Outpatient Services

This is the most common form of mental health care where you voluntarily participate in sessions with a psychotherapist or counselor to address difficulties you are having in your life. Outpatient refers to any form of treatment that is not residential (longer term or inpatient care due to more severe disability) or at a hospital (emergency care).

Every therapist conducts their sessions a bit differently, but in general, you should expect to do a lot of reflecting and talking. I personally like to facilitate a conversation with you to ensure your voice is being heard. I often use Socratic questioning (open-ended questions to help explore complex issues) to help you verbalize what you are thinking and feeling. I do this in order to challenge you to think critically about your behaviors and work towards making sure those behaviors align with your goals.

I provide all my counseling services completely online using a HIPAA compliant telehealth platform which can be access using either a browser or app on any computer or phone. Our meeting schedule is always at your discretion, and is generally influenced by your individual circumstances. Outpatient therapy is often done weekly or biweekly, although some people want to meet twice a week when things are more severe or about once a month when there is less urgency. We will work together to decide what is going to be best for you at any given time in your treatment.

An individual outpatient therapy session is typically just you, however, there is often advantages to having others from your immediate family join meetings. If you and a significant others are always in sessions together, this is referred to as couples therapy. If other or multiple family members are always present, it is family therapy. Sometimes a family member will only be present intermittently for your individual sessions, which are all acceptable.

The short answer is no. The longer answer is that it depends on what your goals are and what you're going through that brings you to counseling in the first place. Some people have a specific issue they want to work on and are only looking for a bit of support along the way which might require a few months of appointments. Many people come in with a lot of difficulties across multiple areas of their life and want to stay in treatment for six months or more. I have and continue to work with others for several years who have expressed a desire to have counseling as a regular part of their weekly or monthly routine even though major obstacles in their life have been resolved.

I have made the business decision to not directly take insurance as I have found that it adds administrative complexity to the therapeutic relationship and can be inhibiting in terms of our ability to work together as needed. For those who request it, I do provide an itemized receipt called a "superbill" that you can submit to your insurance company for potential reimbursement of the cost you pay me up front, which starts at $225 for a clinical hour or individual outpatient therapy and increases based on how much time and if others are joining you for a session. If I am listed as a provider with a specific insurance company, they will reimburse you a set amount based on what they have predetermined for an in-network provider of behavioral health services. If I am not an approved provider for an insurance company, they might reimburse you for my services as an out of network provider.

No, you are never obligated in any way. Showing up to each session is completely voluntary.