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General FAQs

Counseling is the skilled use of a relationship to facilitate self-knowledge, emotional acceptance and growth, and the optimal development of personal resources with the goal of working towards living more satisfyingly and resourcefully. At the Talking Place we seek to provide such a relationship characterized by a warm and affirming environment for all those seeking services who are experiencing struggles in their relationships, emotional or behavioral functioning, or life transitions. 

We recognize initiating services can be a difficult thing to do. Call our office at 469.640.0846 and will reach out to you to complete a phone consultation to ensure we can meet your needs. Alternatively, you can also complete the contact form on our “Contact Us” page and we will reach out to you within three business days. 

The length of the therapeutic process varies with need. A number of factors impact this process including you/your child’s/your family’s motivation and the severity of the struggle for which you/your child/your family is presenting.

We believe counseling promotes positive change; however, the benefits you, your child, or your family receive from the process will largely be contingent on your goals and the responsibility/initiative you assume in the process. 
 
Life can be challenging and throw hurdles in your way, causing what feels like unmanageable distress. If you or your family find yourself struggling to manage the woes, counseling can most definitely help to anchor you and help to navigate those struggles. Sometimes counseling is your first resort because you or someone you know have had positive experiences in the past. Other times, you may seek counseling support because you have exhausted every other resource you could find. If you find yourself struggling to juggle life’s ups and downs, call us at 469.640.0846 to see how we can help. 

Counseling fees vary based on the specific services you recieve and can be influenced by a number of factors (modality, number of individuals involved for group/family counseling, school involvement/advocacy...etc.). Sliding scale options can be provided based on need and clinician availbility. Call 469.640.0846 for more information.

Many mental health professionals do not join insurance panels for a number of reasons. For instance, the in-network filing process usually requires a significant breach of client confidentiality as mental health professionals are often required to submit an official client diagnosis, ongoing progress reports, and treatment plans. Although, we have decided not to join insurance panels at this time, we will provide you with a receipt for services that includes all necessary information required to file for reimbursement with your insurance carrier.

To make an appointment with either Drs. Wilson or Ener, call 469.640.0846. See our intake process for more information.

Although session length varies by need, typically sessions are approximately 50 minutes for adults and 45 minutes for children. However, for young children, the sessions will likely be shorter and for families, sessions may be longer than 50 minutes. 

Our initial appointment will be our intake appointment, which means that you will have the opportunity to get to know your therapist and explore what is bringing you/your child/your family in for counseling. Make sure to bring all necessary paperwork, including custody paperwork if applicable.

Our office is conveniently located in Rockwall, Texas, bordering Rowlett, Texas. We serve a diverse clientele from surrounding cities/counties. Our office suite is located in The Landing building on the 2nd floor. 

Play Therapy FAQs

Play is a child’s natural medium of self-expression; play therapy provides children with the opportunity to ‘play out’ their feelings and problems just as in certain types of adult therapy individuals ‘talks out’ their difficulties. At The Talking Place children meet with a qualified professional who first meets with parents to talk with them about their concerns and explain play therapy. After meeting with parents, the clinician then meets with the child each week in the playroom. In the playroom we reflect children’s feelings, help them develop positive self-direction, and set limits on inappropriate behaviors. Ultimately, play therapy helps children express their feelings in acceptable ways, become increasingly aware of themselves and others, becoming increasingly self-directed, and become better able to express their feelings and emotions. Overtime, both parents and adults begin to notice behavioral and emotional changes in their children leading to closer and more fulfilling relationships.

Click here to access a short video from the Center for Play Therapy describing play therapy.  

Similarly to adults, most children experience struggles across the span of their lives. Sometimes they experience challenges following the death of a loved one, starting a new school, or the separation or divorce of parents. Or perhaps they are experiencing difficulty make friends or struggle with aggression in the school or home setting. If you or other significant individuals in a child’s life, such as a teacher, are concerned about your child’s behavioral, emotional, or social functioning, play therapy may be an effective solution. Play therapy is the most appropriate treatment for helping children between the ages of 3-9 years old work through and process complex emotions and behaviors. Play therapy will also help you as a parent gain a better understanding of what your child is experiencing and how you can best meet their needs.

Clinicians will meet with you on a routine basis to keep you apprised of your children’s therapeutic progress and work with you to build parenting skills unique to your child and his or her individual needs. Parent consultations will take place every 2-3 play therapy sessions.

It's important for you to prepare your child for their first play therapy session. You can tell your child that he/she will be coming to play with a friendly helper in a room filled with lots of toys. Your child may ask why he/she has to go, which is a natural question and indicates some uncertainty or curiosity. Offer your child comfort and by giving him or her some details of what to expect in the first play therapy session and what the playroom looks like! 
 
Click here to access a video that you may choose to let him or her watch from the Center for Play Therapy; this video was produced with the intention of introducing children to play therapy. 

The play therapy room contains a wide array of toys to help your child express themselves. They will have access to pains and other potentially messy items. Please allow your child to wear clothing that can get somewhat messy without worry. Feel free to bring a change of clothes if necessary. 

Just like adults, privacy is essential for the play therapy relationship and process. Without privacy, your child’s clinician will be less successful in helping your child gain insight and develop positive self-direction. While the clinician will not give you a play-by-play of the session, she will meet with you to discuss your child’s general themes, hear your concerns, and talk with you about any questions or concerns you may have in regards to your child’s progress.

The time your child will be in play therapy varies widely with need. A number of factors impact this process including your child’s motivation, parent/caregiver involvement, and the severity of the struggle for which your child is presenting.

We require consent from all legal guardians prior to your child beginning therapy with us. In subsequent appointments we would love for all primary caregivers to be active participants in the therapy process as we feel that is when children are able to reach the most success; however, we also recognize having all caregivers present is not always possible.

Similar to individual play therapy, group play therapy provides a similar environment of acceptance, empathy, and understanding; however, there are typically 2-3 children who spend their play therapy time together with one or more play therapists. Group play therapy provides children the opportunity to learn and practice social skills in situations that are similar to real life social situations. Additionally, a form of group play therapy is sibling play therapy in which a child and his or her sibling enter therapy together to directly address the sibling relationship.

Assessment FAQs

We do diagnose; however, we enter our diagnostic process with the intention of better understanding how your child thinks, learns, and interacts with the world. If your child meets the criteria for a diagnosable condition, then we will most definitely render a fitting diagnosis.

Diagnostic evaluation and assessment services involves administration, scoring, and interpretation of results, as well as clinical interviews; it also requires the clinician to prepare a written report and meet with parents to review the findings. The cost for the full assessment is determined by the total number of hours required by the clinician to complete full evaluation process (clinical interview, testing time with your child, scoring, interpretation, completing the written report, and providing feedback to parents and/or teachers). Call for 469.640.0846 more information.

Regarding payment for diagnostic testing, 50% of the total fee for evaluation is due at the Diagnostic Parent Interview. The remaining balance (50%) is due the day of testing before testing begins. Payment must be received in full before your child can participate in the evaluation.

Preparing your child for testing can help to minimize their stress/anxiety. Before the testing time, it is helpful to explain to the child what they day will be like. Make sure to avoid using the word ‘testing’ as this word can often make children anxious. You could say something along the lines of: “On Friday you will be meeting with a doctor. You will be doing a lot of different things with the doctor, like answering a variety of questions, puzzles, drawings, and stories as well as some school-like tasks like reading and math. Every child learns in different ways and the things you’ll be doing with the doctor will help us and your teachers understand how you learn best.”

The length of the evaluation process is unique to each child and depends on referral questions, specific diagnostic needs, and your child’s capacity on each assessment. Make plans for your child to be out of school for the day on the day of testing. We will provide you with an excuse for your child’s absence at school.

Yes, your child will be given breaks as needed throughout the testing day. We take a lunch break around the time your child typically eats lunch at school and will take additional breaks throughout the day if your child needs a mental break and/or a chance to stretch and grab a snack. We will provide healthy snacks and drinks for your child on the testing day. If possible, we recommend you and your child going off-site for the lunch break to provide some distance from the testing process.

Whether or not you can leave to run errands while your child is testing largely depends on your child and his/her needs. For those who become anxious when separated from you and/or experience emotional struggles we request that parents remain on-site for support. If your child does not experience struggles related to separation anxiety and/or other intense emotional struggles, then you are free to run errands during testing. However, we ask that you keep your cell phone accessible for questions or updates throughout the day and that you return to the office for your child’s lunch break. 

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