FAQ

It’s super simple! Just fill out the contact form below and I’ll will reach out to you within 2 business days to set up a free 15 minute consultation.

During that time, we can briefly discuss your current challenges, answer any questions you may have about the process, and see if we’re the right fit for each other.

Hey, I get it, life happens, and sometimes things come up that are unavoidable.

If you need to cancel your session, I ask that you provide me with at least 24 hours’ notice. Any cancellation within 24 hours of our scheduled session is subject to being charged the full session fee. I will do my best to offer an alternate reschedule option within the same week, if my schedule permits, so that the late-cancellation fee is void.

If reoccurring cancellations continue to occur, we may need to discuss your continued commitment to therapy and explore whether resuming at a later time would be best.

I understand that using insurance is often necessary to access care. Unfortunately, working with insurance for mental health services can be limiting to clients in a variety of ways. I prefer to work with clients paying privately or using their out-of-network benefits. This is due to the tricky relationship that both you (the client) and I (the provider) have with insurance companies. 

Because they’re paying the bill, insurance companies like to have a say in how therapy sessions should go, how long they should last, how many sessions are covered, etc. They also require a psychological diagnosis upfront, which becomes a part of your permanent record. They can even request a copy of my written records from our sessions, and deny claims that they previously approved. These are just some of the reasons we hesitate to work with insurance companies.

Attending therapy is an investment in yourself.  Private pay allows us to create a treatment plan together that is tailored to your specific needs.  We won’t have to worry about time constraints and will be able to use a variety evidence-based treatments to help you heal and move forward with life. We can address issues that may be holding you back in life, but don’t necessarily qualify as “medically necessary”, which is a treatment requirement with insurance. Ultimately, we are not limited to what you want to work on and how.

Using insurance is a personal decision only you can make.  If you decide not to use insurance, I can provide you with a receipt for our sessions called a “Superbill.” If you have out-of-network mental health benefits, you can submit this document to your insurance company for possible reimbursement of some of your out-of-pocket expenses.

This is a tricky one to answer, but it’s one that federal law requires us to do if you plan to pay privately or are using your out-of-network insurance benefits. The “No Surprises Act” requires that we provide in writing a “Good Faith Estimate” of a year’s worth of service prior to our first session.

This is not easy because, before working together, we have no idea how much therapy may be needed. So, the Good Faith Estimate you receive may be higher than what it will actually cost since we have to estimate for a year. However, some people end up needing more frequent visits and want to book more than one session per week. And others drop down to biweekly sessions once things have stabilized.

As you can see, it is not an easy exercise. That said, your Good Faith Estimate will be calculated based on our hourly rate for one weekly session for 52 weeks.

Yes, I offer extended evening hours, with our last appointment being 6 pm, depending on the day of the week and the availability of the therapist.

I strive to make our sessions as relaxed and conversational as possible. Whether we meet in-person, or virtually, feel free to get comfortable, curl up with a blanket or pillow and something to drink. You will definitely find me sipping water or coffee in our sessions, so feel free to do the same!

During our first session together I’ll will review your initial paperwork, and ask some follow-up questions so I can understand some of your history, see what you are struggling with, and learn about your goals for counseling. We will do a couple of assessments to assess your symptoms and get a good baseline of where we are starting.

I try to make our sessions as comfortable as possible. I don’t expect to understand your whole life story in 60 minutes, so there’s no rush. We can go at a pace that feels comfortable for you. I’ll be jotting down notes about what you tell me because I don’t want you to have to repeat yourself later. .

Our subsequent sessions will last 45-50 minutes. Even though we may have a good framework for the issues we are trying to address, you might have a “mini-crisis” between sessions that you want to talk about. It’s your time, so what we discuss and work on is largely up to you and how you are feeling that week.  Alternately, depending on what we are working through, and how, we may schedule sessions longer than 50 minutes in order to meet your needs.

We’ll make observations and offer you alternatives you might want to consider. We’ll help you examine how your thoughts are influencing emotions and behavior. Together, we will explore what is and is not working in your everyday life. We’ll teach you some coping strategies that you may find helpful and can practice in between our sessions. All the while, we’ll continually reinforce your strengths and build on what is already working in your life.