FAQ
What are your office hours?
How long is a typical session?
Do you accept insurance?
I have a private-pay practice primarily and accept American Express, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and Health Savings Cards (HAS).
My being a private pay clinician affords you significant benefits. I can focus entirely on patient care and make all treatment decisions based upon clinical expertise, the best available research, and patient need, rather than by the dictates of an insurance carrier.
Additionally, it ensures all patient information remains confidential. If you desire, I can provide you with a monthly superbill to submit to an insurance carrier for out-of-network reimbursement, if available in your plan.
Will you help me file my insurance?
Do you have a cancellation policy?
Yes. I require 24 hours’ notice to cancel an appointment. This time allows the opportunity for someone else to schedule an appointment.
If you cannot give 24 hours’ notice, I will charge you $90 for your missed appointment. You must pay before your next scheduled appointment. I consider anyone who either forgets or consciously chooses to forgo their appointment for whatever reason a “no-show” and will charge them for their “missed” appointment using the credit card on file.
Acceptable cancellation modes include email, phone call, voicemail message, or text message.
What do I do to get started?
What is a free initial phone consultation?
With what age ranges do you work?
With what clients do you work?
My private practice is open to and welcomes people of all walks and ways of life, though I tend to find that the clients most attracted to what I offer are women (whether Cis-gendered/fluid/questioning/trans) and same-sex couples.
About 60% of my practice is people of color from various racial and ethnic backgrounds. My clients’ most common age range is 25-65, with a few younger and older outliers.
Are you LGBTQIA friendly?
What is therapy?
Do I have to tell you everything?
Good question. NO, you don’t have to tell me everything. And if you are healing from trauma, have had your boundaries crossed, or had your trust broken, I empower you to share what you are ready to share when you are ready to do so. I support you in deciding for yourself what is right for you.
AND sharing what is happening for you is helpful to our process together. It helps me know how to support you and what support you might need. But like I said earlier, trust and safety grow over time.
How long before I get better?
The healing process is different for everyone.
It is essential to know that healing takes time, can be painful to repair, and takes active and consistent work to see progress.
Some people have an “a-ha” moment that allows them to feel better about certain things more quickly, and others report feeling improvement over time as therapy progresses.
How many sessions will it take?
There is no specific time frame for therapy, and it can vary between a few months to a few years. It all depends on you – on your engagement and progress in therapy.
Ultimately, therapy continues until you have completed your goals and feel satisfied with treatment.
Sometimes, you may need more treatment than what can be provided by outpatient psychotherapy. In those cases, I will provide my feedback and recommendations for the next steps in treatment. For example, I will provide those referrals if a client requires substance use counseling or a more intensive form of psychotherapy (e.g., intensive outpatient or hospitalization).
Of course, you have the right to make your own decision about following through with the recommendation, but therapy services will end if I feel I am no longer of benefit to your goals. My mission is to help you create the life you want, even if it is not with me.
Do you give homework?
You will receive homework only if you want it.
Most of the therapy work occurs outside of the session. We will discuss strategies and action plans within the session; the more you do outside of the session, the more (and faster) change you will observe. I will recommend carrying over what we discussed in session to the community, but ultimately, the choice is yours.
One thing I strongly recommend is to keep a journal during our time together. This journal serves a variety of purposes: (1) it’s a place to take notes so you remember what we discussed and can carry that information with you throughout the week, (2) it’s a place to write down questions you may have throughout the week to bring to your next session, and (3) it’s tangible evidence of your growth and recovery. You can look back at your journal entry and see where you have come and are going.
I enjoy our talks. Can I stay in counseling forever?
I enjoy our conversations, too, but if I do my job right, I am helping you build the skills and resources within yourself to tackle any of life’s problems. My goal is for my clients to gain independence and control over their life satisfaction without becoming reliant on one thing or individual.
Of course, if you need a tune-up or other problems occur, you are welcome to resume services (I don’t go into the witness protection program once you leave).
But is staying in therapy forever what you want, or do you want to find friends and supports in your life who “get you?” Now, THAT is an excellent counseling goal for us to work on!
What modalities do you use?
I utilize various therapeutic modalities such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, acceptance and commitment therapy, and a strengths-based perspective to assist individuals with life challenges.
These therapeutic modalities assist me in teaching various coping skills to overcome obstacles. I believe that everyone has the tools for success somewhere inside them; therapy is about identifying those strengths and learning how to use them to your best advantage.