A first session can be intimidating! Even if we’ve met for consultation or been in touch via email, sitting face to face for the first real time can be a lot. Rest assured that we know exactly how this feels and try to use initial sessions as an opportunity for us to get to know one another and start to build rapport. Beyond introductions, we’ll likely review how our practice operates so you know what to expect with communication, billing, and reminders. We’ll also chat through your preferences and any accommodation needs. It’s common to begin our work together by obtaining a comprehensive history of your life and ongoing concerns (sometimes called a Bio-Psycho-Social-Spiritual History or intake) though sometimes we do jump right in and gather this as we go.

For most therapy sessions, we’ll plan to meet for 50-55 minutes. This allows us to comply with insurance stipulations, while blocking a solid 45-50 minutes for our work and gives us 5-10 minutes to confirm our following session, handle any billing concerns, and transition smoothly.

Body work only sessions may be scheduled as 45, 60, or 90 minutes of hands on time with a 10-15 minute buffer on either side to account for check in, changing, and transition time.

Weekly visits are encouraged for at least the first 2-4 months of treatment. This allows us to establish rapport and develop a trusting therapeutic alliance as you grow and begin to work on your goals.

As you reach your goals, some clients choose to reduce sessions to every other week or eventually move to monthly check ins.

Some clients may benefit from meeting more than once per week due to a variety of factors.

Children and most adolescents are seen weekly for the duration of our work together.

Privacy is incredibly important to us and is in most cases protected by law and our code of ethics. In the few rare exceptions (such as significant and timely risk of harm to yourself or others) we are committed to increasing support as needed in a non-carceral manner without compromising your agency and autonomy.

We will discuss this more at your first session and are committed to creating a safe environment where you can always speak and share freely.

We are also mindful of which diagnosis codes we use (when billing insurance).

Additionally, we do not utilize any AI tools in our practice and any/all tech connected to the practice is not only HIPAA compliant but fully encrypted.

We are ethically and morally opposed to the use of AI (especially generative AI) in health care and do not utilize any AI tools in our practice nor will we ever.

Our current EMR (Simple Practice) has optional AI tools which we have fully disabled and we’ll be transitioning to a fully AI free platform soon.

Yes! You can view all of our fees and billing practices here.

We ask that you kindly do your best to cancel sessions at least 24 hours prior to your scheduled appointment time by emailing and/or texting your therapist.

Your time-slot is held for you and only you, so this window allows us the opportunity to attempt to rebook your session, and ensure that your clinician can be compensated for their time.

We can not bill insurance or apply co-pays for sessions you do not attend.

We understand that illnesses and emergencies happen and will do our best to work with you whenever possible.

For appointments cancelled less than 24 hours in advance and frequent late cancellations or no-shows without another agreement in place you will be billed directly for your full session or sliding scale fee.

Full neuropsych evals are very cool and we’re happy to provide referrals to some of our favorite providers if desired, but this is a commonly held misconception, even amongst some therapists and physicians, that is generally untrue.

In most states, LCSW’s can assess, diagnose, and treat anything in the DSM including Autism, ADHD, and related learning disabilities.

Additionally, it is the researchers and authors of our assessment tools who generally identify what licensure and training is required to administer, score, and interpret those assessments.

That said, our assessing clinician, has extensive training in the evaluation and diagnosis of Autism, ADHD, and other neurodevelopmental disorders and learning disabilities, including direct training and mentorship by a licensed dual neuropsychologist and neuroscientist. They also train directly with relevant authors and researchers such as Dr. Marilyn Monteiro (MIGDAS-2) and the DIVA foundation, whenever possible.

Our comprehensive assessments can be used to provide affirming diagnosis or rule outs, access medication, additional therapy, and supports, and to access school (IEP/504) and workplace accommodations.