Frequently Asked Questions about Counseling and Equine Therapy

We have a team of licensed counselors with experience in trauma informed counseling. Our Counselors have training in a wide variety of approaches such as Cognitive Therapy, DBT, Solution Focused, Gottman Method, Family Therapy, Attachment based approaches, Art Therapy and TBRI. You can schedule an online session or work with the horses. We will work with you to find an approach that will help you move forward in your life and your relationships. You are never locked into one approach and if you would like to try equine, art therapy or online counseling please talk to your therapist about your needs.

Yes! We offer a variety of workshops and retreats for businesses, churches or groups. We work out of The Ranch of Hope Reins in Hampshire, IL convenient to Chicago and O’Hare airport. There is a beautiful retreat center 10 minutes away for overnight guests as well as a variety of hotel accommodations. We customize learning experiences for your group and provide equine assisted learning experiences if you would like. Please go to the workshop tab to learn more about workshops and retreats. We also provide a once a year summer camp for children and teens. Click here to find out more about Summer Camps.

Yes, we provide Christian counseling for those who desire it. Some may want someone who will just respect their beliefs while others would like prayer or specific help with growing their faith. Many clients feel like they are far from God when they are depressed or anxious. We help you understand that and help you feel more connected again if that is what you want. If you don’t want to talk about faith at all we respect that as well.

That being said, we work with people of all faiths or no faith at all. We respect who you are and what you believe and never preach or force beliefs on you.

We specialize in providing anxiety counseling, trauma counseling and child and family/marital counseling. We work with all ages and utilize different approaches such as art therapy, equine therapy, trauma informed cognitive therapy and somatic approaches. We also provide summer camps for children and teens and business training, workshops and retreats for groups, businesses and churches.

The Ranch location has an indoor arena and covered outdoor areas so we can work year round. If the temperature is below 20 degrees we offer virtual sessions. In the winter, we suggest wearing a hat, scarf, and layers in cold weather. We are huge fans of snow pants for winter. Most people have no idea of how cold it feels spending 45 to 55 minutes in the cold so we suggest overdressing with layers that can be removed or added on. We also suggest you wear comfortable clothes that can get a bit dirty. You must wear closed toed shoes and we suggest boots in muddy or snowy weather. In warmer weather, we suggest you wear bug spray and sunscreen.

Sessions range from $175 to $200 for a 55 minute session. Some of our therapists are in-network with Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO and Blue Cross has an in-network rate. It is important to call your insurance company and find out what your benefits include regarding deductibles, and or co-pays. We will submit claims for in-network insurance.

If you have an Out of Network Plan (OON) but it is a PPO they may reimburse you for out of network providers. If you have an HMO you have to stay with one of their in-network providers. It is important to call your insurance to find out your benefits. We are listed with insurance companies as Debra K Hirschberg and Associates NOT Hope Reins.

Equine Therapy is for all ages. We only work on the ground so there is no riding. We focus on your emotional and psychological goals. Your equine session will be led by a licensed mental health counselor and a certified equine specialist. Find our more about Equine Therapy by clicking on the equine therapy page.

For In-Network Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO we electronically send claims . For out of network (OON) insurers we can provide a superbill to you so that you can send it to your insurance for reimbursement. We suggest you utilize www.reimbursify.com to easily submit out of network claims. This service makes getting reimbursed so much easier. Our clients are often surprised how much they can get reimbursed for Out of Network (OON) coverage. Call and check your benefits. We are listed with insurance companies as Debra K Hirschberg and Associates NOT Hope Reins.

We offer evening appointments depending on availability. At this time we do not have weekend availability for in-person sessions. If you click on the Contact page you can find out if we are accepting new clients. If we are full then you can sign up for our newsletter to be informed of any openings. We do not have a waiting list but once notified through the newsletter of openings they are filled on the basis of who contacts us first. Our Equine Therapy appointments tend to fill quickly.

We will help you identify what your life will look like when the problems you are facing are solved. Most come to therapy feeling like nothing they have done has helped. We find though that is rarely true. We know you have had successes. We will help you find what has worked and build a plan with both the problems and successes in mind.

If you are doing Equine Therapy you will work with a team that consists of a Licensed Mental Health Professional and a certified Equine Professional. Typically your first equine session consists of meeting the horses. In that session we will explore your goals and you will have an opportunity to learn a bit about each of our horses, how they are prey animals and how they can help. Click on the Equine Therapy tab to learn more. Sometimes we will schedule an Online Session for assessment and goal setting so that for your first in-person session you can get right in there and get to know the horses.

Yes, we provide online counseling. For Online counseling you will receive a link to connect by computer or your phone. We ask that you find a private and comfortable location in your home so that you can talk candidly. For in-person sessions we meet at The Ranch of Hope Reins at 45W107 Dietrich Rd, Hampshire, IL 60140. We are about 45 miles outside of Chicago conveniently located near I-90 and Rt 20.

Yes! Many people have some fear of working with horses. We focus on developing skills to manage anxiety and feel safe around horses. We find those who partner with us and the horses will feel more confident and powerful in all areas of their life as they overcome fears of horses. This helps you manage and overcome other issues with anxiety in your life.

Usually you have tried many approaches on your own and find you are still stuck. When you find yourself overwhelmed, exhausted and starting to lose hope it is a good time to seek counseling. If you are struggling to stay focused or have lost joy in your usual activities it is time to seek help. If you find depression or anxiety is interfering with relationships, work or school or self-esteem it is a good time to seek help. And most especially if you or your loved one has suicidal thoughts or self harm it is important to seek counseling right away. If these thoughts are overwhelming you should call your local crisis line, 911 or go to your local emergency room.

We offer weekly sessions. Research and our personal experience with clients show that weekly sessions results in better outcomes more quickly. With equine therapy it allows you and our horses consistent time to get to know each other and form a relationship.

There can be many reasons to feel bad during the counseling process. Trauma counseling in particular is hard work..and you are probably tired of it being hard. Even when working with the horses, the emotions that get stirred up can feel overwhelming. Sometimes people think equine therapy will be easier And yes, at times that is true as horses can provide support and connection. But it is also common to get triggered as horses can stir up feelings of rejection or failure. However we find that those who are brave enough to continue working through these hard and uncomfortable feelings show the greatest progress in healing.

That being said we will not take it personally if you are feeling like it is too hard or progress is not being made. It is important to let us know. Sometimes we need to fine tune and be more or less directive. Your feedback will help us find what is more effective for you! Sometimes we need to offer an office session or do art therapy or equine therapy. We genuinely what to know what is working—- but more importantly what is NOT working so we can adjust and find a solution for you.

We know this can be very hard as many of you have been ridiculed or not listened to by significant others. And maybe that is why you don’t trust yourself. But we believe your voice is the most important one in your journey. We want to hear the hard things and we promise we won’t be offended!

When we are working with your child it is sometimes hard to know what is happening in therapy. We want to make sure that you and your child’s therapist stay connected. We often suggest a separate session to update you on your child. Or we may ask you and your whole family to come in for sessions.

Sometimes children will begin to complain about therapy even with the horses. We have found that children and teens who are used to avoiding find they cannot avoid when working with horses. They may want to quit or avoid therapy at a crucial point. You may wonder what is the point when your child doesn’t want to go and or you don’t see much change.

Before you make a decision to end therapy it is vital to check in with us to see if your child is at a crucial point in therapy. Often it is hard and they are trying to avoid facing the harder issues. If they continue to avoid they will not make progress. Or perhaps they thought working with horses would be just fun and didn’t realize that there can be frustrations they need to work though. Often getting to those core issues is hard and they have always been successful in avoiding. When we see kids work through the frustrating or stuck points the lessons they learn are often profound and will help them lifelong!

We welcome a discussion of how we can help so please schedule a time with your child’s therapist.