During our first call, I will ask you questions to understand the underlying issues causing distress. These issues might be
Treatment can be individual, family, parenting, or a combination. See more about the different services we offer.
The session is an opportunity for the child to express feelings and practice behavior by choosing toys, games, activities and interacting with the therapist. The therapist responds to the material the child presents. Child therapy is for healing, not for interrogating, investigating, or interviewing the child. Learn more about child play therapy.
Keep it short and simple. I advise parents to tell the child, “I talked to a lady who plays with kids to help them with things that are hard. She also helps the parents know how they can be more helpful.” The words therapy or counseling could be strange, confusing, or embarrassing to children and I recommend not using them at first.
I also recommend introducing it as “something we are going to check out and see if you like it,” to give the child a sense of power and to reduce anxiety.
Parents are kept in the loop whether or not they are present in the session. Goals are created in collaboration with parents and they are regularly updated on and are consulted about progress. Learn more on the Parenting Support page.
Everything communicated between therapist and client(s) is private, including client’s identity. I keep all client information digitally in a password-protected and encrypted method. For more information, please see my privacy policy.
The few legally-mandated exceptions to confidentiality are explained in person and in writing, in my “informed consent.” See also “How does confidentiality work at this age” on the child therapy and teen therapy pages.
It is more likely that your insurance will pay if I am an in-network provider with that insurance. If you have a PPO, services might be covered out of network. Please see our Rates & Insurance page for more details.
As soon as we complete our consult call, I will create a user account so that you can access the self-booking calendar to schedule your first appointment. Open time slots are available within 1 business day.
We can also find a mutually convenient time slot when we are on the phone, during the consult call.
Existing clients can schedule any type of session during available hours. Prospective clients can only schedule a free 15-minute consult call. Before scheduling a first full session, I want to make sure that I am the right therapist for you. A good fit between client and the type of issues the therapist can treat is crucial to the success of treatment.
Also, during consult, I will address medical insurance [link to insurance section] If I cannot address your therapy needs or if I do not take your insurance, I will try to find a referral for you.
