Frequently Asked Questions

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Welcome.  My name is Shelia Clark, Ph.D. 

I am a licensed Psychologist in the State of California. I offer telehealth services through the State.  

The confidential portal link is sent to your e-mail address for access.

Call  (661) 524-9393 to discuss the Initial Intake procedures.

Sessions are typically 55 minutes long.

I am an out-of-network provider.  I will verify your benefits, and I bill your insurance provider.  Deductibles and co-payments are payable by you and billed through a secure credit card portal.  

Please be aware that all insurance policies have limits on your benefits, termed "medical necessity" reasons.  You give legal rights to any insurance company for access to your psychotherapy records if you choose to use insurance benefits for them to "audit" for medical necessity.

I accept the following insurances:

Medicare with Plan F for co-payments.

Kern Legacy

Kaiser - Kern County only - through Carelon

SISC

My cash rate is $150 per session.  I will provide a payment receipt for use with your tax returns for medical expenses.  You make payments, per session, through a secure credit card portal.  There are no limits on how frequently you may want to participate in sessions.

Cash payments are acceptable for "Retreat" services, whereas insurance payments are not.  You may not qualify for "Retreat" services if you rely upon insurance documentation.

The term "experiential" refers to the process of actually experiencing an activity.  You will be guided in the performance of various somatic techniques which are designed to elicit the biological coupling process of the body and mind.  Each technique is accompanied by digital detailed instructions (written and video) and psycho-education which can downloaded to your computer and reviewed at any time.

View Videos:  https://www.cfcninc.org/treatment-videos

As a client, you have many rights under California State laws.  Go to "Downloads" for disclosure documents.  This website provides information on the services, payments, and other factors impacting your right to give consent to treatment.  At the beginning of treatment, you will be asked to sign forms which constitute the treatment contract.

The delivery of psychotherapy via technology is a newly evolving treatment venue.  During the years since COVID outbreak (in U.S., in March, 2020), there has not been much research done.  In the Downloads, you will find one report which gives us the basis from which to begin the interaction with each other through the PERC process. 

 On this PERC website, you may contribute to the growing "research" about the effectiveness of "embodied tele-psychotherapy", which is the modality used by PERC.   Go to the "Home" tab and scroll to bottom for section entitled "Embodied Telepsychotherapy" for comments of others' experiences.

The telehealth delivery method requires a complete "re-thinking" of the relationship between psychotherapist and client.  We cannot engage with in-person dynamics, such as energy or body work modalities.  Body language is impacted.  Technology places limits on the visual impact of each other.  To eliminate the issue of "wifi failures", we also will use cell phone for audio, along with wifi for visual.  Thus, PERC is an "adjustment" of embodiment, wherein your connection to your own body becomes the treatment delivery process.

Non-medical generally refers to the absence of prescribing medications.  Most psychologists do not prescribe medication.  But we go further in the non-medical direction.  More information can be found in the book available at the below link: 

https://www.apa.org/pubs/books/4317386#

As stated in the American Psychological Association's ad:   

"The dominant paradigm in psychotherapy is the medical model, which views therapy as a clinical treatment rather than a healing interpersonal connection. Words like patient, diagnosis, symptoms, treatment, and modalities reflect this medically oriented view of therapy.

In this book, David Elkins cogently argues that while the medical model remains widely accepted, science shows it to be inappropriate. A wealth of evidence suggests that healing occurs through human connection and social interaction, not modalities and techniques.

Elkins presents a nonmedical model of psychotherapy — one that places common factors, particularly human factors, at the center and moves modalities and techniques to the periphery. In this concise volume, he summarizes the supporting evidence from various fields, including clinical psychology, attachment theory, social relationships research, neuroscience, and evolutionary theory.

All of these fields show that humans are evolved to develop, maintain, and restore our emotional well-being through human connection and social interaction. Thus, psychotherapy can best be understood as an expression of social healing. After presenting this model and its vast supporting evidence, Elkins then discusses important implications for clinical research, training, and practice."

We view "Mindfulness" as a specific form of cognitive attentional focus.  "Rhythm Coupling" impacts many facets of cognition, including the different mind-states that exist uniquely under sympathetic nervous system control versus parasympathetic nervous system control.  This topic, as it forms the core of PERC, will be expanded under our blog which is called "Wanderings of the Vagus Mind."

Your own questions, which arise as PERC enables you to transform your awareness, will be addressed in this blog.