Travis Kessell, MA CMHC
Resident in Counseling at Transitions
In our lives, each of us will need the strength of another person, though allowing another person to help takes great courage. As a therapist, I strive to provide a place where the courage to ask for help is met with compassion and patience as we embark on the path to healing together. I work with clients, both individuals and couples, on many of the common counseling struggles such as anxiety, depression, grief and loss.
I am happy to work with children as young as 10-years-old, teenagers, and adults of any age. I find my best work is with men looking to make the changes they want in order to live in their relationships more fully. I offer a place where men of all walks can engage their emotional spaces and explore how manhood shapes their lives.
No matter who I am working with, I welcome discussion of all matters and respect the views of my clients. All aspects of life can be important to therapy, though the inclusion of such aspects as spirituality will always be at the discretion of each client.
I have been in the Harrisonburg area since mid-2018 after completing my Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in Lynchburg, VA. When not working with people to encourage growth and hope, I spend my time reading authors like C. S. Lewis and Ernest Hemingway, figuring out how to best brew coffee, and running trails in the Valley.
Travis sees clients here at Transitions in Harrisonburg. You can find answers to common questions below (e.g., fee, insurance, availability, etc.). And when you are ready to schedule you can contact Travis below.
Common Questions
Below are answers to common questions, regarding things such as Fee, Sliding-Scale Discounts, Insurance, etc.
In Case of Emergency
Transitions Counseling does not provide 24-hour crisis hotline services. Should you have a mental health emergency please visit your nearest hospital emergency room, call 911, or contact one of the Community Emergency Resources listed in the Transitions FAQ.
Fee, Methods of Payment and Health Insurance
Travis’s fee is a sliding-scale of $90 to $70 a session (based on income), and he offers potential clients a trial session at half-price (e.g., $45). The fee is per-session, not per-person, for up to three people present in a session. If your Annual Household Gross Income is less than $90,000/year please consult the Fee Sliding-Scale for your discounted session fee. Please note that Travis does not accept health insurance.
Travis accepts Cash, Check or online payment via Venmo, but not credit cards. Checks should be made out to Transitions Counseling, and payment is due at the beginning of each session. If possible please make your check out prior to your visit in order to save time during your session.
Pay Online Using Venmo (Recommended)
Venmo is a free, secure transfer service you can use with your bank account or debit card (note that Venmo charges a fee to send money using your credit card). Transitions never sees or stores your bank details—everything is securely handled by Venmo.
Setup: We recommend that you setup Venmo several days prior to your 1st session through the Venmo app. You may wait until your 1st session to initiate payment (this is to be sure you pay the correct amount, taking into consideration any sliding-scale discounts). For subsequent sessions please initiate payment via Venmo sometime during the 24 hours prior to your session. We request that you initiate payment prior to your session because people often forget to pay via the app if they wait until after the session.
You make payment of your session fee using one of the following methods in the Venmo app:
- Scan Transitions’ Venmo QR code
- Visit Transitions’ Venmo profile
- Search for Transitions’ Venmo username (@Sean-Slevin-Transitions)
Note: Please make sure to include the name “Travis” (e.g., “Session with Travis”) in the Venmo memo/subject so that your payment is correctly attributed to Travis.
Fee Sliding-Scale Discounts
Sliding-scale discounts are based on the Annual Household Gross Income of whomever is paying for counseling (i.e., who is writing the check).
Who Is Paying for Counseling: If you (or your spouse/partner) are the one paying for your counseling sessions, you can skip ahead to the instructions on calculating your Annual Household Gross Income.
In some instances the person paying for counseling may not be the same as the person attending. Common examples are college students (where parents are paying) and those in financial need (where a church, friend or family member is paying). It is the payer’s Annual Household Gross Income (which in this case is the helping party’s, and which may be different from the client’s) that determines the sliding-scale fee to be paid. However, it is our belief that clients get more out of counseling the more connected they are to the cost of counseling. So in instances where another party is offering to pay for a client’s counseling we strongly encourage the client and the person assisting them to arrange things such that the client pays Travis directly for each session and is reimbursed (before or after the session) by the one helping them financially. Psychologically this helps the client to stay connected to the cost of their counseling, which in turn can help them to better emotionally invest in, and take ownership of, their growth and healing.
Estimating Annual Household Gross Income:
- On your pay stub, find the amount listed as Gross Pay or Total Earnings. Do not use the amount listed as Net Pay.
- Determine how often you receive payment—monthly, twice a month, every two weeks or weekly.
- Take your Gross Pay, and multiply it by the frequency you are paid in order to calculate your Annual Gross Pay: If you are paid once per month, multiply by 12. If you are paid twice per month, multiple by 24. If you are paid every two weeks, multiply by 26. If you are paid every week, multiply by 52.
- If you have a partner/spouse in your household, complete the above for them as well, and then combine the two numbers to calculate your Estimated Annual Household Gross Income. Use this number to find the appropriate corresponding fee in the chart below.
| Annual Household Gross Income | Fee Per Session (after any discount) |
|---|---|
| $90,000/year (or greater) | $90 (1st session $45) |
| $80,000 to $89,999/year | $80 (1st session $40) |
| Less than $80,000/year | $70 (1st session $35) |
Session Length
Sessions are 50 minutes long. Please make every effort to be on time for your session. Since sessions are normally scheduled back to back with other clients it is not usually possible to run sessions over the scheduled time. Longer session lengths are available upon request (dependent on availability). Note that the fee is based on 50-minute blocks, so if you schedule 2 sessions back-to-back that equals 100 minutes (i.e., 50 + 50).
1st Session
Please plan to arrive at the Transitions office about 15 minutes early for your first session so that you have adequate time to read and sign the paperwork.
You do not need to bring anything to your 1st session other than yourself (and, of course, payment). If there is anything you wish to bring or are wondering if you should bring please contact Travis to discuss those questions and he will give you his recommendations.
Cancellation Policy
Please give a minimum of 24 hours notice if you need to cancel a session or you will be billed the full fee. Sometimes it is not possible to give 24 hours notice. In such cases please notify Travis as soon as you are able and he will take your circumstances into consideration.
Travis Kessell’s Availability
Travis typically offers the following session times. Please contact him below with questions or to schedule a session.
- Mondays: 10am - 8pm
- Tuesdays: 10am - 8pm
- Wednesdays: 10am - 8pm
- Thursdays: 10pm - 5pm
When scheduling please be sure to specify whether you can do daytime appointments, or if you need evenings (4pm or later), as well as any other scheduling constraints you have (e.g., certain days of the week).
Contact Travis Kessell
As is common in the healthcare field, a Residency/Apprenticeship under a more experienced counselor is a required part of a counselor’s professional development. Before beginning Residency counselors have already completed their academic training and have logged the requisite experiential hours providing counseling services. Counseling Residents meet regularly with their Supervisor (Sean Slevin) who oversees and supports their work with clients. Each Resident sets their own fee and policies, so be sure to check with whomever you are wishing to work with regarding those details. The Associates page explains this further.
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