Nancy Davidson Ph.D. Psychologist

James Davidson Ph.D. Psychologist

You may have questions that we have already answered for others...

Q. How do I make an appointment? A. Call the office at (440) 942-0100. Basic information including your name, nature of the problem and insurance information will be taken over the phone. Your insurance coverage will be verified, and then an appointment set.  Intake materials should be downloaded from the "Forms" tab on our website, and printed by you.  These materials must be completed and brought to the first appointment.

Q. What are your hours? A. The office is open Monday and Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. through 7:30 p.m.. and Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from  1:00 pm to 7:30 p.m. The office is not open on the weekends.

Q. How quickly can I be seen? A. A new patient is generally seen within ten days.  Individuals requesting a specific counselor, seeking an evening time or a specific appointment time usually experience a longer wait for the first appointment.  

Q. How long is an appointment? A. Insurance coverage provides for a 45-minute appointment time.

Q. What if I have to cancel an appointment? A. We require 24-hour notice to cancel an appointment unless a patient is ill.  The advance notice allows us to provide service to other patients waiting to be seen.  We charge a fee for broken appointments or late cancellation. We may also terminate the counseling relationship if appointments are frequently cancelled or broken.

Q. What are your fees? A. The fee for an initial intake evaluation is $140.  A regular appointment fee is $110.  Psychological testing, consultation, and site visits are billed on an hourly basis plus expenses. Forensic psychological services are billed at the rate of $200 an hour.

Q. Do you have a sliding fee schedule? A. We do not have a sliding fee schedule.

Q. How often do you send bills? A. Never.  All fees including copays are due at the time of service.  We do not send monthly bills due to the added expense and our policy that fees are due at the time of service.  Itemized statement will be provided upon request for those on Health Savings Plans.

Q. Do you provide legal testimony or forensic psychological services? A. We do provide expert testimony for some forensic areas, including family law, criminal and civil competency, mitigation, violence and risk assessment, and abuse (sexual or physical).  Forensic consultation is not reimbursable by insurance, and all fees must be paid in advance. Please have your attorney contact our office if you are seeking forensic psychological services. We typically decline to be involved in litigation for our counseling patients.  If you are a patient, and request our testimony as a fact witness, please understand that you will be charged fees that are above and beyond your insurance coverage.  

Q. Do you perform child custody evaluations? A. Dr. Jim Davidson does perform custody evaluations when ordered by the court. Child custody evaluations are governed by very different ethical and confidentiality conditions than counseling.  Please have your attorney contact our office if you are seeking a child custody evaluation for further information.

Q. Do you return phone calls? A. We do return patient calls, although it may be late at night after office hours.  We do not ordinarily charge for brief telephone consultations.  However, we do charge for calls that are extended, long distance, or require use of a cell phone..

Q. Are my sessions and records confidential? A. Your counseling sessions and records are confidential in accordance with state and federal law. We are HIPAA compliant -- which means that we have taken steps to comply with certain federal laws concerning confidentiality. We will not discuss the nature of your counseling, nor even that fact that you are in counseling with any other part without your written permission. Your rights to confidentiality may be limited in certain situations such as when child abuse is suspected, if you are considered an imminent suicide risk, if your insurance carrier requests information, or if a court orders information to be released. Every effort is made to protect your confidentiality regardless of the circumstances.

Q. Do you prescribe medication? A. We do not prescribe medication.  However, we do coordinate care with your primary care physician and several consulting psychiatrists when medication is recommended.

Q. How frequent are appointments? A. Most patients are seen weekly until enough progress is made to reduce the frequency of appointments.

Q. Does counseling really help? A. Yes, we believe that counseling helps. But there are no magical answers.  A rule of thumb: a person needs to hope enough as well as hurt enough for change.