Frequently Asked Questions of Dr. Duane Green

Duane Green, Ph.D PsiWhat training do Psychologists undergo?

Psychologist go to Graduate School during which they complete a pre-doctoral internship. After Graduate School they complete a post-doctoral internship. Psychologists do psychotherapy with individuals, couples and families. They may do psychological testing if the diagnosis is unclear. Some psychologists do neuropsychological testing to evaluate brain-behavior relationships.

What types of problems do you treat?

Many types; including depression, anxiety disorders, panic attacks, marital problems, and emotional problems that cause or aggravate problems in people’s lives. Sometimes people think their concerns are not severe enough to see a psychologist but I see patients with problems that range from mild to severe, including some people who simply want to understand themselves better or who have noticed that they are not as happy as they should be.

What is your practice in regards to psychiatric medications?

Psychologists do not prescribe medications. If it appears that medication may be helpful, a psychologist will help with a referral to an appropriate medical specialist.

What form of psychotherapy do you use?

I primarily use Short-Term Psychotherapy techniques which I have studied and practiced for many years. I use this form of psychotherapy because it shortens the overall time in treatment. For example, if someone’s problem would ordinarily take 20 sessions to resolve, Short-Term Psychotherapy usually speeds up the process so that only 5 – 10 sessions may be required. Another reason I use Short-Term Psychyotherapy is that it is often effective when other types of psychotherapy e.g. Cognitive Behavior Therapy, etc. have not worked.

What insurances do you take?

Our office is contracted with most insurance carriers. If I am not on your carrier’s panel and if they do not have a psychologist on their preferred list in Spokane, they will quite often work out a one time individual contract for your care. You can check on coverage with your carrier. If you call your carrier, you would want to know how many sessions are allowed each year, how many you have used, if pre-approval is required, if you have a deductible, how much of the deductible you have met, how much your carrier allows for each session and the percent of each session you would have to pay. The out-of-pocket cost for most of our carriers is in the range of $15 – $30 per session.