When will I be able to see you in-person?
I love working with clients in-person and am eager to get back into an office, but I need to wait until it’s safe to do so. I also need to find office space! Because I started my practice during COVID, I provide all of my sessions remotely from my home. Once COVID has passed, I plan to find office space and see my clients in-person again.
What is a diagnosis and do I need one to qualify for services?
Mental health professionals use a standardized manual to help us classify the symptoms our clients experience. This provides us with a diagnosis, and the diagnosis tells us how to best treat our clients. For example, if you’re diagnosed with anxiety, a therapist might use CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) with you, rather than another therapy model that has been proven less effective.
Diagnoses are also critical when using insurance. Most health insurance providers will only cover mental health expenses when you have a diagnosis. I don’t currently accept insurance, but I can provide you with a superbill which you may submit to your insurance provider for out-of-network reimbursement. So, even though I won’t be billing your insurance, if you want to qualify for out-of-network reimbursement, you’ll need a diagnosis.
How often will we meet?
In my opinion, therapy is best served regularly. I’d like to see you or your family, weekly, for 50 to 80 minutes.
What should I expect from our first few sessions?
Our first meeting will be an intake. It’ll last about 80 minutes and consist of me asking you a bunch of seemingly random questions. Your answers will help me better understand your reasons for coming to therapy and also lead me towards a diagnosis. Sometimes, 80 minutes simply isn’t long enough. If we need additional time to complete intake, we’ll use part of our next session to finish up. After intake is complete, we’ll spend some time creating goals and getting to know one another.
How long will I be in therapy?
My job is to work myself out of a job. Meaning, I want to help my clients accomplish their goals and feel ready to take on the world without me. All clients will accomplish their goals at different rates. For example, someone might see me because they need help transitioning into a new job. Maybe this is the only thing they want to focus on, so we have six sessions together. Another person might come to me for the same reason, but also find that they want to talk about their relationship, previous trauma, etc., and we work together for one year. Therefore, the answer to this question is really dependent on you!
Do you prescribe medication?
Unfortunately, I do not. Therapists, counselors, social workers, and psychologists cannot prescribe medications unless they’ve taken additional graduate-level courses. I can, however, help you get connected to a doctor, psychiatric nurse, or psychiatrist.
How can therapy help me?
Therapy can truly transform your life. It can help you gain insight into who you are. It can teach you coping skills, emotion regulation tools, and how to better communicate. Therapy can be used to meet so many different goals that I could probably take up an entire page with examples, but that would be boring. Instead, I invite you to reach out to me on my contact page. Drop your name, number, and a brief description of the challenge you’re facing. In our 15 minute consultation, we’ll discuss what therapy can do for you.
