Consider this a total cheat of a blog. No deep philosophical ideas presented here. Just some news and miscellaneous crap and oh yeah…MARKETING!! At least it’s a short one for once right?
Firstly, with the closing of the practice of my friend and colleague, Dr Scott Sprabery, (and therefore, the office where I’ve leased space for the past 7 years) I’ll soon be relocating. The new office, located at 1712 Fairview, is a quaint old brick house in the Montrose area. The new space is nearer to my home and to most of my life in general and will, hopefully, be a better fit for me overall. As it turns out, most of my clients are my neighbors, so I’m hopeful that the move will prove better for them as well. The move is scheduled for April 1st and normal operations will resume as of that date. Hopefully…You ever tried to lift a therapy couch by yourself?
Secondly, I wanted to discuss a recent business change; the move to a private pay only practice. In other words, I will no longer be accepting insurance as payment for services. I have tentative plans to write a longer, more thorough piece on this subject but for now, I’ll just hit the highlights.
Like a lot of folks, I absolutely, completely believe that the current healthcare system in America is a broken one. The general way insurance works, especially in regards to mental health coverage, is not only broken but also grossly negligent and in many cases, absolutely fraudulent. Insurance companies, in my opinion, are a clear definition of evil. In clinical practice, a therapist’s work is made far more difficult by it and in many cases a client’s mental and emotional health is compromised as well. Let me be clear, however; I don’t have a better idea of how to manage healthcare. I’m sure there are some things from the opposing point of view that I’ve not take into account. Perhaps there’s a bit of “Brandon punk rock morals” being expressed. As both client of and provider of therapy, however, I do know that our current system is NOT the best one. As stated, I’ll try to unpack this a bit more later but for now please give me the benefit of the doubt when I say that insurance companies are a large scale scam propagated by evil and massive corporations who’s main job is to suck out the soul straight through asshole of every man, woman and child in the country and unfortunately, they are horrifyingly successful at their aims. I cannot claim a saintly nature. I am not perfect, nor am I trying to be. However, I am attempting to continually better myself. As therapists, we agree to an oath of non malfeasance that compels us to, “at the very least, do no harm”. I truly believe that the current form of insurance directly and intentionally causes harm and I cannot morally or ethically continue to work with companies when I have this knowledge.
As of June 2017 (yes, this is old news by now) insurance will no longer be accepted as payment for therapy services. Rates for individual/family and couples counseling are $100 per session and a sliding scale is available.
In a final bit of news or perhaps it’s just a reminder, I want to tell you about the books I have written and encourage you to pick up a copy. The first book, When Sam Gets Back, is a simple philosophy work as told through the eyes of a pigeon. In stark contrast, my second book, Crap I Came Up With, obviously, is not philosophy and instead, is my attempt to dabble in comedy. You can purchase the books at the links below or you can drop by the Bayou Lights Book Store at 3708 Main St, above the Continental Club and pick up a copy in person.
When Sam Gets Back
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&text=Brandon+Peters+LPC&search-alias=books&field-author=Brandon+Peters+LPC&sort=relevancerank
Crap I Came Up With
http://whatevermom.storenvy.com/products/22905171-crap-i-came-up-with-by-brandon-peters-lpc
That’s all for today kids. Check out my books, tell insurance companies they suck and come see me at my new location. Thanks!
Brandon Peters, LPC
832.6543147
1712 Fairview
Houston, TX 77006
brandonpeterslpc.com
Unrelated song: Yeah, so this is an album again but it’s only 10mn long, so stop complaining and listen. In my humble opinion, THIS is how all grindcore should sound.
Unrelated book recomendation:
Becoming Myself by Irvin Yalom– This recommendation isn’t totally fair because I haven’t actually read it. I own a copy but I’ve only skimmed a few pages. This memoir of Yalom’s has been touted as his final book (by himself most notably), therefore, I’m morbidly saving it until he does pass. Yeah, I know. That’s weird.
Brandon Peters, LPC 