Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
We have included several questions we frequently get and have provided answers below. Click on a question and the answer will be expanded below it. If you do not see an answer to a question you have below, please feel free to contact us and we’ll answer as promptly as possible.
Questions about our counseling:
What can I expect from counseling with Mark or Kathy?
You’ll experience someone who listens well and has empathy for the pain you’ve been through because we’ve gone through much pain, too! Good questions will help you explore your inner thoughts and feelings. We often discover the healing path together as you feel safe and understood. You’ll be invited to stretch into new ways of looking at things and new ways of responding to things. You can expect a clear game plan that will equip and empower you to make strategic behavioral changes. We want to help you connect deeply with God, yourself and others and become your best self by learning the ways of love and acceptance. It is a journey worth taking because the freedom it brings is amazing!
What training and experience do Mark and Kathy have?
Mark: I received my Masters in Counseling and Master of Divinity degrees at Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana, in 1986. Drs. Larry Crabbe and Dan Allender did the bulk of the teaching and training in the counseling program and it was a powerful and transformative experience in my life. I am also a licensed clinical counselor in the state of Ohio (#0003902). This is an independent license which also allows me to supervise other counselors in training. I’ve been a professional counselor since 1987 both in my own private practice and on the staff of two large churches in Columbus, Ohio.
Kathy: I also received my Masters in Counseling at Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana, in 1986. I’ve also been trained in Formational Prayer by Dr. Terry Wardle, Ashland University. Because my focus is not on diagnosing mental health disorders, I do not hold a clinical counseling license in the state of Ohio. I believe that much healing and wholeness is spiritual in nature. The root of some issues may be physical and require medical attention, but the focus of my work is in helping people understand their problems from a spiritual perspective and to position them to receive more of what God wants to give them. I’ve been counseling since 1987 on the staff of three different churches.
What are Your fees?
FEES
Mark’s Fees for Individual Male Clients
| First Session Fee, 90 minutes | $175.00 |
| Normal Fee for 60-minute session | $125.00 |
| Package of five 60-minute sessions | $500.00 |
| Package of five 90-minute sessions | $700.00 |
- I do not accept insurance so your fee is out of pocket and considered self pay.
- All fees are paid at the time of service unless other arrangements are made in advance.
- You can utilize your health savings account or any out-of-network mental health benefits. I can provide you with a receipt that contains all the information your insurance company needs.
- A sliding fee scale is available upon request.
Kathy’s Fees for Individual Female Clients
| First session Fee, 90 minutes | $175.00 |
| Normal Fee for 60-minute session | $125.00 |
| Package of five 60-minute sessions | $500.00 |
| Package of five 90-minute sessions | $700.00 |
- A sliding fee scale is available upon request.
Marriage Coaching Fees (Mark and Kathy together)
| Initial Consultation, 90 minutes | FREE!! |
| Package of four 2-1/2 hour sessions | $1,800.00 |
- Packages are a total of 10 hours with two coaches which is only $90 per hour per coach.
- The significant monetary commitment provides motivation for couples to keep doing the work even when it’s hard and they might be tempted to quit.
- No refunds will be issued but a credit for future sessions is available or can be used by either spouse for individual sessions for any remaining balance.
- We offer a FREE initial consultation so we can all feel good about the connection and whether or not we are a good fit for one another.
- When it is determined that an individual session or two would be helpful to the process, those sessions will be paid out of the package balance. For instance, If a spouse has a 60-minute individual session with one of us, it will reduce the balance by $90.
Where is your office?
We have two offices in our residence on the north end of Columbus in the Sharon Woods neighborhood. It is close to I-270 and Cleveland Avenue. The specific address will be given to you prior to your first session.
What is the difference between marriage coaching and marriage counseling?
Coaching is oriented toward the present and provides practical tools as you move into the future. Counseling includes a focus on how the past is currently affecting the relationship and provides help to resolving the things that block love in the present. What we offer is a blend of coaching and counseling — teaching tools for the present and ways to resolve the past.
Why such long marriage coaching sessions?
- The 2-½ hour sessions allow for much more work to be done. In traditional 50-60 minute sessions, the time is up just as progress is beginning. Then, time is spent at the next session reviewing, and just as you are starting to get somewhere, it’s time to end again. It is an inefficient and frustrating way of working.
- The long sessions enable us to get deeply into the issues and much more fully understand, teach tools and bring clarity to the overall process and to the personal areas that require work.
Is individual work part of the marriage coaching process?
- Sometimes, yes. Growth in the relationship will proceed more quickly if each person is also doing their own work to heal and grow individually.
- Individual work includes things like: grieving past hurts and traumas, learning to experience the love of God, growing in self awareness, understanding and practicing forgiveness, surrendering self-protective strategies, identifying the story you’re telling yourself and how it might be false, and learning to stand in the truth of who we are.
- We find that it normally takes 8 sessions (2 packages) to accomplish the deep and substantial changes in the relationship that couples desire.