's reports are not adequate in replacing a comprehensive evaluation. 

3. What does the evaluation involve?

   The evaluation begins with the intake session and takes appropriately 3 to 4 additional sessions.  The intake session is a review of the paperwork requested, discussion of policies and procedures and addressing questions.  The evaluation includes assessing the strengths and needs of the parent child relationship, the child's internal working model and perceptions of self and others and mental health. 

   It involves the use of several tools that may include theRandolph Attachment Disorder Questionnaire, Trauma Symptom Checklist for YoungChildren, Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, Child Behavior Checklist, Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Parent Child Relationship Evaluation, Sensory Integration Checklist, Projective Testing and others depending on age of the child and symptoms reported. 

   Once the evaluation is completed, a report is written and a session is conducted with the parent/s and older child to review the results of the evaluation and discussed treatment options and planning. 
   

   
   

4. How long will treatment take?

   The answer is based on many factors such as severity and durations of the problems, commitment of the client/family to address the problems and make changes, frequency of sessions, etc.

   Treatment is individualized and provided for as long as it is needed. Evaluation of progress is assessed and discussed throughout the treatment process, and if needed changes are made.

Other

1. Can you provide a referral to someone in my area?

   Attachment and trauma based therapies are specialized treatments that involve many hours of training and education and follow certain treatment standards.  I only know of one other therapist in the state of Kansas that has the required hours of training and experience in attachment and trauma and has agreed to abide by the treatment standards for attachment and trauma based therapy to qualify as a registered ATTACh clinician. To find information on her or a registered ATTACh clinican in your area, visit the ATTACh website.

   Dialectical Behavior Therapy may be an effective treatment for your adolescent with attachment and/or trauma problems. Check out the internet for more information on this form of therapy and what symptoms it addresses. Theraplay has been helpful in repairing parent child relationship problems including mild attachment problems.  EMDR has been found to be an effective tool in trauma treatment and Kansas has several therapists with training in this intervention.