For what kinds of things would I seek therapy with you?

Physical and Emotional Trauma

Healing from Childhood Sexual Abuse

Physical Ailments, chronic pain

Depression

Anxiety

Grief and Loss

Life Transition

Stress Reduction

How often will I come? And how long are sessions?

A therapy session runs for 50 minutes. From a therapeutic perspective, it is very important for me to keep to that frame so that it becomes something predictable for you. There is time to get into the work, move with the arc, and plenty of time for integration of new experiences. I generally meet with clients once a week. Occasionally, we will make a therapeutic decision together that more frequent meetings would benefit you.

What are your fees like? And do you accept insurance?

I have a set fee that I am happy to discuss. I bill clients directly, either at the beginning of the month or at the beginning of each session. I accept cash or checks. I am able provide you with a receipt that you may be able to utilize for out of network benefits (Check with your insurance company about terms: What are your mental health benefits? How many sessions are covered? What percentage of each session is covered?).

I am also very happy to offer a sliding scale to clients with a demonstrated financial need.

How will I know if we will can build a working relationship?

In my experience, this is a very important question. Do you feel connected? Do you feel heard? Do you feel safe enough to move forward? Does my understanding resonate with the part of you that is seeking help? In therapy we talk about “fit” within the relationship. Is this therapy fit correct for this time in your life? When the fit is experienced as safe enough, we can build a foundation to also start to be curious about how it is for you when it’s not fitting, and explore what happens then.

How will I know when I am finished with therapy?

In my experience, this is also a very important question. It tends to be as challenging to leave a situation as it is to begin. Some people are seeking direct support for a very present experience and only come for a few sessions. Others are working with more sustained or complex trauma, patterns that have woven their way into many areas of one’s life, and develop a longer term sustained relationship. Always, we are holding the question together: How is it going? I welcome this question and all responses. Sometimes it’s very important to learn to stay. At other times it’s important to learn to go. My aspiration is to make myself useless in your life, so that you can develop the internal capacity to bring more awareness and less reactivity  to your decisions.

What is Somatic Experiencing?

Somatic Experiencing®, SE, is a trauma resolution developed by Peter Levine. Essentially,  SE is a frame for understanding and working with ways that the body/nervous system has become stuck in time. While we may feel very engaged by our present life in some ways; in other ways, our nervous system may still be responding as if those dangerous, overwhelming, and terrifying events could happen again. SE is is a way of offering a felt counter experience that challenges what the body anticipates-moving from an experience of threat to an experience of curiosity.
http://www.traumahealing.com/somatic-experiencing/index.html