Practice Information
Dr. Cheryl Rubenstein
692 B Ritchie Highway, Suite 101
Severna Park, MD 21146
(301)-461-1717
csrubenstein@gmail.com
Appointments: Appointments are available on Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm. Individual sessions last 45 minutes. Sometimes clients find it helpful to schedule an extended session of 75 minutes. The same is true for couples and family sessions. Group therapy sessions generally last 60-75 minutes. While I am able to see you in person one day a week, I mostly do telehealth.
Cancellations: If you need to cancel an appointment, please provide 24 hours advance notice to avoid being charged for the session.
Inclement Weather Policy: If we have an appointment scheduled on a day when Anne Arundel County Schools are closed or have a delayed opening or early closing due to weather or if the weather or road conditions seem potentially problematic, we may need to reschedule our appointment. Please call my voicemail by 8:00am to learn whether I will be in the office. If I will NOT be in the office, I will leave a message to that effect, otherwise you will hear my regular voice message and I will be in the office.
Finances: I accept Visa, Mastercard, and under certain circumstances offer a sliding scale. If you have a Health Savings Account (HSA), you can probably use money from this to pay for our work together. I ask people to pay for their appointments at the time of service.
Insurance Information: I am an out of network provider. If you have out of network mental health insurance benefits, you may be able to use them to pay for a portion of my services. If you have a Health Savings Account (HSA), you can probably use money from this to pay for therapy. I will give you with a receipt for services, which includes the date and time of service, my licensing and EIN information, and diagnosis and procedure codes. It is important for you to contact your insurance company to learn the specifics about what and how much they will cover, what you need to do to obtain reimbursement, and whether they require a treatment plan. If so, with your permission, I will be glad to submit one for you.
FAQs
How do I schedule a free phone consultation with you?
If you are considering psychotherapy, Iʼll be glad to provide a free initial phone consultation. I can be reached at 301-461-1717. I answer my own phone and if I am not available, you can leave a confidential voice message.
Our conversation will give you a chance to tell me a bit about what you are looking for help with and and will help us decide together whether I might be a good match for you as a therapist. If it sounds like this might be the case, we can schedule an initial appointment. If not, I can suggest other referral services, such as the Maryland Psychological Association
What can I expect during the first appointment? How does therapy work?
We will meet for a 45 minute seesion to talk about what brings you to therapy now, what you hope to accomplish, and how therapy with might work. To try to understand your situation better, Iʼll ask questions about what is going on in your life now and about some of your past experiences. Iʼll be happy to answer any questions you might have for me and we can talk what might be a helpful approach to your situation.
One of the most important parts of the first session is to begin to get a sense of how we might work together. Research about what works in therapy has consistently shown that the strongest predictor of a good outcome is a strong working relationship between the therapist and patient and this has been my experience as well. Often, weʼll have a good sense of this in the first session. Other times, we may need to meet a few times to see whether it feels like a “good fit.” If we decide that I am not the right therapist for you, I will do my best to provide you with appropriate referrals.
My role as your therapist is to provide you with active listening and non-judgmental feedback. Our sessions will be collaborative conversations. I will help clarify your current situation, and help you explore your options for making positive change.
How frequent are therapy sessions?
This is something we will decide together based on your individual needs. I see most of my clients once a week; some people come more frequently in certain circumstances. Once clients have begun to meet their therapy goals, we may taper back to meeting every other week, or even once a month.