Frequently Asked Questions
Why is therapy so expensive?!?
Therapy is expensive, I admit it. It is also an important investment in your mental health, well-being, and personal growth. And you are worth it!
As a private practice therapist, I am running my own small business. In order to continue to do the work I love, I have to cover my monthly expenses (including, but not limited to: office rent, utilities, marketing costs, professional insurance, retirement, etc.), quarterly taxes, continuing education, and training, as well as earn enough of a living to pay for all the traditional bills that you pay as well (mortgage/rent, car, health insurance, bills, food, gas, etc.).
Your fee, paid consistently, based on the guidelines of my pricing policy support my business operations as well as my livelihood. Thank you for seeing your mental health and my ability to provide psychotherapy as a valuable service worth paying for.
Is therapy confidential?
In general, the law protects the confidentiality of all communications between a client and a psychotherapist. Information about what you have shared with me cannot be shared without written permission from you.
However, there are some legal and ethical limits to confidentiality that you should be aware of and that I will go over in detail in our first meeting. Those limits are suspected child abuse or dependent adult or elder abuse, or threats to seriously harm yourself or others.
The purpose of these exceptions relates to our responsibilities to ensure your safety and the safety of others, to the best of our abilities. For information about exceptions to confidentiality related to insurance, please refer to the Current Client’s Tab and select the button “Informed Consent for Psychotherapy.”
How frequently do clients go to therapy?
It has been my experience that weekly meetings, particularly at the beginning of a new therapeutic relationship have the best outcomes for successful therapy. Many clients would prefer to come every other week, largely due to financial concerns, which is very understandable as therapy is often an unplanned-for expense.
However, that approach may actually impede one’s progress during a very difficult time and may end up backfiring. For this reason, I recommend that clients beginning therapy come once a week. Scheduling can be revisited over time as therapeutic goals and our relationship evolve.
How long does therapy last?
The answer to this question is entirely dependent on the person who is seeking therapy and what their goals for therapy are. As a therapist, I do not hold to the belief that therapy must go on for years and years in order to be successful. I can apply short-term, issue-specific therapeutic techniques for clients who are wanting to focus on a specific, less complex issue or I can work with clients on life-long issues that have significantly impacted every aspect of their lives.
In either case, the most successful therapeutic outcomes are had when the client is an active and engaged participant, in session and especially during the week when we are not meeting.