Frequently Asked
Questions
1. Do I need therapy? When life is hard, it can often be confusing whether you need to invest time and money to see a therapist, or whether your own efforts at feeling better are enough. Therapy is probably useful if you have tried to figure things out on your own through self-help, journalling, meditation or others, or you have reached out to family and friends to share how you are doing, but these efforts are still not enough. Having a consultation call with myself or another therapist can also help clarify if therapy might be helpful for you.
2. How long does therapy take? When deciding to start therapy, it can be off-putting to initiate a process with no fixed timeline. This is especially true given how much time and money therapy asks of us. Unfortunately, it is difficult to give a set answer as many factors will play a role for how long a successful treatment might last, but generally, if you want to focus on a concrete issue, 10-20 sessions are usually enough. However, if you wish to work on deeper patterns such as recurrent behaviors and old feelings, long-term therapy is most effective. In such cases, treatment can last months or years. Once we have met a few times, I am happy to give you a clearer timeline of what duration you might expect out of your therapy process.
3. How does therapy work? In committing to therapy, many of us want to understand how it all actually works. Simply put, through this work, you become more aware of the underlying sources of your difficulties. As this happens, you are able to experience yourself in new ways, stuck emotions and old patterns loosen, and new ways of relating to yourself, others and the world emerge. Deep change does not happen overnight, but it does happen for the vast majority of us. In a consultation call, I am happy to speak more about how therapy might work for you and your challenges specifically.
4. What are your fees? I charge $160/session for individuals (50-minute sessions) and $180/session for couples (60-minute sessions). I also offer some income-based sliding scale spots. I am an out-of-network provider, which means that I will not bill your insurance directly. However, I am happy to offer superbills for you to submit to your insurance company if they cover out-of-network mental health services.