How many sessions will i need?

This varies greatly depending on your goals, how you respond to therapy, and if you experience any life changes while in therapy. For individuals, some people meet their goals in around twelve weeks, while others attend therapy for years. It’s similar for couples — if you are seeking basic coaching in communication, we may finish in a few months, whereas if you have had a serious relationship rupture such as infidelity, counseling will likely take at least six months to a year.

How often will i have sessions?

For both individuals and couples, I prefer to start with one session a week. If this does not work for your schedule, we can do every other week, but I have found it is most effective to at least start with weekly sessions and reduce over time if appropriate.

I usually schedule clients for the same time every week. If your schedule changes weekly, we can schedule week to week, but I cannot guarantee that I will also have a spot available for you.

what will this process look like?

For individuals, our first session will be an intake session where I will gather information about your history, goals, and symptoms. In our next few sessions, we will be building rapport, continuing to explore your past, and ensuring you have coping skills you can use when strong emotions arise. After the intial few sessions we will delve into deeper work such as EMDR and parts work, which involves processing past events, exploring why you experience certain reactions and emotions, and how you can adjust your lifestyle to align with your values and goals.

For couples, our first session with be an intake session where I will ask about your relationship history and current struggles. Between our first and second session, I will have you each fill out several assessments so I can better understand your experience. Our second session will be split into two individual sessions so I can ensure I fully understand each person’s point of view and individual concerns. In our third session, I will review what I have noticed and lay out a treatment plan. From there we will get more into specific interventions based on what I learned during the first three sessions.

who is a good fit for EMDR?

EMDR primarily benefits those who are hoping to process events from their past that are affecting them in the present. For many, these may be severe traumas, but for others these may be events that you do not consider traumatic or that feel trivial to you, but are still having lasting impacts.

If you experience severe dissociation or have Dissociative Identity Disorder, you may not be a good fit for EMDR. In my intake paperwork, I will have you fill out an evaluation to assess if your dissociation is at a level that makes EMDR risky for you. If it is, you can pursue EMDR with a clinician specifically trained in EMDR for dissociation or we can focus on non-EMDR interventions. It is possible that through other interventions, your level of dissociation will drop enough for us to pursue EMDR.

what will my copay be?

This depends on your insurance and I will not find out until after I have billed them. Please contact your insurance for details on what is covered.