What to Expect

Starting therapy can be a confusing process and many people do not know what to expect. This is normal! 

If you are interested in working with me, the first step is to send me a message through my contact form or call/email me to request an initial consultation phone call. I try my best to respond to new patient inquiries within 48 hours and will respond to you as soon as I can. The next steps are as follows:

1. Set up an initial phone consultation

I offer a free 30 minute consultation phone to learn more about you and assess if my skills and experience could be a good fit for your needs. You will also get the opportunity to ask me any questions that you may have about me or my practice. As a therapist, goodness of fit is very important to me. This means that my skills and experience may be not be appropriate for all patients. In such cases, I will provide you with referrals to other therapists with relevant experience.

2. Set up an initial (intake) appointment

If we agree to work together after the phone consultation, the next step is to set up a first appointment. This considered an "intake" appointment, meaning that we will discuss in more detail the reasons that you are coming to therapy and will identify goals for treatment. Generally, I ask questions about your history, how long you have been experiencing mental health concerns, what kinds of symptoms you are experiencing, any relevant family psychiatric history, etc. This appointment can help both of us decide if I will be a good fit for your needs. 

3. Schedule subsequent (follow up) appointments

All sessions after the first intake appointment are considered "follow up" appointments. This is when we really get into the process of therapy and help you to work through whatever is troubling you. I prefer to see new patients once per week for the first 4-6 appointments. Most people choose to continue with weekly appointments, but some people prefer every other week or once per month. I believe that consistency is essential for the therapeutic relationship, so I ask that all patients commit to the same weekday/time for sessions. However, I recognize that sometimes appointments need to be moved or cancelled so I try to be flexible when this happens. 

4. Understand expected length of treatment 

Treatment may range anywhere from a single appointment to several weeks, months or even years. Each patient is different so there is no “standard” length of treatment. We will decide together what works best for you.