Counseling is helpful when you recognize unhealthiness in your coping patterns. You find the ways you coped in the past are no longer working and negatively impacting important relationships and yourself. Our counselors are trained to help you get to root issues so that you become more able to see your choices for dealing with and managing those things which distress you about others or yourself. Counseling is also recommended when persistent or troubling thoughts, feelings, or behaviors are beyond what would be normal for you. The decision to pursue counseling is a healthy response that provides an opportunity to grow in insight, faith, and character.

1. Complete the brief form under “Contact” to submit the initial appointment request.

2. Our administrator will email you with general information and the forms to be completed and returned. 

3. Once we receive your completed form(s), we will check with our staff about availability and best fit.

4. We will email to inform you of your assigned counselor.

Please email intake@ccfthailand.org with any further questions about our intake process.

There is no standard charge for clinical services provided. We have a suggested donation of 1500 THB (approx $50 USD) per counseling hour, and 3000 THB (approx $100 USD) per psychiatric consultation hour. CCF is a Thai Foundation and is supported by the donations of our clients. Your donations support our ministry of providing hope and healing to Christian workers and to Thai nationals. Because all our expatriate staff are volunteers and do not receive a salary from CCF, we are able to offer our clinical services on a donation basis. Donations are a necessary part of our ministry as they cover our Thai employee salaries, the upkeep of our facilities, and our mental health projects in the Thai community. ​

We recognize that each client has a unique financial situation and we want them to make their own personal decision about a the amount of donation and never want finances to stand in the way of receiving counseling. Our Father has richly blessed us since our beginning in 2004. We operate in faith, trusting the generosity of His people. Many Cornerstone clients over the years have been helped by their organizations donating toward the cost of counseling services. Clients may be able to obtain insurance reimbursement for their donations, but we do not participate in direct billing to organizations or insurance companies.

We generally recommend that out of town clients plan an initial, minimum stay of 1-3 weeks in Chiang Mai, depending on the presenting issues. Several sessions each week of 1-2 hours in length are usually scheduled for your time of assessment and intensive counseling. A plan is developed if ongoing counseling is recommended or desired. This may take the form of periodic return visits, but each person’s needs, goals, finances, and travel options are taken into account.

It is best to arrange this ahead of time to insure that a counselor is available at the times you are considering coming as some counselors’ schedules are filled 1-2 months in advance.

• Uncomfortable, overwhelming, or difficult-to-control feelings and/or thoughts

• Unproductive behavior habits that you have not been able to change

• Situations that leave you feeling stuck

• Difficulties in family or work relationships

• Traumatic experiences or major losses

• Concerns about the past, present, or future

• Referrals for psychiatric help

• Personal growth

• Unfamiliar issues or situations

• Stressful experiences

• Transitions

• Processing losses/closure and moving on

• A more objective view from outside your situation

• Decision making

• Team-building process and activities

Some people find that after having completed a successful period of counseling, they want to address additional issues or pursue deeper healing. If this is the case for you, or if troubling problems begin to recur for you, it is often wise to return to the same counselor with whom you had counseled previously. In some cases, it can be positive to pursue counseling with a different counselor who has expertise in a particular area or is of the opposite gender.

Member care, as it applies to expatriate workers, refers to the basic care for employees that an organization or business provides so that their members have the greatest opportunity to succeed in their work. Member care begins during the application/candidate screening process and continues throughout the career of the worker.

Member care providers serve their organizations with various levels and types of training. Some member care workers are licensed as counselors while others may have a pastoral background or other type of training. You may also want to ask your organization’s member care provider, if one is available, what you can expect concerning confidentiality, as this may vary from organization to organization or situation to situation. We work closely with member care workers in helping to provide preventative care and initial assessment of potential problems warranting further evaluation. 

Cornerstone has a strict confidentiality policy comparable to other counseling centers with professionally licensed staff. Information discussed in counseling sessions will not be released to anyone without your written authorization. There are only a few exceptions where mental health providers, who are “mandated reporters”, are ethically and legally required to break confidentiality in order to coordinate safety planning for individuals involved. When a client is deemed to be an imminent risk of harm to themselves or others or discloses abuse, neglect, or endangerment of children, counselors are required to notify appropriate authorities. This may include reporting to referring providers, sending organizations, or local authorities depending on the nature of the situation.

Most expatriate workers we know have found that friends and churches in their home countries are very supportive of them receiving counseling. However, in occasional cases, some friends or supporters are concerned about how a counselor who is trained in psychology and is unfamiliar to them may influence their friend. If that is the case for you, you could invite people back home to contact us with any questions they might have. With your permission, we will be happy to respond.

Because there are some people who have concerns about what it may mean for a person to seek counseling help, it is a good idea to begin sharing this information individually rather than in a general news update. This will give you an opportunity to respond individually to any questions or concerns others might have.

This is a very common question of our clients with families. Our office is not equipped to accommodate childcare. For this reason, we ask that you arrange childcare for your children at your home or hotel. We do not allow unattended children in the waiting area for their safety. Some out-of-town clients arrange babysitting through the help of their mission organization. In addition, you can arrange childcare through the following resources:

Lemur Lion Lamb Daycare

• Located only 10 minutes from Cornerstone, will take children ages 2-5, Half Day/Morning or Full day options, with healthy snacks/lunch

• http://lemurlionlamb.com/

• https://www.facebook.com/LemurLionLamb/

• Phone: (+66) 085-712-0607 Email: lemurlionlamb@gmail.com

Chiang Mai Babysitters

• Fully vetted and qualified babysitters who will who can be booked to come to your hotel or guest house, hourly or daily rates available

• https://www.facebook.com/chiangmaibabysitters/

• Phone: (+66) 081-165-2201 — Contact Christina 

Cornerstone does not offer lodging at our location.

There are good places to search for lodging in Chiang Mai. You may find more information in some of these suggested websites:

https://juniper-tree.org/chiang-mai/

https://www.agoda.com/

https://www.airbnb.com/