It's different for everyone. So much can depend on your phase in life, the people you invite into the process, and what you hope to gain. As such, I make every effort to cater the work we do to your wants, needs, and comfort levels.

First, we get a sense of each other. You may feel vulnerable in the beginning (and that is totally normal!), so we go at your pace.

We talk about what you know about the world and how you see yourself in it. We discuss what you want or need and how I can help.

In ongoing sessions, we might face your difficult questions about meaning, choice, and life's limitations. Or we rehearse coping skills and seek practical solutions. Sometimes there's crying or screaming or both, but there's a lot of laughing and cheering, too.

Ultimately, you get to decide how long you come to therapy. The nature of my therapeutic style is contemplative and educational, which means I help you to learn about yourself and develop the skills you need to manage your own mental health. As you adapt and become more confident in your abilities, we will have conversations about your progress and what you hope for the future.

A combination of a few, depending on what you hope to achieve:

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): focuses on accepting difficult thoughts and feelings, and commiting to values-based actions

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): focuses on identifying and challenging negative thoughts and beliefs

• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT): focuses on developing mindfulness, emotional regulation skills, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness

• Psychodynamic therapy: focuses on exploring the unconscious mind to understand how past experiences may be contributing to current problems

These approaches are grounded in western thought and have been well-researched. There is a large body of scientific evidence that supports their effectiveness for a variety of mental health conditions.

I start new clients with weekly appointments (1x/week) so we can build and maintain a strong relationship, and make sure our time is focused on your growth and healing.

As our relationship and rapport develops, we may discuss the relevance for an increase or decrease of frequency.

Due to license restrictions, I'm unable to meet with clients who are not located in the state of New York.

The No Surprises Act went into effect January 2022 and is part of a legislative package that was passed in December 2020. It is meant to protect clients from receiving unexpected medical bills.

Under this law, you are entitled to a “Good Faith Estimate” of the cost of your medical care before you receive it. Should we decide to work together, I will go over this in more detail during our intake process.

You might qualify for some reimbursement from your provider depending on your plan even though I do not accept contracts with insurance companies.

I recommend you call the number on the back of your insurance card to ask if your plan includes out-of-network benefits for mental health services.

• If applicable, questions you will want to ask:

  • What is my deductible? How much of my deductible have I met this year?

  • Is pre-approval required before obtaining out-of-network services in order to be reimbursed?

  • How do I obtain reimbursement for therapy with an out-of-network provider? How do I submit claim forms for reimbursement?

  • If I submit a claim, will I be reimbursed the full amount I paid or a portion? (If they ask for codes, you can give them 90791 for the initial assessment, 90834 for individual sessions, and 90846 for parent sessions).

For more information on out-of-network benefits, I found the following blog post informative:
https://blog.zencare.co/guide-to-out-of-network-benefits/