Frequently Asked Questions

Not at all. People who ask for help know when they need it and have the courage to reach out. Everyone needs help now and then. In our work together, I’ll help you explore and identify your strengths and how to implement them to reduce the influence of the problems you are facing.

The difference is between someone who can do something, and someone who has the training and experience to do that same thing professionally. A mental health professional can help you approach your situation in a new way– teach you new skills, gain different perspectives, listen to you without judgment or expectations, and help you listen to yourself. Furthermore, counseling is completely confidential. You won’t have to worry about others “knowing my business.” Lastly, if your situation provokes a great deal of negative emotion, and you’ve been confiding in a friend or family member, there is the risk that once you are feeling better you could start avoiding that person so you aren’t reminded of this difficult time in your life.

Medication can be effective but it alone cannot solve all issues. Sometimes medication is needed in conjunction with counseling. Our work together is designed to explore and unpack the problems you are experiencing and expand on your strengths that can help you accomplish your personal goals.

Because each person has different issues and goals for counseling, it will be different depending on the individual. I tailor my therapeutic approach to your specific needs.

Therapy sessions are 53 minutes. 

Appointments are weekly, especially for new clients. After some progress has been made, we can explore and agree to reducing sessions slowly until therapy is no longer needed. 

Unfortunately, this is not possible to say in a general FAQs page. Everyone’s circumstances are unique to them and the length of time counseling can take to allow you to accomplish your goals depends on your desire for personal development, your commitment, and the factors that are driving you to seek counseling in the first place.accomplish your goals depends on your desire for personal development, your commitment, and the factors that are driving you to seek counseling in the first place.

I am so glad you are dedicated to getting the most out of your sessions. Your active participation and dedication will be crucial to your success.

You always have the option of working with a therapist who isn’t in your insurance network. This would mean that you would pay out-of-pocket. If you wanted to see about reimbursement, if your insurance provides Out-of-Network benefits, you would be provided with an itemized receipt that your insurance may be willing to accept and pay a portion of the session back to you. 

Working with a therapist is personal choice. 

• When using insurance, I need to provide a mental health diagnosis to your insurance as part of receiving services. While I provide a diagnosis to my clients as a standard of care, without insurance it allows your diagnosis to be kept between us and not disclosed to your insurance. Please be aware that if you use out of network benefits, your diagnosis will be disclosed to insurance as part of you being able to be reimbursed. 
• There are less interruptions to treatment. When using insurance, often times there needs to be reauthorization after a specific number of sessions. Once we use those sessions, your I will need to speak with your insurance in order to justify the need for continued care. This can happen even when your goals aren't met, and can cause a "gap" in care where you are not able to see me. If a reauthorization is not approved and we continue to see each other, that also leads to the potential of you having an unexpected out of pocket expense to cover sessions on your own. 
• Insurance can request your entire medical record at any time. While I do my best to keep to the "minimum necessary" rule with notes, there is still a significant amount of information that is released when insurance requests your records. 
• You have more control of your treatment. First, this allows you to see a provider that you pick out, not just from a list your insurance provides. Second, it allows you to use interventions with your therapist that may not be covered by your insurance, for some insurances this can include EMDR, Prolonged exposure, and others.