Frequently Asked Questions

This page contains frequently asked questions to help you feel prepared for our work together!

Getting Started

Do you offer a consultation phone call?

I do – I want to make sure I am a good fit for prospective clients before scheduling our first session together! Feel free to leave me a voicemail message with your full name, phone number, and a brief summary of why you are seeking therapy for yourself and/or a loved one at this time. I will call you back as soon as I am able to and will set aside up to 15 minutes for a free consultation.

How do I schedule my first session with you?

At the end of the consultation phone call, we can discuss next steps for scheduling your first session, verifying your insurance benefits (if you choose to use these vs. paying out-of-pocket), and completing the necessary intake paperwork prior to your first session.

Telehealth

How do telehealth sessions work?

Telehealth sessions allow us to meet virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic. I use a HIPAA-compliant videoconferencing platform to keep your information private. Prior to each session, you will receive a link via email, which will allow you to access this platform at the time of your session.

I will work with you to ensure we have a steady internet connection for our session. If we experience technical difficulties, I will call you to either troubleshoot or reschedule our session.

Insurance, Rates, and Payment

Do you accept my insurance plan?

I am currently in the process of applying to a number of insurance panels and will announce updates here and on my social media accounts. Please follow @ResolveTherapy on Instagram to ensure you stay in the loop!

What if I want to pay out-of-pocket instead?

I charge $125 for each 50 minute session. In some cases, insurance providers will reimburse for out-of-network services, and I can provide monthly superbills upon request.

How do I pay for our sessions?

I accept credit card payments at the time of our sessions. These payments can be set up automatically via your client portal.

For Teens and their Parents/Legal Guardians

Before Our First Meeting

Many clients (and the parents/legal guardians of teen clients) have questions about what to expect with therapy. This article from Verywell Mind contains many excellent points to consider before our first meeting. For teens, I highly recommend reading this article from WebMD, and for parents/legal guardians, reading this article from Child Mind Institute. You may have other questions that come to mind before, during, or after our first meeting – don’t hesitate to ask them!

Once we have spoken over the phone and scheduled our first meeting, it is important that the intake paperwork be completed ASAP. This will allow for our first meeting to go more smoothly.

During Our First Meeting

The first meeting (sometimes called the “intake,” “assessment,” or “evaluation”) does not flow like a typical meeting would. It’s important that we review confidentiality and its limits, as well as office policies, to ensure we are on the same page before therapy begins.

During our first meeting, I will ask a series of questions in order to better understand why a teen is seeking therapy (or why a parent/legal guardian is seeking therapy on their teen’s behalf). It’s helpful to be as honest as possible, but I also know it takes time to trust someone you’re meeting for the first time.

Next, we’ll talk about your goals for therapy. Not my goals, not a loved one’s goals – YOUR goals. Therapy works best when you are invested in the process, so it’s important to me that I understand what YOU want to get out of this experience.

When meeting with a teen, I will ask to speak with their parent/legal guardian in order to gather additional information and/or perspectives on the challenges the teen has been facing. At this point, it may become clear that the teen’s goals for therapy differ from their parent’s/legal guardian’s, and I will want to clarify expectations at the onset of therapy.

Finally, we will determine how often we should meet in order to make progress toward your goals. It’s common to start with meeting every 1-2 weeks, then gradually reduce the frequency of meetings as symptoms improve.

If you are receiving therapy through your health insurance provider, then I will need to provide a provisional mental health diagnosis at the end of our first meeting. I will explain why I am considering a particular diagnosis, such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, an adjustment disorder, etc. Because this is a provisional diagnosis, it can change as I learn more about you and/or other circumstances suggest a different diagnosis would be more accurate.

After Our First Meeting

Once we have established rapport and know what goals we want to work on, you can generally expect our meetings to start with a check-in. How has the past week been? Has anything eventful happened? What have you noticed with regard to your mental well-being? This information not only allows us to develop a stronger therapeutic alliance, but it provides us with an idea for where to place our focus for today’s meeting.

Following our check-in, we may engage in a number of therapeutic activities. This could involve psychoeducation, practicing specific skills, or reviewing therapy “homework” that was assigned at the end of the previous meeting.

When meeting with a teen, I may ask to do a check-in with their parent/legal guardian as well. Is there anything the parent/legal guardian has noticed that the teen has not? Does the parent/legal guardian have questions about how they can better support their teen? While I am limited by what I can share due to confidentiality, this is an opportunity for the parent/legal guardian to share whatever they feel is important for me to know.

I will review therapy goals with you on a regular basis to ensure we are making steady progress toward those goals and are still on the same page about where our focus should be during these meetings. Of course, you are always welcome to share feedback (positive or negative) with me at any point, both during and in-between meetings!