Individual, Couples & Family Therapy

Harper West, MA, MLP, is a licensed psychotherapist at Great Lakes Psychology Group in Clarkston, Michigan.

If you live anywhere in Michigan, you can schedule a counseling appointment via Telehealth. Or schedule an in-person counseling appointment in the Clarkston, Michigan, office. I cannot do therapy with those who live outside Michigan (although legislation to change that is in the works!)

To schedule a therapy appointment, please email me directly through my contact page.

Most Health Insurance Plans Accepted, except Medicare and Medicaid.

If no insurance is used, sessions are $90.00 via credit card.

Specialities

As a licensed psychotherapist in Michigan, Harper specializes in helping adults and teens improve self-compassion and self-acceptance, strengthen self-worth, regulate emotions, and develop mindfulness.

  • Mindful Self-Compassion: Harper is an expert in compassion-focused therapy and meditation, and was trained in the first-ever cohort of the Self-Compassion in Psychotherapy (SCIP) certificate program.
  • Mood Disorders: Anxiety, Depression, Social Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and other issues: Self-critical thoughts can trigger emotional responses that are incorrectly labeled as “mood disorders.” With mindful self-compassion, you will learn to reduce self-judgment, free yourself from fears of unworthiness, stop over-achieving and perfectionism, and be more calm and confident.
  • Childhood Trauma Recovery: Based on the science of trauma and attachment theory, Harper helps clients understand how their neurobiology was affected by adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and chronic developmental trauma — and how to heal.
  • Difficult Relationships: Learn how to heal and recover from narcissistic abuse, difficult personalities or toxic personalities in your life, including those with Bi-Polar Disorder, Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Anti-Social Personality Disorder, and Borderline Personality Disorder
  • Child and Family Psychotherapy using Attachment-Focused Family Therapy
  • Parenting Education to improve Child Behaviors and Emotional Maturity (for issues with ADHD, Oppositional and Defiant Disorder)
  • Mindfulness Meditation Training to improve self-compassion, emotional regulation, and self-acceptance
  • Assertiveness Training
  • Anger Management using Mindful Self-Compassion
  • Recovery from Abusive Relationships and Domestic Violence
  • Marriage and Couples Counseling using Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFCT)
Schedule an Appointment

Policies for Harper West, MA, MLP

If you are starting therapy with me, please read these policies as they make things go smoothly for everyone and help make therapy as comfortable and effective as possible. 

ZOOM/TELEHEALTH

To use tele-therapy, please read these instructions: 

1) We use an App called Zoom that is HIPAA-compliant. You should get a link/URL in your reminder text and/or email.

To make the most of your sessions:

  • You must be in a private place where no one else can hear you. 
  • Use earbuds if that will help ensure privacy. 
  • Do not drive or do other activities.
  • Treat the session as you would if we were in my office together. Try to be present and focused during the session. Don’t check your texts, eat, give yourself a manicure, drive, or allow your children to wander in and out, etc.  
  • Please turn off notifications that will pop up on your device. 
  • Please try to use a computer or device with a larger screen (not a phone). 
  • Be patient with technical interruptions — perhaps use them as an opportunity to practice self-calming and mindfulness!

2) To join a session, all you need is a computer, tablet, or mobile phone that has a camera and a microphone. If you’re connecting with a mobile device, it is recommended that you download the Zoom app and create an account prior to your appointment.

3) To test your connection prior to the session, you can go here: 

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115002262083-Joining-a-test-meeting

OTHER INFO:

  1. Please call me Harper, not Dr. West. Children can call me Ms. West. 
  2. Save my phone number so that you can contact me if you are running late, have an emergency or have technical issues and can’t log onto Zoom. 
  3. I would prefer that you schedule a regular standing appointment.
  4. If your schedule does not permit this, we will schedule at the end of each session. Be prepared at the end of the session to schedule the next appointment. Have days and times you are available ready.
  5. To change an appointment: Please call or text me at any time 24 hours a day to leave a message that you will be unable to keep your appointment.
  6. DO NOT EMAIL with same-day scheduling issues.
  7. If you get a reminder text and don’t think you have an appointment, notify me ASAP. 
  8. If you don’t get a text and think you have an appointment, you can also check with me to confirm.
  9. If you can’t make an in-person appointment, perhaps due to bad weather, it is possible to do therapy by Telemedicine. If one member of a couple can’t make an appointment, the partner can attend alone.
  10. I would prefer that you NOT contact our 800 number for scheduling changes, as I would prefer to communicate directly with you. 
  11. Sessions are generally 53 minutes long. 
  12. Please be aware that I do not get paid by insurance companies unless you show up for therapy. Think about how you would feel if you suddenly were not going to get paid for an hour of your time at work and be respectful of my time. 
  13. I have a waiting list for evening and Saturday appointments, so please be respectful of me and other people by showing up for your appointments. 
  14. Please treat therapy appointments as valuable time to work on your self-improvement and just as important as an appointment with your medical doctor. If you cancel or no-show on a regular basis, it sends me the signal that you do not value your time with me.
  15. If you fail to show to a scheduled appointment or cancel less than 24 hours before a scheduled appointment for a non-emergency I will charge you a $50 cancellation fee via IVY Pay, a HIPAA-Compliant app. (Note: Emergencies are defined as: serious illness, deaths in the family, car accidents, etc. Forgetting your child has a birthday party to attend is NOT an emergency, for example.)
  16. If you cancel appointments more than two times for any reason, a third cancellation will be charged a $50 cancellation fee. 
  17. If you have a standing appointment at a preferred time (evenings and Saturdays) and miss or cancel an appointment on short notice, I reserve the right to refuse to offer you a preferred appointment time in the future. I have a waiting list for preferred times and offer them to patients who are serious and committed to attending therapy regularly.
  18. Therapy is not like a medical doctor appointment, where you show up and just get medicine or other treatment. YOU must make efforts between sessions to read self-help books, journal, be self-aware, meditate, work on your emotions and relationships, minimize drugs and substances, and engage in other self-care actions. Please consider that the therapy session is JUST ONE of the things you can do to help yourself. I encourage you to to take notes during sessions. 
  19. Please read my website for important information on How to Develop Self-Acceptance, a key topic we will be discussing. The Resources Tab also has good information starting therapy, how to cope with emotions and how to develop self-compassion. I blog on a variety of topics so search for the topic that interests you. Follow me on Facebook for occasional posts on psychology topics such as self-compassion. 
  20. Please reflect on your recent therapy session afterward and discuss anything that seems to linger as important to you. These unresolved topics are often the ones we should be focusing on. 
  21. Feel free to give me feedback on any aspects of therapy that you find unhelpful (or helpful!) I want to make therapy a beneficial process and worth your time, money and effort, so don’t hesitate to tell me what might be most helpful for you. 
  22. I know you are just beginning therapy, but — believe it or not—  it’s also time to talk about ending therapy! People who actively work on their personal growth may attend therapy only a few months, so it is important to think ahead to when you will end therapy and how that will work. Ideally, we have a mutually agreed-upon termination process that we discuss as you begin to feel and function better. Depending on how long you have attended, that process may involve 1-4 sessions. During termination we will reflect on the work we’ve done, the therapeutic process and our relationship itself. We will discuss goals you have achieved, ways to maintain your gains in mental health, goals for future work on your own, and possible roadblocks to success. Think of termination as a healthy, meaningful way to close out a relationship — a “good goodbye.” I would ask that you do not impulsively and abruptly end therapy without discussing it with me. If therapy is not helpful or you would like a referral to another clinician, please tell me these things directly.

Thanks for your cooperation so that we can make therapy as helpful as possible for you. I look forward to working with you.