Existential Therapists believe that conflict stems from confrontations with the “givens” or “ultimate concerns” of existence. These include:

• The inevitability of death

• Freedom and the responsibilities associated with it

• Existential isolation

• Meaninglessness

Existential therapy focuses on each person as a unique individual as well as the choices that shape their life. The therapist empowers the patient to take responsibility for their decisions and create the present and future they desire. Techniques may pull from cognitive behavioral, Jungian, Gestalt, narrative or other therapeutic approaches.

Existential therapy can help alleviate anxiety, shame, guilt and other difficult emotions through honest self-evaluation. At the same time, this approach candidly confronts the realities of life such as death, meaninglessness, loss and suffering and works to promote positive experiences, relationships and emotions.

 Existential therapy encourages clients to:

• Evaluate their values, beliefs and situation

• Acknowledge their limitations as well as the possibilities for their lives

• Find meaning and purpose in their lives

• Develop more effective ways of communicating

Source: American Psychological Association 

An LPC is a highly trained, skilled mental health professional who:

• Holds a Master's or higher degree in Counseling

• Has four years of Clinical supervised experience

• Is licensed by the Secretary of State of Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapist

•  Completes yearly continuing education required to maintain state licensure.

 An LPC guides those struggling with many of life's challenges in relationships, life transitions, career decisions, personal growth, trauma, grief, anger, etc. An LPC provides counseling and support to individuals diagnosed with clinical disorders and concerns with depression, anxiety, unwanted thoughts, substance abuse, addictions, self-harming behaviors, etc. An LPC helps people heal, grow, and achieve their life goals.

Source: Licensed Professional Counselors Association of Georgia

Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselors (CCMHC) have earned their board certification and offer the highest standards of practice in clinical mental health counseling because they have met stringent education, examination, supervision, experience, and ethical requirements.

Source: National Board for Certified Counselors

The Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) is a person who evaluates employees who have violated a DOT (Department of Transportation) drug and alcohol program regulation and makes recommendations concerning education, treatment, follow-up testing, and aftercare.

An SAP represents the major decision point (and in some cases the only decision point) an employer may have in choosing whether or not to place an employee behind the steering wheel of a school bus, in the cockpit of a plane, at the helm of an oil tanker, at the throttle of a train, in the engineer compartment of a subway car, or at the emergency control valves of a natural gas pipeline. An SAP’s responsibility to the public is enormous.

An SAP is an advocate for neither the employer nor the employee. The SAP’s function is to protect the public interest in safety by professionally evaluating the employee and recommending appropriate education and/or treatment, follow-up tests, and aftercare.

Source: United States Department of Transportation

National Certified Counselors (NCC) are board certified counselors who offer the highest standards of practice because they have met stringent education, examination, supervision, experience, and ethical requirements.

An NCC has completed postgraduate education from a regionally accredited program, including at least 48 semester or 72 quarter hours of graduate-level academic credit in counseling. The degree must include one course in Professional Orientation to Counseling and at least six semester or 10 quarter hours of supervised field experience in counseling. 

Coursework must cover the following nine content areas and all areas must be represented within the master’s degree: Human Growth and Development Theories in Counseling, Social and Cultural Foundations in Counseling, Helping Relationships in Counseling, Group Counseling Theories and Processes, Career Counseling and Lifestyle Development, Assessment in Counseling, Research and Program Evaluation, Professional Orientation to Counseling, and Counseling Field Experience.

The Certification also requires supervision, professional endorsement, work experience, ethics, and an examination.

Source: National Board for Certified Counselors

Master Addictions Counselors (MAC) have earned their board certification and offer the highest standards of practice in addictions counseling because they have met stringent education, examination, supervision, experience, and ethical requirements.

The Master Addictions Counselor (MAC) certification is intended for professionals working within Substance Use Disorders/Addiction-related disciplines to demonstrate their skills gained through supervised work experience and specific graduate course work.

The Master Addictions Counselor (MAC) certification was created jointly by the American Counseling Association (ACA), specifically the International Association of Addiction and Offenders Counselors (IAAOC), and the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC). The MAC certification attests to the educational background, knowledge, skills, and competencies of the specialist in addictions counseling. 

Source: NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, National Board for Certified Counselors

Many counseling experiences generally take 6-12 sessions. Of course, counseling can continue for longer periods of time if clients feel the need for future “tune-ups.” Session times can be 45 minutes, 60 minutes, or 90 minutes.

The length of treatment for psychological problems will necessarily vary from one individual to another. Essentially, the treatment (type and duration) should always be matched appropriately to the nature and severity of the client's presenting difficulties. Acute difficulties usually require fewer treatment sessions than do chronic conditions. Moreover, length of treatment also varies with the type of treatment provided; cognitive behavioral treatments, which focus on a specific problem, are generally briefer than are psychotherapies with a broader focus.

It is important to consider the following when determining the length of treatment:

 Therapy successfully ends when the patient has accomplished the goals mutually agreed upon with the therapist.

• Discussion of treatment length should be part of your conversation with the therapist.

• Treatment length is often tentative and revisited throughout the course of treatment.

• It is common for therapists to conduct several assessment or evaluation sessions before suggesting a treatment plan or to request a trial length of treatment at which time the needs for treatment will be reassessed. In some cases, additional, sequential treatment goals are then negotiated.

• Research has generally found a positive relationship between treatment length and clinical outcomes such that more individuals will show significant change or recovery with increasing treatment length. It is therefore important that you have a sufficient amount of treatment and reasonable expectations for treatment length before deciding treatment is not working.

 So how long does it typically take for treatment to work?

• Recent research indicates that on average 15 to 20 sessions are required for 50 percent of patients to recover as indicated by self-reported symptom measures.

• There are a growing number of specific psychological treatments of moderate duration (e.g., 12 to 16 weekly sessions) that have been scientifically shown to result in clinically significant improvements.

•  In practice, patients and therapists sometimes prefer to continue treatment over longer periods (e.g., 20 to 30 sessions over six months), to achieve more complete symptom remission and to feel confident in the skills needed to maintain treatment gains.

• Clinical research evidence suggests that people with co-occurring conditions or certain personality difficulties may require longer treatment (e.g., 12-18 months) for therapy to be effective. There are a few individuals with chronic problems who may require extensive treatment support (e.g., maintenance therapy to reduce risk of psychiatric rehospitalization), but such patients are a minority of those who need or seek treatment.

 If you believe there is insufficient progress after a reasonable period of treatment, it is always appropriate to discuss your treatment with another therapist and/or request a re-evaluation of the treatment plan with your therapist to assure that treatment is on track and helpful to you.

 Source: APA Div. 12 (Society of Clinical Psychology)

Confidentiality includes not just the contents of therapy, but often the fact that a client is in therapy. For example, it is common that therapists will not acknowledge their clients if they run into them outside of therapy in an effort to protect client confidentiality. Other ways confidentiality is protected include:

•  Not leaving revealing information on voicemail or text.

• Not acknowledging to outside parties that a client has an appointment.

• Not discussing the contents of therapy with a third party without the explicit permission of the client.

 Confidentiality is the cornerstone of this counseling practice. Personal problems are sometimes difficult to talk about. That is why confidentiality is extremely important to us. We take every precaution in protecting the confidentiality of your visit with us, and we hope you will also do the same. We strongly stand on Codes of Ethics that include the American Counseling Association, The National Board for Certified Counselors, NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, and the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage and Family Therapists Rule 135-7-.03 - Confidentiality. Confidentiality is protected by Georgia state laws and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Source: American Counseling Association, The National Board for Certified Counselors, NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, and the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage and Family Therapists

We accept cash, checks, and major credit cards for payment of services. If you are seeking a Mental Health Assessment, Anger Assessment, or Substance Use Assessment, only cash or money order is accepted. 

Should you wish to use your insurance company, please complete the Client Registration Form on the Client Forms page and return to us. Verification of benefits usually takes 24-48 hours. Once complete, we will contact you to arrange a Intake Session appointment.

Chambless Counseling accepts the following insurance companies:

• Aetna

• Anthem BCBS

• BCBS

• Cigna/Evernorth

• Humana

• Maestro/The Care Network (St. Joseph’s/Candler)

• Magellan

• Memorial Health Partners (includes CoreSource)

• MultiPlan

• TriCare 

• UBH/Optum

If you are seeking counseling through Human Resources at your place of work, Chambless Counseling is a paneled EAP (Employee Assistance Program) Provider for:

• Aetna EAP

• Anthem Beacon EAP

• BHS EAP

• Carilion EAP

• Cigna/Evernorth EAP

• ComPsych

• Humana EAP

• Magellan EAP

• Optum EAP

• Palmetto EAP