Getting Started
Some problems can be significantly improved with short-term help. Cognitive therapy is designed to be problem focused and time effective. Other problems will require a longer term commitment to therapy. It is difficult to predict the course of therapy without an in-person assessment. I will spend approximately 2-3 sessions with you, exploring the problems you are facing and working toward developing an individual plan of treatment with you.
How Do We Begin?
I offer a comprehensive assessment to help you decide what treatment would be most helpful and to outline both the potential benefits and risks of considering psychological therapy. I may not always be the best resource for you in which case I will make a referral to the best treatment option. In some cases, you may need both psychological help (which I provide) and psychiatric medications (which need to be prescribed by a psychiatrist by referral).
What Can I Expect?
You will be asked to provide some initial information on a video conference call to help me evaluate your best treatment options- expect to spend about 10-15 minutes with me so I can determine if I am the right person to help you. You will then be scheduled for an initial 90 minute assessment session. Our initial 90 minute assessment will cost $450 and ongoing psychotherapy sessions (45 minutes) are at a cost of $225 per visit.
Your First Visit
For in-person appointments. Please arrive at my office about 10-15 minutes before your first appointment. You will be asked to complete some initial information including a questionnaire, a form describing important Office Policies such as handling of emergencies and legal limitations to confidentiality as well as a HIPAA "Notice of Privacy Practices" which tells you about how your information can be used. In the initial session I will spend time getting to know you and try to answer any questions you have.
For telehealth appointments. Please make sure in advance that your computer has a video camera and microphone with high speed internet access. I utilize an upgraded HIPAA compliant version of Zoom designed to maintain your confidentiality and to meet HIPAA security standards (e.g., encrypted data transmission). However, confidentiality cannot be absolutely guaranteed, and you agree to accept the risk that a breach of confidentiality may occur. Telehealth has certain inherent limitations and I may be less helpful than usual because I will have less information than when you and I are in the same room; and, video meetings are vulnerable to interruptions and technical difficulties. For telehealth meetings, I will ask you to use a service called PsychSurveys to send me assessments in advance of our first meeting if at all possible. PsychSurveys is a HIPAA compliant service that will send you an email and a link that allows you to complete assessments online. Baseline and follow-up assessments allow us to track your progress in therapy together.
Developing a Plan
After two to three initial meetings, I will summarize the problems we have been discussing and will discuss possible treatment options for you. I am interested in developing a collaborative helpful relationship with you in which we try to decide together what kind of treatment would be best for you. However, not every problem will be best suited for continuing therapy with me. I will make decisions based on what I believe will be best for you and make any referrals that are needed.
For more information please visit the following page:
Important Information about Your First Session