• Do you want to make sure that your loved one makes progress?
• Have you been receiving counseling services, but don't feel that you have been making the progress that you had hoped for?
• Do you want to ensure that your loved one is receiving state of the art treatment?

We can help.

Emerge offers psychotherapy for children, teens, and adults and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services for individuals diagnosed with Autism, developmental disabilities, and other behavioral difficulties.  Both case management and training services are available for teachers and parents.

The cost of services varies and depends on the credentials of the clinician providing the services and the nature of the services being provided. To the greatest extent possible Emerge works with a variety of third party payers including: community center boards, insurance companies, and some Medicaid waivers.

Psychotherapy Services:

Emerge provides psychological services to all ages through experienced, caring psychotherapists. We have doctoral and masters level clinicians who work with children, teens, adults, families and couples.

Why do people go to psychotherapy?
People choose to participate in psychotherapy for many different reasons. Some people are struggling with negative feelings that won't go away, others find they are having mood swings and others are concerned that they do things they don't understand.

What is psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy is a treatment method that involves discussing the problems, finding solutions and receiving support. It involves sitting in a room and talking, which is why it is often called "talk therapy". There are many different styles of psychotherapy, including, but not limited to: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Systems Focused Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy, Psychodynamic (Psychoanalytic) Therapy.  It is important to be aware that in the state of Colorado there are no credentials necessary to call oneself a "psychotherapist". Emerge strives to provide the best services possible, and for this reason psychotherapy is only provided by persons who have extensive graduate training in psychology or counseling.

• Sessions are typically 45-50 minutes and usually take place once a week. Your therapist may recommend additional or fewer sessions depending on your personal situation.
• Psychotherapy is not an immediate solution to problems. The therapist will be able to help you start making progress quickly, but much of the process involves building skills you will use for the rest of your life. Most people attend psychotherapy for a minimum of several months, and may continue for several years. Your therapist can speak to your particular situation and provide an estimate of the time you might spend.

Ok, I think I want to start psychotherapy. What would my first session be like?
During your first psychotherapy visit you will have a chance to give a summary of what you are concerned about. Many therapists also ask questions about your history and past experiences in order to get to know you and understand your situation.

• Therapy is generally confidential, and nothing you talk about in therapy can be discussed with anyone else. However, there are several important exceptions to this rule.
• 1) Child abuse and/or neglect must be reported to the State of Colorado, 2) If someone is imminently going to hurt themselves or someone else their confidentiality is limited, 3) Grave disability -if someone is seriously mentally ill and requires hospitalization. You will have the opportunity to discuss these limitations with the therapist and will be asked to sign a Mandatory Disclosure Statement indicating that you understand these restrictions.
• You will have an opportunity to ask questions about the therapist, their theoretical orientation, their training, fees and any other concerns you might have.

Our Psychotherapy Team:
Helena Huckabee, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Tasha Jamroz, MA, BCBA
Anna Kronke, Ph.D.

Behavior Therapy Services:

Autism
Emerge believes in the importance of early and intensive behavioral intervention administered in a natural setting. Our comprehensive Behavior Therapy practice addresses cognitive deficits in communication, social and emotional development, attention, motor skills, and adaptive behaviors.  Grounded in empirically-supported treatments and the science of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), we draw upon state-of-the-art techniques to individualize effective treatment for each client.  
 
What does behavior therapy look like?
Behavior therapy for young children on and off the autism spectrum will look a lot like play time.  A child's goals are all intertwined within activities that they enjoy.  For example, a child may be playing with a favorite toy and the therapist may be using access to the toy to promote requests.  In this example the therapist is targeting language within a child chosen activity.
 
How much therapy does my child need?
This varies and a supervising clinician will determine the number of recommended hours.  Research suggests that for children on the Autism spectrum 25 hours a week of intervention is optimal.   For children who are exhibiting problem behaviors and are not on the Autism spectrum 2 hours a week or parent consultation may be sufficient in reducing the rate of the problem behavior.

How involved do families have to be in behavior therapy?
Families can be as involved as they would like. Many studies have found parent training and involvement for individuals with autism to be effective in promoting successful treatment in a wide range of areas including: decreasing problematic behavior, increasing intake of non-preferred foods, enhancing functional communication, improving compliance with parental requests, and teaching imitation of actions with objects. One study showed that parent education and skill training was beneficial to parents' mental health and well-being. Participation by siblings and parents can help a child progress. 
 
Who provides behavior therapy?
Behavior Therapy programs through Emerge consist of a team of clinicians.  The team usually involve a Bachelors level therapist who provides most of the direct services and either a Masters or Doctoral level clinician who provides treatment planning and oversight of the program.  This model aims to minimize cost of treatment while working to optimize the progress of the individual client.  
 
Where does behavior therapy take place?
Behavior Therapy sessions generally take place in the client's home, school, or at the office.  As needed, we also provide services in the community, promoting access to places such as grocery stores, religious establishments, social skills groups, restaurants, and any other location important to our client's well-being. Our goal is to produce positive and meaningful change for the individuals we treat. 

Case management:
Your loved one may have a team of therapists from Emerge or from other providers.  It can be a daunting task to coordinate and organize multiple providers in order to optimize his/her progress.  Emerge can advocate for our clients and help coordinate multiple service providers to strive and build a collaborative relationship with all providers working with you. 

Teacher and Parent Training:
The clinicians at Emerge are available to provide one-on-one parent or teacher training sessions as well as large group training and lecture series. Training is flexible and available on a large number of topics in the fields of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Autism, Parenting, Psychotherapy, and Neuropsychology and is tailored specifically to each situation and/or individual.