FAQs About My Counseling Services
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COVID Response
My office building and I are taking necessary precautions that are consistent with standards of care to reduce exposure. I am more than happy to meet with you at my office, over zoom, or at Camel’s Back Park.
How Do I Get Started?
Feel free to call or email if you have any questions or would like to set up a time to meet. I will do my best to respond back to you as soon as possible. I believe that the right fit for counseling is one of the most important aspects of therapy. If we are not a good fit for any reason, I am more than happy to help you find a person that can meet your needs.
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Do I Need Counseling?
Whenever we want to change and improve things, we seek out professionals to help us from doctors to plumbers. You may or may not need therapy and I am more than happy to help you figure that out. I personally have gone through therapy a number of times and have found it very beneficial in helping me heal and grow. Did I need therapy… sometimes that answer was yes and other times I chose to go to therapy to help me thrive more in my life. Therapy is not for all problems and not all people. If you have any questions, I will honestly appraise your situation and provide feedback that I feel is in your best interest. I would be glad to help you determine if I can help or refer you to a person who I think can be of assistance. If you decide to meet with me, we will periodically assess your progress to make sure that therapy is effective for you.
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What to expect
You can expect that I will do my best to help and support you. Understandably, most people are initially anxious about coming to therapy, but once people are sitting with me they tend to relax and make progress quickly. You can expect to have a space where you can freely talk about anything of importance to you in a safe and confidential space. You can also expect that I will always do my best to be non-judgmental, understanding, and have your back. You are the expert in your life and I am an expert at helping people make that life even better. I approach therapy from the direction that will best suit you. By us working together, you can expect to experience noticeable and significant changes for the better. I know that the clients who are active and productive in therapy and who apply what they learn outside of our sessions make considerable progress.
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How often and how long should I come in for treatment?
It depends on the issues that you have been facing as well as the gains that you would like to make. My goal is generally for short-term therapy instead of long-term therapy. I focus on helping people make the changes they want as quickly as possible. I usually meet with people weekly at first and start extending the length between sessions when progress has been made. Average number of sessions tends to meet between 3 to six times. Sessions typically last 50 minutes in length, but can be extended to any amount of time that suits your needs.
How can I make the most out of therapy?
Showing up: People who are open and engaged in therapy tend to make the most gains.
Practice: Like learning a musical instrument, the more you apply out of therapy the faster the progress.
Information: People who read, watch videos, listen to podcasts, etc. related to their therapeutic goals make noticeable progress between sessions.
Striking While the Iron is Cold: Notice when you are doing things right then acknowledge and reinforce them with yourself.
Goals: Set progressively challenging goals that you are highly likely to succeed at.
Meditation/Breathing: This is one of the most helpful tools/skills we can have at controlling our emotions, behaviors, and life direction. The better we breathe, the smarter we become.
Sharing: Share what you are gaining with others. If you want true mastery of something, then teach and share it.
Practice: Like learning a musical instrument, the more you apply out of therapy the faster the progress.
Information: People who read, watch videos, listen to podcasts, etc. related to their therapeutic goals make noticeable progress between sessions.
Striking While the Iron is Cold: Notice when you are doing things right then acknowledge and reinforce them with yourself.
Goals: Set progressively challenging goals that you are highly likely to succeed at.
Meditation/Breathing: This is one of the most helpful tools/skills we can have at controlling our emotions, behaviors, and life direction. The better we breathe, the smarter we become.
Sharing: Share what you are gaining with others. If you want true mastery of something, then teach and share it.
Psychological Services
Individual Counseling
I work with my clients to accurately assess the level of care and focus of treatment they need. I tend to be very active in the therapy process of connecting with my clients and I help them find and implement solutions to their problems. For specific issues, I provide short-term therapy. In these situations, I work as effectively as possible to help my clients quickly build the strategies and tools to resolve their difficulties. However, some persons have deeper, more complex issues in their lives that require longer-term therapy. In these instances, I help my clients gain insight into the reasons behind their conditions, create a safe environment to talk about their issues, and help them to incorporate solutions and transform their lives in a healthier way. As a psychologist, my approach tends to be very active, collaborative, supportive, and solution focused. I believe that people have the capacity to heal themselves and that my role is to help create conditions for the person to succeed in their endeavor.
Relationship Counseling
It is quite common for people to care very deeply for one another and want the relationship to succeed, but they keep finding themselves returning to the same blocks that keep them from achieving this. I help couples identify the factors that are keeping them stuck, teach them more effective relationship and communication skills, and work on helping them to regain what initially brought them together. Areas that I will assist couples with include:
I have found a lot of enjoyment counseling adolescents, generally make quick connections with them, and see significant progress in their ability to cope effectively with their world. My goal is to help adolescents identify patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are related to current difficulties and help them replace these with more effective strategies. Because adolescents are usually not self-referred for therapy, often much of the early work is focused on establishing a trusting relationship and helping them understand how they can personally benefit from our meetings. I also work with parents on understanding their child’s behavior as well as teaching them more effective coping strategies and parenting skills to help them assist their child.
Relationship Counseling
It is quite common for people to care very deeply for one another and want the relationship to succeed, but they keep finding themselves returning to the same blocks that keep them from achieving this. I help couples identify the factors that are keeping them stuck, teach them more effective relationship and communication skills, and work on helping them to regain what initially brought them together. Areas that I will assist couples with include:
- Regain and enhance the bond, respect, and affection in the relationship
- Improve communication and conflict resolution skills to help you more effectively work through the problems you keep facing
- Help the relationship to heal and grow, while increasing your overall satisfaction and love you feel for one another
I have found a lot of enjoyment counseling adolescents, generally make quick connections with them, and see significant progress in their ability to cope effectively with their world. My goal is to help adolescents identify patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are related to current difficulties and help them replace these with more effective strategies. Because adolescents are usually not self-referred for therapy, often much of the early work is focused on establishing a trusting relationship and helping them understand how they can personally benefit from our meetings. I also work with parents on understanding their child’s behavior as well as teaching them more effective coping strategies and parenting skills to help them assist their child.
Clinical Supervision
I have coordinated and developed clinical training programs as well as taught classes and workshops on clinical supervision for counselors and psychologists. I have a developmental approach to clinical supervision, working with the supervised clinician at his or her particular level of needs and experience. I find clinical supervision to be a very rewarding and exciting experience for my supervisees and myself.
Workshops, classes, and consultation
One of the roles that I thoroughly enjoy as a psychologist is that of teacher and mentor. I have received consistent positive feedback on the quality of my workshops and classes. Some of these include:
- Trauma: Conceptualization and Treatment of PTSD
- Understanding Sexual Assault and Abuse
- Coping with Depression and Anxiety
- Men, Relationships, and Sexuality
- Clinical Supervision
- Ethics
- Meditation and Mindfullness
- Assertiveness and Communication
What should I know about insurance and payments?
I do not accept insurance payments, but depending on your plan, you may have coverage for our sessions together. I am considered a “fee for service” psychologist and accept full payment at time of service. For persons with out-of-network insurance coverage, my billing agent submits the sessions to claims in order to secure reimbursement for you. If you have out of network coverage, a reimbursement check will be written in your name and mailed directly to you. Feel free to ask me if you have any questions about this. I only accept payment at time of service in the form of cash, check, or HSA cards.
What are your fees?
Individual/Relationship/Family Therapy – $200 (50 minutes)
Clinical Supervision and Consultation – $150 (50 minutes)
Cancellations in less than 24 hours and missing appointments – a $100 fee is charged directly to the individual.
Clinical Supervision and Consultation – $150 (50 minutes)
Cancellations in less than 24 hours and missing appointments – a $100 fee is charged directly to the individual.