FAQ
What services does CCMH offer?
Individual, group, family, couples therapy, medication management and psychoeducational assessments for ages 6 +. Details are available HERE
What are the hours of operation?
- Administrative hours are 9 AM-5 PM, Mon-Fri.
- Hours may differ during summer semester. Contact the intake office for details.
- Clinical Services are by appointment only.
- Evening appointments are available. Limited Saturday appointments may be available at the discretion of your provider.
Do I need an appointment, or does CCMH accept walk-ins?
We do not accept walk-ins. Please call or email our intake office at 703 993-1370/ccmh@gmu.edu
What is the process for getting started with services?
Please request services HERE or call or email our intake office at 703 993-1370/ccmh@gmu.edu if you have questions.
Does CCMH offer telehealth?
Yes, we offer both telehealth and in-person sessions. Many clients do a combination of in-person and telehealth for therapy and assessment. However, a client’s suitability/eligibility for telehealth sessions vs. in-person sessions are at the sole discretion of CCMH.
State regulations allow us to provide telehealth services to clients physically located in Virginia and, in some cases, Maryland and the District of Columbia, during the telehealth session.
Our providers are only permitted to provide telehealth services to clients physically located in states where the provider's supervisor maintains professional licensure.
Is there a waiting list for services?
Yes. Waiting time varies depending on the timing of your request and the type of service you are seeking. Call or email our intake office at 703 993-1370/ccmh@gmu.edu for more information.
Who is eligible to receive services at CCMH?
You do not need to be affiliated with George Mason University in any way to receive services at CCMH.
What ages do you work with?
We provide therapy for children, teens and adults across the developmental life span. Psychoeducational assessments are available for ages 6 yrs. and older.
Are services available in languages other than English?
Limited therapy services are available in Spanish. More details on Spanish services are available HERE. Psychoeducational assessment are only available in English
How much do CCMH services cost?
Please see our fees and insurance page HERE
Is there financial assistance or a sliding fee scale available?
Yes, CCMH provided services on a sliding scale based on household income. You will be offered the opportunity to apply for a reduction in fees during the screening process.
I’m a Mason student, staff or faculty. Can I get services for free?
Unfortunately, the only services we are able to offer for free are the first 2 steps in our Stepped Mental Health Care Program. Details about that program are available HERE
Do you accept my insurance?
We do not work with any insurance companies. We are out of network for all insurance plans.
Can I get a receipt to submit to my insurance company?
Therapy clients:
Please request a receipt directly from your therapist. We cannot guarantee that you will receive reimbursement for any of our services.
Psychoeducational assessment clients:
You will be provided with a detailed receipt for our assessment services at the final feedback session. However, due to insurance reimbursement guidelines, we believe it is unlikely that you will be reimbursed for our testing services. CPT Codes (Current Procedural Terminology) cannot be applied to most assessment services provided by a trainee and are, therefore, not reimbursable. Additional information can be found HERE
How do I make a payment for services I have received?
Our payment portal can be found HERE
Fees are due at the time services are rendered. CCMH does not send invoices. We ask that clients initiate an online payment before each session.
What forms of payment does CCMH accept?
The Center strongly encourages payment by credit card (Visa, MasterCard). We are not able to accept FSA or HSA cards of any kind. Charges will appear on your credit card statement as “George Mason University Market Place”. If you are unable to pay online with a credit card, please contact us to arrange payment by check. There will be a fee of $50 for all returned checks.
We are extremely limited in our ability to accept payments in cash for our services. Please contact us if you wish to arrange payment in cash.
What if I miss a payment?
An overdue balance of more than one session may result in disruption of services.
Do you offer refunds?
Refunds of comprehensive testing fees will be issued only if a client terminates services prior to attending their first scheduled session. No refunds will be issued after the first assessment session. We do not provide refunds for psychotherapy services.
What should I do if I or someone I love is experiencing a mental health crisis?
Please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. CCMH does not provide emergency services or crisis intervention
Is there a 24/7 crisis hotline available?
CCCMH does not have a crisis hotline. We do have an Emotional Support line available. More details are available HERE.
What should I do if I’m worried about a loved one?
In an emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. In non-emergency situations, our intake staff is happy to talk with you to determine if our services may be a good fit for your loved one. Please call or email our intake office at 703 993-1370/ccmh@gmu.edu .
What types of therapy does CCMH offer?
Please see our “approach to therapy” page HERE for more information
Can I choose my therapist?
CCMH is a training clinic. All providers are graduate students in various behavioral health disciplines, working under the supervision of Mason’s clinical faculty. Clients and trainees are matched by Mason faculty, based on the needs of the clients and the level of training/experience of the trainee.
What if I don’t “click” with my therapist?
We encourage you to be open with your therapist if you feel they are not meeting your needs. Many issues can be addressed with clear, timely communication. If you still feel your assigned therapist is not able to meet your needs, please contact the intake office at 703 993-1370/ccmh@gmu.edu . We cannot guarantee that we will have an alternative therapist immediately available but, depending on the circumstances, we may be able to place you back on the waiting list for a different therapist.
What should I expect from psychotherapy?
Weekly 50-minute appointments are typical. Length of treatment varies widely depending on the individual’s goals. The average number of sessions for clients at CCMH is approximately 15-20, but there are many who terminate more quickly or stay in therapy longer.
In most circumstances, regular parent participation is required when the identified client is a minor. The frequency and form of parent participation will vary with the age and needs of the minor.
For psychotherapy to be most effective, clients must attend regularly, be fully engaged during sessions and complete all “homework” provided by the therapist.
It is not unusual for clients to achieve their desired goals, terminate therapy and return to therapy sometime later with a new set of goals on which to focus.
What should I expect from the Psychoeducational Assessment process?
Comprehensive Psycho-educational Assessment are batteries of testing that evaluate,
- cognitive functions
- academic functions (knowledge-typically school based)
- psychosocial function (social & emotional).
Our assessments usually take 8-10 hours of testing over 3 sessions.
CCMH assessments screen for a variety of learning, behavioral and emotional issues. The first session of testing is made up of assessments that generally measure cognitive ability, cognitive processes, academic achievement, behavioral/social/emotional functioning, visual motor skills, and other areas of concern identified by the client. Later testing sessions are typically customized to assess areas of concern to each client.
Most assessments will be conducted using a combination of telehealth and in-person sessions. Comprehensive assessments cannot be done entirely via telehealth.
You should expect you/your child to miss work/school to complete the assessment.
How long will it take to get my psychoeducational assessment report?
The final feedback session will take place approximately 10 weeks after you are assigned to an examiner. More complex analysis and differential diagnosis may take additional time. Clients assigned during the winter months should note that the University closes for 2 weeks around the winter holidays. This University wide closure may cause delays in feedback sessions and final reports.
What will be in the psychoeducational assessment final report?
Final reports typically include a summary of the client’s relevant history and the clinical interview, raw testing scores, summary and analysis of testing scores, diagnosis (if applicable), and recommendations.
Not everyone who completes an assessment receives a diagnosis. The diagnostic process is data driven. If the client does not meet criteria for a diagnosis at the time of assessment, no diagnosis will be applied.
Will a 3rd party accept the final assessment report, even though it was written by a trainee?
The report will be signed by the trainee and the licensed supervisor. While we do not offer any guarantee, CCMH has never had a report deemed invalid or rejected because it was completed by a trainee.
Will I be granted the accommodation recommended in my final assessment report?
We cannot guarantee that a third party (school/college/workplace, etc) will grant you all the accommodation recommended in your final report. You may still have to advocate for yourself within various healthcare, educational or workplace settings to get the accommodations you requested.
Can I drop my child off for their therapy or assessment appointment?
With parent permission, teens old enough to drive themselves to the clinic may attend appointments without a parent. All other minor children must have a parent remain on site for the appointment.
Do you have Wi-Fi available in your waiting room?
CCMH has limited public Wi-Fi. We cannot guarantee its availability, reliability or security settings. Many parents use a personal hotspot to work in our waiting room while their child is engaged in an assessment or therapy appointment.
What is the Attendance Policy for therapy appointments?
Your first therapy appointment must take place within 2 weeks of assignment to a therapist.
Occasional client absences due to illness, vacation, or prior commitments are expected. Continued cancelling and rescheduling of appointments interferes with the therapeutic process, the training of our student clinicians, and creates delays for others seeking our services. Therefore, regular client attendance and participation is required.
Clients may be discharged from psychotherapy for any of the following reasons:
- Three consecutive missed or canceled appointments.
- Two no shows (i.e. missed appointments without a telephone call to cancel) within a two-month period. Clients who no show with any clinician must call to reschedule within 24 hours or all future appointments will be removed from the schedules of their clinician.
- Erratic and/or inconsistent attendance (including, arriving late for appointments)
- Lack of engagement in the therapeutic process (i.e., not participating in in-session or out-of-session work and assignments)
Missed/cancelled appointment must be rescheduled within 2 weeks
Late cancellations (less than 24 hours’ notice under circumstances not considered an emergency) and missed appointments will be charged a fee equal to the cost of one session. Emergency situations must be discussed with your clinician to determine whether a late fee will apply
What is the Attendance Policy for psycho-educational assessments?
Your first assessment appointment must take place within 2 weeks of assignment to an examiner.
All subsequent appointments must take place within 4 weeks of assignment.
The assigned examiner will make three attempts to contact you by phone and/or email to schedule your assessment appointments. If you do not respond and/or schedule your appointments within 2 weeks of assignment, we will not be able to hold your space, and your case will be closed.
If your case is closed, you may contact the intake office and request that you be put back on the waitlist.
Late cancellations (less than 24 hours’ notice, under circumstances not considered an emergency), missed appointments and no-shows will be charged an additional fee of $40.00. This additional fee will be added to the total cost of your assessment. Emergency situations must be discussed with your examiner to determine whether a late cancelation/no-show fee will apply.
Late cancelation/no-show fees are at the discretion of CCMH. No-shows, missed or cancellation appointments must be rescheduled within two weeks of the original appointment date. CCMH reserves the right to discontinue testing if appointments are repeatedly missed, cancelled and/or not rescheduled in a timely manner. No refunds of testing fees will be issued after the first session.
How does CCMH protect client confidentiality?
CCMH follows the professional guidelines of the American Psychological Association, and the legal statutes established by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia law protects the privacy of communications between a client and a psychologist. CCMH Staff will NOT disclose information about you to any other office or individual outside of the CCMH without your permission.
Exceptions to confidentiality in which no written authorization is required, as legally mandated by Virginia Law, may occur in the following situations including, but not limited to:
- When there exists a substantial likelihood or there is imminent risk that you may cause harm to yourself or someone else;
- Reasonable suspicion of current or past abuse or neglect of a child or incapacitated adult, in which case the appropriate social service agency will be contacted,
- Criminal proceedings, or a valid court order or subpoena, to disclose relevant information in a legal proceeding or investigation, or
- To provide requested information to a legal guardian of a minor child (i.e., a person under 18 who has not been emancipated by a court order), including a non-custodial parent.
I’m a former client. How do I request my medical records?
Please contact the Intake Office at 703-993-2131 / ccmh@gmu.edu
There is a standard fee of $25 for Medical Records Requests.
Records requests that involve completing additional forms, creating new addendums, drafting letters to a 3rd party or other special requests may take longer and incur additional charges.
Adult records are maintained for seven years after the termination of services.
Records of minors are maintained for seven years after the last date of service or for three years beyond the age of 18 (whichever is later), based on the guidelines from the American Psychological Association.
Please note that parents of clients who were children at the time of the service, but who are now adults, cannot access their adult child’s records without a Release of Information signed by the adult child.
How can I provide feedback on the services I receive?
Please contact the intake office at 703 993-1730 or ccmh@gmu.edu.
I have a question that is not answered here, what should I do?
Please call or email our intake office at ccmh@gmu.edu / 703-993-1370. We will be happy to set up at time to talk.
But the Intake Office doesn’t answer the phone!
Because we have a very small staff, we do not generally answer live calls. However, we do check messages throughout the day and respond to all messages in the order in which they are received. We also monitor the Intake office email closely and respond as quickly as possible. We look forward to hearing from you!