What long are your sessions and how often will we meet?
My sessions are 45 minutes and take place weekly.
Do you bill insurance?
I don’t bill insurance for you. I will provide a monthly superbill, with all of the necessary information, that you can submit it to your insurance company for reimbursement.
Will my insurance reimburse me for the sessions?
It depends upon your plan and whether you can see an out of network provider. In order to determine how much your insurance company will reimburse for your sessions, you may wish to contact them in advance. You need to specify that I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and ask the following questions:
- What is my yearly deductible, and has it been met?
- How many sessions per year will my plan cover?
- How much will I be reimbursed per session?
- What do you consider to be a “reasonable and customary fee”?
- Will my plan cover an out-of-network provider?
- What is my lifetime maximum benefit?
- Is prior approval required from my primary care physician?
How will I pay you?
You can pay me with a check or cash at the time of your session, or I can bill you for your sessions at the end of the month. I do not currently accept credit cards.
How long will my therapy continue?
This is such a difficult question to answer in advance. Your unique needs and concerns will influence the length of your therapy. For some, therapy spanning the course of several months is sufficient. For others, therapy over the course of several years is more helpful. This said, you are free to stop your therapy at any time.
How will I know if you’re the right therapist for me?
This is a great question. I encourage you to read my blog post on this topic.
What will we talk about?
It depends upon what feels most helpful to you. Some people have a very good idea about what they need to talk about, while others feel more confused and uncertain. I can work with whatever you bring up, even if it seems unimportant or confusing. Strange as it may sound, sometimes not knowing what to talk about is the most important thing to talk about! Rest assured that if you're having difficulty deciding what to talk about, I will not sit silently waiting for you to come up with a topic (unless, of course, the silence feels helpful to you). In other words, we'll figure it out together.
Sometimes people also wonder if they will need to spend a lot of time rehashing their childhood or analyzing their relationship with their parents. I am a psychoanalyst, after all, so this is a fair concern! This concern is often fueled by the idea that effective therapy involves uncovering unconscious memories, and developing insight into the unconscious motivations for your behavior. Although some people find it helpful to explore those early relationships in detail, I’ve also worked with some people who have said very little about their history and we’ve still made significant progress. What's most important is that you feel free to set the pace and direction of our sessions. My goal is simply to work collaboratively with you to help you to live a richer, fuller, more authentic and meaningful life. I don't have a set agenda for our sessions. That said, if our work is going well, it's likely that you'll become more curious about things that you may have previously taken for granted. The bottom line is that effective therapy will help you to see things with different eyes, and to realize unforeseen possibilities.