I encourage you to review your “behavioral health” benefits (under which outpatient mental health is listed) before moving forward in this process. To do this, I recommend calling the member services number on the back of your insurance card and asking the following questions regarding your “behavioral health benefits”:  

• Ask to be transferred to the “behavioral health department” as many insurance plans separate physical health and mental health benefits

• What is my deductible for behavioral health? A deductible is the amount of money your plan requires you to pay out of pocket for services before your benefits “kick in”. 

• What is my copay or coinsurance? A co-pay is a flat fee per visit, and co-insurance is a percentage of the cost of the total visit. You will pay only your co-pay or your co-insurance after you have paid down your deductible. 

• Do I have a session limit? A session limit informs how many visits are covered under your plan

• Do I need a referral from my primary care doctor to see a therapist or psychiatrist? Some insurance carriers require that your primary care doctor refer you to behavioral health or therapy services in order for your sessions to be covered. In these scenarios, your primary care doctor will have a list of insurance approved clinicians. 

• Is there a pre-authorization required? If so, what information do I need for this? Is there a specific form that needs to be completed? Some insurance carriers require review to determine if the service is necessary before approving it. 

• What are my telehealth benefits? 

• You will either receive a phone call or email (depending on how you reached out to me) to schedule a free 20-minute video consultation. During this consultation, I will ask you questions like, what led you to seek therapy right now, what is your brief mental health history, and what is your ongoing availability. I encourage you to also ask questions so that you can make an informed decision. At the end of our conversation, if we decide we are a good fit to work together, we can schedule our first session. I always remind folx that it is okay if you have reached out to other psychotherapists and need more time to decide. 

• In the initial sessions we will focus on who you are and your reasons for seeking therapy at this time. I will ask questions about your life from childhood until now and how you have been feeling and functioning. The answers to these questions will help inform our therapeutic goals - also known as a treatment plan. During this time, we are still figuring out if we are a good team, so I encourage you to continue reflecting on that. 

• After these initial sessions, we then continue to meet on a weekly or biweekly basis until the therapeutic goals are met.

• The amount of time you will be in therapy depends on your goals and needs. If you are coming to therapy to address an immediate concern or specific issue, that will probably take less time than if you want to address ingrained patterns of behavior, thought processes, and emotions that stem from childhood experiences. I offer both biweekly and weekly therapy for clients looking to address both short-term and long-term goals. Throughout our time together, we will check in to ensure the therapeutic space is most helpful to you. 

• You can cancel or reschedule your appointment without fee with more than 24 hours notice prior to your appointment time. Should you cancel with less than 24 hours notice, you will be charged the full cost of your therapy session. I understand that life sometimes gets in the way of us being able to cancel with more than 24 hours notice. This rule is subject to change based on what is happening in your life and does not apply when you are sick.  

• Yes, I do offer telehealth via a HIPAA compliant platform called Simple Practice. I also offer in person sessions, and leave it up to you to let me know what you prefer. I am currently in the office Tuesdays and Thursdays and work from home Monday and Wednesday. 

• Some clients have treatment needs that require in person work. In those cases, I communicate openly and directly with you regarding our clinical plan. 

• No, I do not prescribe or manage psychotropic medication. However, I do work with clients to support them in connecting to a psychiatrist that accepts their insurance plan and/or meets the criteria they’ve established for themselves regarding treatment providers they would be comfortable working with. I am also more than happy to consult with a psychiatrist or wider treatment team you are currently working with as needed. 

• Therapy is exploratory in nature; it incorporates information from your past and your present while being future-oriented. In therapy, we discuss your health history in depth and explore how this history interacts with your current functioning. You will receive a mental health diagnosis for symptoms & experiences you are having and we will work collaboratively to create a treatment plan. The focus is on supporting your emotional well being by utilizing a range of health resources as interventions, some of them being clinical modalities. Therapy is only offered by licensed mental health providers or those under the supervision of licensed mental health providers and clients have a right to confidentiality based on state and federal legal protections. 

• In contrast to therapy, coaching is present-focused and supports change at the individual, community, and organizational levels. Coaching uses more solutions-oriented approaches to support you in identifying strengths, setting goals and developing strategies to achieve them. I do not diagnose or treat mental health concerns through coaching services. Oftentimes, therapy can complement the work done in coaching and vice versa. To ensure we maintain clear boundaries, I can only ever serve in a therapeutic or coaching role, not both. While the coach-client relationship is not considered a legally confidential one, I maintain a similar level of confidentiality with my coaching clients as I do with my therapeutic ones in order to protect their information.