Hello, I’m Julie Kaufmanschmidt

Licensed Professional Counselor

My emphasis is in family systems dynamic and cognitive behavior therapy, but I’m eclectic enough to employ treatment strategies from any modality I think will be helpful. So much of therapy is rooted in the relationship between therapist and client.

Call: (816) 213-6390

Services

Couples Issues

Is your relationship reeling from infidelity? Are there frequent arguments about hot button topics like money, parenting, in-laws, or sex? Or do you just feel disconnected from your partner? Do you no longer share the emotional intimacy you once did and you feel more like roommates? Let me help you restore what it is that made you initially fall in love with your spouse.

Family Problems

Can’t make your children behave? Your teenager thinks she knows everything? Are you and your spouse on opposite sides of the fence on discipline and rules? I can help you and your partner become a united front so children can’t play one parent against the other. I also work with children with their own individual issues, like ADHD, misbehavior at home and/or school; depression and anxiety.

Children’s Issues

ADHD and behavior issues both at home and at school are typical kid problems that I have worked with. Children’s misbehavior is often a symptom of something greater going on within the family. The child may be struggling to cope with life changes. Divorce, step parenting, friends, and schooling can all have a profound effect on a child’s mental health. I will work individually or with the family to help decrease these symptoms. As standard as ADHD is as a childhood diagnosis, depression and anxiety are often seen as “adult problems.” However, children may also experience a loss of joy or feelings of dread and anxiety which may require different intervention than treating an adult coping with life changes. I have expertise in treating adults and children with depression and anxiety.

Anxiety

Sometimes situations in our life make us nervous and unsure, like starting a new job or getting a divorce.  I’m happy to help guide you through these tough life transitions. However; sometimes you can’t pinpoint exactly why you’re nervous. To the outsider you look like you have a charmed life, your friends can’t understand what you have to be anxious about. This sort of generalized anxiety can be reduced! I have helped people reduce their ever-present anxiety to a manageable level. Some clients have been so successful at reducing their anxiety they have been able to eliminate anti-anxiety medication.

Personal Growth

Personal development is a lifelong process. It’s a way for people to assess their skills and qualities, consider their aims in life and set goals in order to realize and maximize their potential. Too often people come to counseling under the guise of being broken, sick, or pathological. While there are likely to be challenges in your life that have you feeling stuck from time to time, often people have what it takes to move forward and improve their functioning in relationships, career, and spirituality. They just need help discovering and tapping into the resilience they already possess. I believe in the strength of my clients. Often I see their resilience before they do.

Background

Julie graduated with Masters of Science in 1994 from Indiana State University with a degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. She has been licensed in Missouri as a Professional Counselor since 1999.

SESSION DETAILS

Sessions typically last 45-50 minutes and are once a week and cost $95, paid by cash, check or credit/debit/HSA card. Payment is collected when the session begins.

METHODS

What treatment modalities so you employ? In short, anything that works!
My emphasis is in family systems theory and cognitive behavior therapy, but I’m eclectic enough to employ treatment strategies from any modality I think will be helpful. So much of therapy is rooted in the relationship between therapist and client. I want you to feel comfortable with me, although, ideally, there will be times when there is discomfort. Change typically doesn’t happen until the pain of staying the same is worse than the pain of the unknown.

WHY DON’T YOU TAKE INSURANCE

Insurance is based on you being sick. I tend to think of my clients in terms of their strengths, not weaknesses. To reimburse counseling insurance companies require a therapist make an appropriate diagnosis, i.e. one they deem worthy of paying for therapy. In reality, this looks like someone you has a severe enough diagnosis, but not too severe. In this ever changing climate of health care, who knows what limitations insurance companies will put on providers next. I hate the idea that a diagnosis made in therapy could be used against you by an insurance company.

I have a tendency to see clients more as wounded and growing versus pathological. I’m happy to make a mental health diagnosis, but only if it serves to help in therapeutic treatment.

I don’t take insurance because I don’t think a bureaucrat in an office who’s never met you should be the gatekeeper for your treatment.

I think you have the skills needed to improve your life circumstances and with my help, we can draw those out and employ them effectively.  This can take one session or 100.  Insurance companies interests lie in making money, so the fewer sessions a client uses the better.  What is better for an insurance company’s bottom line may not be the best for your mental health.

Ask any therapist who takes insurance about some horror stories.  One of the worst I heard was the insurance company asking the therapist how deep the cuts on the client’s wrist were before they were willing to hospitalize the client for suicidal behavior.

As with any bureaucracy, communication with the insurance company takes time. Often times insurance companies will reject a claim initially and the therapist has to get on the phone to convince them to pay the claim.  If we bypass insurance, then all my time and effort gets funneled to helping you!

Make an Appointment

Ok, I’m convinced I need help and I’m at a place where I’m ready to take the next step.

LET’S TALK

(816) 213-6390

If you text make sure to leave your first name and that you’re a potential client.

LOCATION

8301 State Line Road, Suite 200
Kansas City, MO 64114

Handicapped Accessible, 3 blocks north of Ward Parkway Mall, on the bus line.

OPEN HOURS

Mon-Fri: 8:00 – 3:00
Evenings upon request
Sat-Sun: Closed