My Approach to Helping

Accept the client where they are at during presentation; then see the presenting problem(s) they are experiencing through their eyes, not mine. I consider it critical for the client to entertain and work with me in processing the pathology in the statement "you are what you think..."

Labels while necessary by context, have much more worth on soup cans than they do on people. My job is to identify the pathology and work with the individual(s) to process or develop alternatives to skills and strategies that they are already voicing or experiencing "do not, have not, will not, or are not" working for them.

Today you are one step closer to a new you where you feel empowered and on a positive path to growth and well-being. As a solution-focused therapist, my goal is to help you uncover your true potential and lead a life that is worth celebrating. While we can't change difficult situations of the past, we can work together to better understand and resolve challenges in your life. By applying complementary therapy approaches and techniques, we will unearth long-standing behavior patterns or negative perceptions that may be holding you back from experiencing a more fulfilling and meaningful life.

More Info About My Practice

Rates are "Fee for Service" starting at $125.00 per clinical hour (50 minutes clock time) for individual therapy and $140.00 for couples.
I do accept some Insurance (Aetna and Cigna). Understand, in order to keep costs down, insurance companies are severely limiting their own customers' ability to decide who will treat them by closing access to their clients, a process called "board credentialing." Patients have shared with us that choosing the right clinician for them and their issue(s) is a very important, personal decision. Most individuals spend precious time researching listings of psychotherapists only to discover that the clinician they have chosen is not in their insurance company's network, often because the Insurance company denied access to the therapist for no other reason than what the Insurance company claims is "market saturation."

My practice is trying very hard to remain accessible to the majority of patients who have healthcare and do not have the money available to pay out of pocket, or when co-pays and deductibles, and their insurance premium may already be out of control. I believe that insurance companies are making mental health care so inaccessible, that their customers are just giving up and not seeking the care they need. Once again mental health care is becoming more and more impossible for the average citizen to receive. Now with the new healthcare system (ACA; Obama-care) in place I are finding that many more patients are paying for policies that are so restrictive, or have costly deductibles and co-pays that they might have to pay out of pocket for services, that they simply don't use them..

It also appears that the giant insurance companies are maintaining smaller networks to keep shareholders happy with a more than profitable bottom line and as such, pigeon-hole their subscribers in choosing a therapist. I have lowered my rates to help clients who find it a struggle in dealing with this current state of insurance network restriction.

I agree, co-payments, coinsurance, and deductibles are completely out of control as well as premiums. This shift in our billing practice is hoped to provide clients a greater choice in good, affordable, mental health care. I believe the problem is systemic and driven by the profit-system. In a profit-driven health care system, insurance companies exist for one singular purpose: to deliver a profit. A clinician's primary purpose should be to deliver good professional care.

There is not much we can do while this system is in place, but we can offer an affordable rate for therapy to those seeking help!

Specific Issue(s) I'm Skilled at Helping With

I am not judgmental. Being oriented in the biological models of mental health and pathology, I am of the belief that we always have the potential for help or relief. Hard work; sometimes, most often times helps, however, if we do the work together, make the effort collectively, tomorrow has the potential to shine brighter than the tarnished and troubling yesterdays!

If your looking for an alternative, or complimentary protocol to AANA meetings, repeated and failed Rehabilitation and Detox efforts that drain your money and leave a trail of relapse and frustration...

If you're looking for extra support and guidance through a challenging situation or you're just ready to move in a new direction in your life, I look forward to working with you to achieve your goals...

Then please call, or email me for an individual, couples or family therapy consultation today.

How Psychotherapy Can Help

Self-doubt, whether self-prescribed or assigned, makes for a lonely existence. Tarnished self-esteem, whether self-prescribed, or assigned, is limiting. In the short, I believe limitations are self-imposed and finding a way out of the depths of the mental health "well" can be attained through therapy. It takes a credible, knowledgeable therapist to develop the means to "get out and stay out" of the depths of despair often found in that mental health "well of darkness or trouble."

To me, with help at hand, it is illogical for one not to grasp at a resolve. Therapy and a good therapist should be able to light that path for the client.