Frequently asked questions
How long is a typical session?
I offer sessions of two different time lengths: 50 minutes and 75 minutes. When we settle on a regular weekly time to meet, you will also choose whether you would like to do traditional 50 minute sessions or 75 minute sessions.
For Saturday clients, I instead offer 90-minute bi-weekly sessions.
Do you have evening or weekend appointments?
Yes, I have daytime and evening hours at my office in West Mount Airy. I also have certain hours available for walk-and-talk therapy at Wissahickon park.
For weekend appointments, I offer a limited number of bi-weekly 90-minute Saturday sessions, either in-person or virtual.
Are you seeing clients in-person?
Yes, I offer therapy in-person either at a traditional office space in Mt. Airy, Philadelphia or via walk-and-talk therapy at Wissahickon Park. I also see clients from anywhere in Pennsylvania virtually via Zoom.
How long will I need to be in therapy?
As you might guess, this depends on the person and situation. I've had clients who come in with a specific issue and feel relief or find change within a session or two enough to finish therapy, but this isn't typical. Counseling is often a process of small "shifts" where things start to fall into place without you even exactly noticing what's happening.
It's only when you look back that you see how far you've come--often very far! But it feels so natural to start living more freely and flexibly that it can feel like "of course I'm living this way" when, in fact, aspects of it can be very new.
Many clients experience significant improvement after ten to twelve sessions, but everyone is unique. Three to seven months of therapy is common, with a good number of outliers in either direction.
It can be helpful to remember that you are in control of the length of your therapy, in the sense that you can choose to end at any time. You can choose to decide up front "I am going to commit to six/eight/twelve sessions" and stick to it. There can be value in having time-limited therapy, and this works well particularly for people who are already functioning well and are looking for a boost or help moving through an aspect of life where they feel stuck. I also offer "three month intensives" for people who are looking for a lot of support for a short period of time with specific goals to work on in that intensive. See my "upcoming" page to learn more about this option.
Do you accept insurance?
No, I do not accept insurance directly. But, if you have out of network benefits, you may be able to use those to receive reimbursement for sessions. We offer "super bills" which you can submit to your insurance company directly for out of network benefits. You can review your out-of-network benefits package or reach out to your insurance provider to see how much they cover for a therapy session. I am part of Eclipse Therapy Group, and all intake paperwork and company policies are through Eclipse.
What is your fee?
I offer traditional 50 minute sessions for a fee of $130 per session.
I offer "deep dive" 75 minute sessions for a fee of $175 per session.
I have some sliding scale spots ranging from $80-120 for traditional 50 minute sessions, ranging from $150-170 for "deep dive" sessions.
I also offer a limited number of 90-minute biweekly Saturday sessions. These cost $225/session. Saturday sessions are available to clients who can meet consistently for at least three months on the Saturdays I have available (80% or more of available Saturdays). Sessions typically take place every other week but with occasional variation which I share well in advance.
Why do you offer 75 minute sessions?
I offer 75 minute sessions because this feels like the right amount of time for many clients, particularly with clients who have a long attention span, the ability to reflect deeply about themselves and the desire to truly grow and change as a person. There's no sense of rush, and by the time you get to the essence of whatever you're discussing there's still plenty of time to dig deep and explore and ultimately make space for growth.
The traditional 50 minute therapy hour is ubiquitous largely because insurance companies have chosen it to be so. But, it's essentially arbitrary. And in my experience with many clients and as a therapy client myself, ending sessions at 50 minutes can feel like it's cutting off growth and ultimately making therapy less efficient in terms of time in sessions. Sessions often pick up momentum as you go and together you find your way to the crux of whatever it is that's being discussed often around the 35-40 minute mark. But, this leaves very little time for actually working with the crux of the issue once you find it, which can artificially limit movement/growth/understanding that would've occurred if you had time to reach an organic resolution in the moment. While in theory you can pick up where you left off the next week, in my experience there's still a loss of having been "in it" in a way that it's hard to return to a week later. After experiencing this frustration many times, I realized that as an out of network provider, I didn't need to stick with the norms set by insurance companies--I can just offer what is most helpful to the clients I'm working with.
This isn't the best fit for everyone. 50 minutes is a great amount of time for a lot of clients, but if you've been in therapy before and experienced the feeling of being cut off over and over again and had the gut feeling that you could've really used the extra time, this might be a great fit for you. I also offer "three month personal growth intensives" which include twelve 75-minute sessions for a pre-set amount of time. See the upcoming page to learn more about those.
What do pre-licensed and pre-LPC mean?
These both mean the same thing. Being pre-licensed as a counselor means that I've completed my Master's degree in counseling and am currently working towards my LPC license. During this phase, I meet with a supervisor regularly to continue building my skills as a counselor. I work as part of Eclipse Therapy Group, a practice that specializes in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and am supervised by the founder/director there, John Armando.
I am a mother and work as a therapist part-time; because of this, my journey towards licensure will be a slower one than many of my peers. While on this journey, I am fortunate to benefit from frequent supervision and the opportunity to work with an expert in the type of therapy I practice.
I'm interested in therapy. What are my next steps?
I invite you to connect with me via the contact form below or on my booking page, or send me an email or phone call. We can have an introductory free consultation session to meet and connect about what's going on to see if it seems like a good fit. This is usually over Zoom but I can do in office if scheduling allows. In this conversation, we will talk about what has led you to decide to seek therapy right now and how you hope things will be different by the time you're finished, and I can share about what you can expect from therapy with me and answer any questions you have. This is a low-stakes, no pressure call. You don't have to move forward with therapy just because you connect with me about it, so feel free to schedule even if you're still deciding.
I'm a parent and am interested in therapy for my teen. What are my next steps?
First, you and I can connect for a free parent consultation via phone, zoom or in-person and you can share about what's going on with your teen and why you/they are considering therapy. In that meeting, I can also give you some information about my therapy approach and answer any questions you might have. If it seems like a good fit to both of us, I can schedule an initial consultation session with your teen to meet them on their own. After that if everyone's on board, we can move forward with scheduling sessions either virtually, in-office, or for walk-and-talk at the Wissahickon. So, your first step is just to contact me via phone, email, or the contact form below or on my booking page, and then I'll follow up with you and help you take it from there.