Patient Information

Communication

Affinity Therapy Services staff is in the office by appointment only.

If a staff member is occupied with another client matter, they might not answer the phone. In these cases, please leave a voicemail including your name, phone number, and your reason for calling and a staff member will return your call within one business day.

We understand that you have a life with commitments and that everyone has unexpected changes to their schedule. With more than 24 hours notice, we are happy to try to accommodate your schedule to the best of our ability.

If you need to cancel or reschedule a session, we ask that you provide one business day (24 hours) notice. This means that appointments scheduled for a Monday must be canceled on or before the preceding Friday.

If you miss a session without canceling or cancel with less than 24 business hours’ notice, our policy is to collect the 75 deposit fee for any late cancel or no-show.

It is important to note that insurance companies do not provide reimbursement for “late cancellation” or “no show” sessions. Thus, you will be responsible for the portion of the fee as described above. If it is possible, we will try to find another time to reschedule the appointment.

Fees and Insurance:

We are very aware of the need for affordable mental health treatment in Colorado Springs and have developed a model that offers affordable choices. When you come in for an office visit, payment for each visit is expected at the time of the appointment. Affinity Therapy Services asks that you put a credit card on file in our secure electronic vault that will be used for each session, as well as missed appointments and late cancellations.

Fees for psychiatrist services are as follows (cash-pay patients only):

Initial evaluation with the psychiatrist: $350

Follow up with the psychiatrist: $150

Prepaid package including initial evaluation with the psychiatrist and two follow up appointments: $550

Fees for therapists (cash-pay patients only):

First appointment and follow-up: $125

DBT Group therapy appointments: $80 (2-hour session)

Our policy for group therapy is that you must see our therapist for therapy prior to scheduling a group.

Affinity Therapy Services and its providers are currently in-network with Anthem BCBS, Cigna, and Tricare (Healthnet Federal Services). If your insurance isn’t one of these listed, we welcome you as a cash-pay patient.

Payment from cash-pay patients is expected in full at the time of service. We will provide cash-pay patients with the paperwork for you to seek reimbursement from your out-of-network insurance, as your policy may allow. Affinity Therapy Services cannot guarantee that you will be reimbursed by your out-of-network insurance company in these scenarios.

For all patients having a co-pay, and for all cash-pay patients, Affinity Therapy Services asks that you put a credit card on file in our secure electronic vault that will be used for each session, as well as missed appointments and late cancellations.

 

Frequently Asked Questions:

Affinity Therapy Services offers many types of therapies. We begin with a 50- or 70-minute evaluation to understand what type of therapy will likely be most effective for you. The type of therapy is one piece of the treatment. Our strong belief is that your connection to the therapist is equally important.

Of course, you can look at our bios and come to us with your preference. We are happy to see patients age 12 and up for medication management and therapy. At Affinity Therapy Services we believe in a holistic approach to therapy. We honor your beliefs, religion, and have a strong commitment to treating each person with compassion.

One essential difference is that a psychiatrist can prescribe medication and a psychologist or psychotherapist cannot. A psychiatrist

  •     has clinical experience in the treatment of medical illness in addition to training in mental health
  •     Completed a three to four-year residency in psychiatry
  •     Child and Adolescent psychiatrists complete a two-year fellowship after residency
  •     Trained in hospital and clinical settings in the use of psychiatric medication and psychotherapy
  •     Our psychiatrist is focused on clarifying diagnoses and treatment through medication management and lifestyle modification when appropriate

APsychotherapist can have a number of specific degrees but all focus on therapy. Our therapists

  •     Have master’s degrees
  •     Completed two years of supervised clinical training
  •     Have obtained further credentials in specific techniques and disciplines, such as DBT, EMDR, and the treatment of addictions

Psychologists

  •        Have earned a PhD after 8-10 years study in psychology
  •        Completed a one-year clinical internship
  •        are focused on therapy and the science of the brain

Affinity Therapy Services has a psychiatrist (MD) who has extensive training in mental health medication prescription and management. We pride ourselves in guiding people through the process of figuring out what works for them. Medication can be one of many treatment options available. We might recommend medication if it is most:

  •         Likely to help
  •         Likely to improve results of psychotherapy
  •         Cost-effective

Affinity Therapy Services believes in a 50- or 70-minute evaluation focused on your history to help us evaluate and identify how to help you feel your best. It is most productive when first-time patients come with the following:

  • Significant events in your life that have contributed to the issue(s) that brings you to us
  • What you want to achieve
  •         Feelings and/or behaviors around the issue(s)

If you have taken psychiatric medication in the past, please take some time to write down your medication history. This should include:

  • The medication and reason why you took/take it
  • The dosage
  • The effects
  • Any side effects
  • Length of time you took/take the medication
  •  If you stopped, why?

Sometimes! Our job is to work with you to understand past patterns and experiences. Sometimes these patterns and experiences are most important in their uniqueness to you and your experience. Sometimes, however, these patterns are familiar to clinicians from our training and from previous clients we have treated and then fall under the heading of a diagnosis. Some diagnoses are harder to treat and some easier, but it is often the case that a diagnosis can be very helpful in explaining current difficulties and guiding efficient and effective treatment. Sometimes a diagnosis is clear and obvious but often we think of a diagnosis as provisional in that we use it as a model to guide treatment but only continue to feel that the diagnosis is accurate if this proves to be a helpful model for understanding a patient’s experience and helpful in guiding treatment. We do our best not to overdiagnose or reduce a complex situation to a simple one, but we also do our best not to underdiagnose and thus leave a situation more complicated than it need be.

We proudly accept – Aetna, Anthem, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Tricare, and Cigna! We are adding to this list so check back frequently!