Frequently asked questions
Do you offer individual, couples, or group therapy?
I practice individual depth-oriented therapy. Though distinct from couples counseling, individual work can help you navigate difficulties in your relationships.
Do you provide remote therapy or in-person sessions?
My psychologist’s license is active in the state of Washington, and I relocated from the PNW to Ohio for family reasons. As such, I provide exclusively teletherapy services. All of our appointments are held virtually through the secure SimplePractice video conferencing platform.
What is your therapeutic orientation? What kind of therapy do you practice?
I work from the relational psychodynamic lens. I am deeply interested in exploring how you came to be you–what gives rise to your thoughts, feelings, and how you came to see yourself and the world around you. With greater insight into these things, you build greater agency, choice, and freedom.
Some parts of ourselves are hidden from our own awareness and become apparent only in the ways we relate to others: the impact we have on them, how we engage them, what seems to come up again and again. Because of this, I use the relationship we build as a window into your world–and as an agent of change in your life. This is why the perspective offered by a professional in a confidential setting is so valuable.
How long should I be in therapy?
This answer will vary significantly per the individual in question, the work they are doing, and what they hope to learn or gain. The ways we see ourselves and relate to others were built up day in, day out over the course of years. By extension, we cannot expect it all to change overnight. In relationally-oriented work, it takes time to build a connection with you that provides the clarity we need to more fully know your patterns of being with self and others.
Is therapy right for me? I tried it once, and it wasn’t great.
Let me offer a comparison here. What if I told you that once upon a time, I was hurt or annoyed by a friend, so I decided that “the whole friendship thing wasn’t really for me”? While that is a valid choice–no one can force you into therapy–the work done in therapy rests centrally on the relationship you build with your therapist. This will vary depending on who you see!
It’s perfectly fine and reasonable to shop around and try out a few sessions with different people to see who would be a good fit. You want to be comfortable enough to be vulnerable, to be appropriately challenged. It can take time to build trust. You and the life you want are worth it.
Why are you not paneled with insurance?
Insurance companies can dictate the duration and nature of your treatment. The individuals who make those decisions within insurance companies are not trained mental health professionals. Thus, I prefer that they not direct something as profoundly sensitive and personal as your treatment.
Insurance companies often require access to your clinical record, which means providing sensitive material about you to non-clinicians.
Insurance companies require a diagnosis for reimbursement. While diagnoses can be useful and validating, many people enter therapy without a clear diagnosable “condition”: the problems of life and of living are diffuse, complex, and often do not fit within categorical bounds–yet are perfectly good reasons to seek therapy. In these circumstances, it can be potentially stigmatizing to apply a diagnostic label to a person’s medical record.