What to Expect

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Starting therapy can be a confusing process! I try to respond to all new patient inquiries as soon as possible, preferably within 48 hours. My process for responding is as follows:

1. Set up an initial phone consultation

This call usually lasts between 20-30 minutes and is free of charge. The goals of this consultation are for me 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. 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.  

2. Set up three intake (initial) appointments

If we agree to work together after the phone consultation, the next step is to set up the first three appointments. The purpose of these intake appointments is for me to get to know you better and learn more about what brings you into therapy. 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. These appointments 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 three intake appointments 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 handful of appointments to several years. Each patient is different so there is no “standard” length of treatment. We will decide together what works best for you.