When should someone seek therapy?

Seeking out therapy is an individual choice, and there are many reasons why people decide to do it. Sometimes it is to deal with long-standing issues, such as anxiety or depression. Other times it is in response to unexpected changes in one’s life such as a divorce or work transition. Many seek the help of a therapist as they pursue their own personal exploration and growth. Working with a therapist can help provide insight, support, and new strategies for all types of life challenges. Therapy can help address many types of issues including depression, anxiety, conflict, grief, stress management, body-image issues, and general life transitions. Therapy is right for anyone who is interested in getting the most out of their life by taking responsibility of their healing process, creating greater self-awareness, and working towards change in their lives.

What can I expect in a therapy session?

Every therapy session is unique and caters to each individual and their specific goals. During therapy sessions it is standard to talk about the primary issues and concerns in your life. It is common to schedule a series of weekly sessions, where each session lasts 50 to 55 minutes. Sometimes individuals who are going through a particularly difficult challenge may request more time per session or more than one session per week. Therapy can be short-term, focusing on a specific issue or longer-term, addressing more complex issues and traumas, or ongoing personal growth. There may be times when you are asked to take certain actions outside of the therapy sessions, such as reading a relevant book or keeping a journal to track certain behaviors. Between sessions it is important process what has been discussed and integrate it into your life. For therapy to be most effective you must be a willing and active participant, both during and between the sessions.

What benefits can I expect from working with a therapist?

Therapy can provide insight and new perspectives into life’s challenges and can help create solutions to difficult problems. Many people find that working with a therapist can enhance personal development, improve relationships and family dynamics, and can ease the challenges of daily life. Sometimes, just having a safe person there to listen is helpful, and other times there are deeply embedded emotional and psychological wounds that cannot heal just by talking alone. In such cases, a cutting-edge therapeutic approach such as EMDR is considered a very effective way to address those issues. Overall, people in therapy tend to have lower levels of anxiety and stress, decreased conflict, and improved quality of life.

Some of the benefits available from therapy include:

• Developing new skills for handling stress and anxiety
• Modifying unhealthy behavior and long-standing patterns
• Attaining insight into personal patterns and behavior
• Increasing confidence, peace, vitality, and well-being
• Improving ways to manage anger, depression and moods
• Discovering new ways to solve problems
• Navigating life’s obstacles more effectively
• Improving listening and communication skills
• Enhancing the overall quality of life

Do you take insurance?

I understand that many people search for a therapist who is on their insurance carrier’s in-network provider list to minimize the cost of services. Because I am uncomfortable with the conditions insurance companies placed upon clients and their providers, I have opted to not part of any Insurance panels. I believe your mental health and quality of life are top priorities, and I do not believe that you should be limited to a certain number of sessions per year, or be forced to reveal extremely personal details about your life to insurance companies in order to justify receiving coverage for services.  For these reasons, I choose not to accept insurance at the present time. If you choose to pursue out-of-network coverage with your insurance carrier, I am happy to provide you with the diagnosis and service codes in a comprehensive periodical receipt, which can be used to receive reimbursement.

Many people choose to pay for services through Health Savings Accounts and Flex Spending Accounts, which typically do not require a diagnosis or limit services in any way.  I do accept HSA cards, which can be used like regular credit cards to pay for sessions with me, as well as payments through checks & major credit cards.

Please be advised that I am not an approved Medicaid provider, and therefore cannot provide therapy services to Medicaid enrollees. By law, it is illegal for non-Medicaid providers to accept private pay from Medicaid enrollees for any services covered by Medicaid regardless of whether the individual client pays directly or makes arrangements for another individual to pay.

Is therapy confidential?

In general, the law protects the confidentiality of all communications between a client and a psychotherapist. Information is not disclosed without written permission. However, there are number of exceptions to this rule.

Exceptions include (but are not limited to):

• Suspected child abuse. The therapist is required by law to report this to the appropriate authorities immediately.
• If a client is threatening serious bodily harm another person/s. The therapist must notify the police and inform the intended victim.
• If a client intends to harm himself or herself. The therapist will make every effort to enlist their cooperation in insuring their safety.
• If they do not cooperate, further measures may be taken without their permission in order to ensure their safety.