Clinic Updates

August 4, 2024

An update for our OUTShine support group, it is now taking place  it will occur via Zoom on Fridays 6 - 8 PM. This support groups is dedicated for our trans community. Other notable regards is the cost is pay what you can.

 

April 1, 2024

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We are excited to announce our new support group series: NEST and OUTShine!

NEST - Is a parent support group for parents or guardians or grandparents of youth who are transgendered. OUTShine is a group for trans youth, ages 12 - 16. 

Groups meet on line through PRCC's secure remote platform. NEST is Tuesdays from 11:30 - 12:30 PM and OUTShine meets Tuesday evenings from 6 - 7:30 PM. 

For more information about these groups, contact us at help@ponoroots.org. 

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March 1, 2024

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Aloha! We are currently accepting new clients on a limited basis due to overwhelming demand for services. We encourage you to contact us via email at help@ponoroots.org. 

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We will get back to you within 5 business days.

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Thank you​

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February 1, 2024

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We are currently offering a wait list for Kristine Altwies, Clinical Director, and staff therapists, Christina McKay, LMFT. Charles Kamai, LMFT/CSAC have limited openings. 

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We currently have openings for the following services for treatment conducted by graduate level therapy interns, and post-graduate, pre-licensed therapists.​

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1. Child-directed, trauma-informed, play therapy for children

2. Social-Emotional Life Skills Therapy for Teens

3. Individual talk therapy for Teens and Adults

4. Couples and Family counseling

5. Court-ordered co-parenting

6. Conjoint parenting for couples seeking support 

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We work with children age 4 and older, on site at PonoRoots.

Note that all work conducted by interns and pre-licensed therapists is conducted under the supervision of Clinical Director, Kristine Altwies, MA/LMFT.

 

Insurance is not accepted for these sessions conducted at PRCC by therapy interns. The cost is $25 per session. 

 

Similar services are offered by post-graduate, pre-licensed therapists, working under the supervision of Clinical Director, Kristine Altwies, at a cost of $50 - $125 per session.

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In cases of intern and pre-licensed work, initial intake is conducted by the clinical director, who conceptualizes the case, conducts parent follow-up sessions, (when appropriate) and training as needed, and provides clinical supervision of session treatment work. Sessions with the clinical director are covered by insurance accepted by PRCC.

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November 1, 2023

Our Fees 

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PonoRoots Counseling Center (PRCC) is a treatment and training center. Under the clinical supervision of a licensed marriage and family therapist, intern and prelicensed masters graduates work to ensure appropriate care, and personalized treatment plans. 

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Note that most PRCC counselors do not accept insurance. For interns, a flat rate of $25 per session is charged. For counselors who have completed their graduate work and are collecting post graduate hours towards licensure, the rate is $125 per hour. A fee waiver form may be completed, allowing clients to request a fee as low as $50 per hour. 

 

May 29, 2023

New Opportunities for Clients!

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We are excited to announce new options for all members of the family. Starting this summer we are increasing our low cost and no cost therapy offerings as we welcome a new group of highly trained and experienced therapy interns. Contact us here, to sign up for sessions for adults, children, couples or families at reduced and low costs. Please let us know you are interested in working with our new therapy interns. 

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As a therapy training center, PRCC is proud of our role in supporting the expansion of professional mental health services in Hawai'i. Therapy interns have completed their undergraduate work, have started or completed at least one masters' level program, have experience providing mental health, educational, and or related services prior to joining PRCC. At PRCC, intern therapists are supervised and their work is monitored.

 

We offer services provided by staff in whom we believe so strongly, we would have them work with our own family members!

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More to come:

Support groups for LGBTQIA teens; for couples needing specific court-ordered parenting; for adoptive families; for LGBTQIA individuals experiencing DV; for single adults seeking social support.

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April 12, 2023
Insurance and how we bill

PonoRoots believes in our mission to provide compassionate, professional and appropriate mental health services to our community. We understand there is a need for more, well trained therapists. With that in mind, we are also a training site for student therapists, and prelicensed therapists. We do not allow staff to conduct sessions alone, until we are confident in their abilities. 

Fees for therapy at PRCC:
 

• Intern therapists - No insurance - flat rate of $25 per session

• Pre-licensed therapists - We do not accept insurance for these therapists - Flat rate is $100 per session with a sliding scale rate available for those who cannot manage the full fee.

• Licensed therapists - We accept most insurance (we apologize we are not able to accept Kaiser). Self pay fee is $150 per session

• Clinical Director - We accept most insurance (we apologize we are not able to accept Kaiser). Self pay is $250 per session

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Court Ordered Co-Parenting

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We are happy to support families undergoing divorce, separation, custody issues, or similar. Please note that this type of support is self pay only at PRCC. The average co-parenting support lasts five (5) sessions, unless otherwise mandated by the court. Intake sessions are conducted separately, and last 30 minutes, and cost $100 per session. The following four (4) sessions are conducted face to face at PRCC in most cases, and cost $150 per session. All sessions must be booked in advance, must be paid in advance, and are non refundable.

April 2, 2023
Working with children

We look forward to working with your child. Due to the high demand for child treatment services, we have updated our guidelines. All parents are requested to acknowledge and work within these guidelines:

We work with children one-on-one, in most cases, and may schedule monthly co-therapy sessions with parents. Parent sessions are scheduled as for 55 minutes. Due to therapist time constraints and ethical guidelines, we cannot meet with parents outside of scheduled sessions. 

While we love children, parents are advised to not bring any additional children to PRCC when dropping or picking up your child. We do not have waiting areas appropriate for children. 

Coming and going from PRCC

Please come on time and not much in advance of your session at PRCC. Note that therapists are in session, and will only answer the door right before your session time. If you arrive and no one answers the door, please be patient. We do not always have staff available to answer the door. 

Please be aware that clients are working hard in session, and having a calming therapy center is important. For this reason, we ask that you exercise awareness when coming and going in the center. Indoor voices and gentle footsteps are appreciated as noise travels extensively. 

Booking your sessions

Due to the high demand on mental health services, unless therapeutically contraindicated, we require clients to book and commit to four sessions at a time. We encourage you to find a time and day that works for you, and stick to that. We do our best to meet the needs of our clients, and find that alternating schedules can lead to missed appointments, or clients not being able to book consistently. 

Cancellation Reminder:

We gently remind you that we are having to turn away clients seeking services due to demand. For this reason, if you are booked for a session and do not show up or cancel less than 24 hours in advance, we will need to  charge you the full rate for that missed session. We thank you for your understanding.