Therapy has a beginning, middle, and end.

Length of treatment depends on your goals and your ability to invest time and money.

Some clients benefit from brief therapy (1-4 sessions) or short-term therapy (3-6 months) for a single issue.

Other clients benefit from longer-term therapy (6-12 months+) for more complex issues.

My goal is for clients to work me out of a job and stop seeing me.

We’ll end therapy when your goals have been met, your symptoms have decreased, you want space and time to integrate your learning, and/or at anytime you feel therapy isn’t helpful.

Some folks also like to pause and take a break, coming back when necessary.

Yes, but it depends.

Research shows about 15 to 20 sessions are required for 50 percent of patients to recover as indicated by self-reported symptom measures.

Therapy Is More Helpful When:

• There is a good relationship between client and therapist (personality, temperament, style, approach, feeling understood and validated)

• Adequate education, training, and skill needed to treat the concerns

• Regular feedback/measurement toward progress

• A treatment plan/road map provided

• Understanding about what therapy is and is not (expectations, boundaries)

• Hope the therapist can help

• Hope therapy will be useful/effective

• Treatment model/approach/style matches what client concerns need (e.g. you want a therapist who is active, direct, and talks with you vs. someone who nods at you in silence)

• Respect for diversity and difference are addressed

• The client:

  • Has goals and what they want to work on

  • Practices skills/learnings outside of sessions

  • Brings up positive and negative feedback to the therapist

  • Comes to session consistently on time

  • Is open to trying new things and ways of relating and thinking

Read more here, here, and here.

For some people, at best, therapy is ineffective.

At worst, therapy is harmful and contributes more to stressors and an increase in negative symptoms.

This is why it’s important to do your own research, learn about different therapy models, try therapy out for 1-3 sessions, and determine if it’s a good fit for your needs or if you require something else (e.g. coaching, support group, medication, etc.) or a different type of therapy (e.g. equine therapy, expressive arts therapy, sandtray therapy, somatic therapy, etc.).

A list of therapeutic modalities/approaches:

Psychological Treatments

You might cry. Many people do. And it's completely okay.

Crying is a normal, helpful, and natural way for our bodies to release pent-up emotions.

Crying is a way to let go of the pain, sadness, burden, fatigue, or frustration you may be carrying inside.

By crying, you're actually taking a positive step towards healing.

Or you might not cry. And that’s okay too.

I do not accept insurance. This is why.

Click here for referrals for therapists who accept insurance.

You can review my referrals page for therapists who accept insurance and/or offer a reduced fee here.

Click here for personal referrals.

• Consider if therapy is the right approach for what you’re seeking vs. other alternatives (coaching, support groups, courses, workshops, retreats, etc.)

• Consider if you have the time, money, energy, and effort to invest in and outside of session at this moment in your life

• Establish achievable goals and expectations

• Consider maximum monthly therapy expenses or if you want to use insurance

• Solicit feedback: Be honest about what is helpful, isn’t helpful, and tell your therapist

• Come into session with topics you want to talk about/explore

• Patience: It may take multiple sessions to feel progress

• Compassion: Kindness, not shaming and criticism, helps with fostering long-term growth and change

• Carve out time before therapy to prepare and after to take care of yourself gently and slowly and to transition to your next activity with more ease.

• Identify what’s most important to you in a therapist (e.g. style, age, personality, cultural background, values, training, fees, insurance)

• Ask for clarification and comprehension if you are unsure what your therapist is discussing or bringing up.

• Not every therapist will be a good fit. There are many types of therapists with different personalities, approaches, cultural backgrounds, etc. Find someone with whom you feel comfortable talking openly.

  • For example, if you’re seekng a solution-focused type of therapy, you can consider CBT or Brief Solution Focused Therapy.

  • If you’re seeking trauma-focused therapy, you can consider PE, CPT, EMDR, IFS, etc.

  • If you want a more passive therapist who will let you talk without interruption, you can consider person-centered therapy, humanistic therapy, psychodynamic therapy, psychoanalytic therapy.

You don’t until we meet.

Browse my website, read through my profile, look through what I specialize in, and watch my videos to get a sense of my personality.

I offer an optional 5-minute meeting to answer any questions you may have before beginning therapy.

During our first session, I’ll learn more about you, provide you education, a plan for therapy, and we’ll both mutually decide if we should continue working together or if you require another type of therapy or therapist.

We might be a good fit if you value:

Being challenged and interrupted at times

• Rather than venting every session and have me nod in silence; I believe there is a limit to how much endless validation can help you grow

Are active in therapy

• Come in with things to talk about, practice skills/tools outside session, open to trying new things

Direct communication and soliciting feedback

• Therapy is most helpful when you communicate with me your disagreements, your requests/wants, and when you give me feedback on what is and isn’t helpful. I’ll do the same.

Dialectic or balance

• I try to balance things in therapy: balancing validation with challenge, balancing insight with learning skills, listening with interrupting, and acceptance with change

Other methods outside of talk therapy

• Such as mindfulness, experiential therapy, psychodrama, somatic therapy

The healing power of relationships

• We will use our therapeutic relationship as a template for learning new healthy experiences and opportunities for repair and growth

Want to learn how to become your own therapist long term

• My goal is for you to gain insight and understanding into why you do what you do, interrupt unhelpful cycles of sabotage, and learn skills/tools to manage future conflicts

We might not be a good fit if you:

Expect perfection

• I’m not perfect, will make mistakes, and will communicate directly when this occurs toward resolution

Expect me to do all the work

• Examples: Solve your problems, tell you what to do, consistently have to ask you what you want to work on in session, am more curious about you than you are of yourself

Cancel sessions often

• Therapy works best with consistency

Don’t take accountability

• Confronting our shadows require honesty about our humanity and limitations

Don’t liked being challenged

• Of course, I will be gentle and compassionate, but in my experienee, endless validation is not going to be helpful long term

Demand instant change within 3-4 sessions

• While relief can come in a few sessions, long term change requires compassion, practice, patience, and repetition

Want to get rid of all your feelings and thoughts

• Pain is inevitable in life

• My goal is for you to learn to accept and manage life stressors, pain, and grief with more compassion, nuance, and acceptance.

• If we get rid of painful feelings and thoughts, we also then will have a difficult time accessing joy, love, and peace. What we resist persists.

• Moreover, there are things in life that cannot be forgotten, forgiven, or rid of such as the loss of a loved one or traumatic experiences

Aren’t interested in exploring your past, childhood, or upbringing

• There are other therapists who focus only on the present moment with an emphasis on skill building and generating quick solutions that may be a better fit (CBT, DBT, ACT)

The first therapy session is called an intake or assessment. 

Your therapist will use this session to learn more about you, gather pertinent information about your life such as your family history, culture, history of your issues/concerns, your strengths, your support system, what you've tried before to alleviate your issues, and more. 

You can prepare for your first session by:

1. Anticipating being asked many questions from your therapist

2. Reviewing and completing all required paperwork

3. Arriving a few minutes early

4. Coming in with a list of questions you may have

5. Being as open as possible

6. Talking about your issues and what you're experiencing, and

7. Reminding yourself you can decline to answer any questions if you don't feel comfortable

If doing teletherapy, ensure you're in a private enclosed space, your internet is stable, proper lighting in your room, logging on and checking your sound, camera, and internet service, and arriving a few minutes early.

Signs you're progressing in therapy can include but is not limited to:

• Gaining insight: learning why you do what you do

• You learn skills and tools to manage overwhelming situations and life stressors

• You can cope and manage stressors using helpful strategies and rely less on unhelpful survival strategies 

• Your initial symptoms have decreased 

• Your mood has improved

• You have more flexible ways of thinking

• You feel more confident to handle things on your own 

• You try things outside of therapy and are more able to experiment and take risks you usually avoid 

• You feel more empowered

• And more

Your therapist should have a treatment plan for you.

A treatment plan is an overview of your issues, concerns, goals, and what evidence based interventions and treatment types will help you work toward your goals. This is often completed in the early stages of therapy.

Reviewing your treatment plan periodically can help you see if you've made progress in therapy, as well as identifying barriers toward achieving your goals.

Feeling stuck could be a sign of many things including:

1. Plateauing in therapy

2. Avoidance such as repeatedly cancelling or arriving late to sessions

3. New stressors and new goals to work on

4. Feeling worse after sessions

5. Not making progress toward goals despite consistent effort

6. Unrealistic expectations of therapy and your therapist

7. Needing a new type of therapy or therapist that your current therapist does not offer, and

8. Many more reasons.

If you feel stuck, talking directly to your therapist can be helpful as feeling stuck is different for everyone.

While uncomfortable for many clients, having an open and direct conversation with your therapist can be useful because:

1. Your therapist can adjust their treatment approach

2. Review and modify your treatment plan if needed

3. Provide you psychoeducation on what could be occurring as you feel stuck

4. Discuss if another type of therapy or treatment type is needed they are not adequately trained in, and

5. Many more reasons

Because I do not accept insurance, your file/record will be confidential.

You have the right to confidentiality except in certain cases.

These exceptions include:

• Imminent harm to self (suicide)

• Imminent harm to others (homicide)

• Knowledge of child abuse

• Knowledge of elder abuse

In these cases, confidentiality can be broken

The type of therapy I do requires care, reflection, and ongoing review. Like a musician or athlete, repetition and practice is essential for therapists to improve in areas they are growing in. This is called deliberate practice.

Recording videos is an essential part of deliberate practice. I review videos to see what is effective and ineffective in session. Sometimes, we review sessions together.

Of course, this is optional and you can decline. I follow strict confidentiality guidelines, and videos are regularly deleted.

Click here to see if I have openings

• Click on Request Intro Call —> Request Session —> First Telehealth Session, 60-Minutes

Review my website and watch my videos to see if we might be a good fit.

Click here to get started and begin therapy with me.