Due to Covid, I currently offer telehealth video therapy to any clients residing in California. A physical office location in Decatur may be offered at a later time.

You are the expert on your own healing. Session frequency will vary depending on you and your needs. This can be discussed on a phone consultation or at our first session. Typically, clients choose to start off meeting weekly or biweekly.

Length of therapy varies depending on what issues you’re wanting to work on in treatment, as well as the work done outside of sessions. Treatment length will be an ongoing discussion throughout the process and after our first session, we will have a better idea of how long it may last.

Take your time to read through my website. If you sense that I may be a good fit based on what you are reading, you can contact me.

During a free phone consultation, you can ask me ask how I work as a therapist, or any other questions you may have that are specific-to-you. You’ll also be able to share what’s going on for you and we can determine how I could best be of service to you.

It may be helpful to think of the first few sessions as trying out the waters together. During the sessions, you’ll be able to see how you feel working with me. What’s most important to me is that you find someone who you feel is the right fit for you. We can explore that together.

Overall, you can think of the first session as two-way interview where we can ask each other questions so we can begin to know each other. I’ll invite you to share more about yourself and we can also talk about what’s worked or not worked for your mental health in the past.

Some questions that I like to ask during a first session include:

What brought you to therapy?

What’s present for you in your life right now?

What do I need to know about you to understand your current challenges?

You can ask me questions as well. You might be curious about about my experice or how future sessions work.

The most important part of a first session is for you to determine if I feel like a good fit for you. If you feel safe, accepted, and comfortable with me, we can discuss if you’d like to meet again.

Item descriptionIt is not uncommon to have a specific concern that you might like to begin talking about in therapy, but knowing how to talk about this can be challenging. One of the best parts of working with a therapist is that therapists are trained to help you to talk. In fact, that is what we do best. Therapy is a learning process that builds upon itself- each time you come and put words to your experience, you may find that there is more and more to know and feel. It is not uncommon for individuals in psychotherapy to feel their lives more fully at first, including the painful emotions.  You may find that you are talking about past events and how they impact you now, or you may want to talk about a pressing life challenge or certain stressor. You may feel free to muse and explore- all forms of talking are welcome in therapy and there is nothing that isn’t okay to say.

Conversation with friends can offer its own rewards and challenges. But talk therapy with an objective, skilled professional is very different. Psychotherapy offers a set of boundaries and a kind of “frame” that enable a unique conversation to take place – one that is focused on you and your growth. In addition, a psychotherapist has been trained to listen and offer useful feedback. Because the therapeutic relationship is confidential and limited to a specific time and place each week, a kind of freedom of expression is fostered that is not always present in other, more typical conversations. This kind of freedom is best characterized as the freedom to “say everything.”

Yes. Unless there is an imminent danger to yourself or someone else, everything you share with me is completely confidential.

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

Exceptions include:

Suspected child abuse or dependent adult or elder abuse. The therapist is required by law to report this to the appropriate authorities immediately.

If a client is threatening serious bodily harm to 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 ensuring their safety. If they do not cooperate, further measures may be taken without their permission in order to ensure their safety.