Therapy Process

About the counseling process

If you've never been to a counselor before, you may be curious to know what the process looks like. If you have been to a counselor before, you may be curious to know how my process might be similar or different.

I start with a free 20 minute phone or telehealth session to get a sense of our goodness of fit and my ability to help you reach your goals. If both parties feel good about moving forward, I will have you fill in intake paperwork and then we will meet via telehealth or in person for our intake sessions.

During your intake sessions, we will review the intake questionnaire that you completed, discuss goals for your treatment, discuss the symptoms or issues that are leading you seek counseling, and we will explore any questions that you might have for me. The intake process can take up to 3-4 sessions before we really feel certain that we're the right fit for one another. If at any point, we realize that we aren't the right fit, I will do my best to provide you with referrals for a clinician that might be a better fit.

After the initial intake sessions, we will be meeting on a regular basis to make progress towards the goals you set for yourself initially. If we are focusing on trauma resolution I recommend weekly or twice weekly sessions to truly facilitate your healing process with thoroughness and safety. Your work will likely include between session tasks and intentions that will be your responsibility to complete to the best of your ability. Your commitment to carrying out the work we do in session and between session will determine the success of your counseling experience.

We will keep track of how you are doing in decreasing the symptoms that bring you to counseling and increasing progress toward the goals you have set for yourself. Once you have reached a place that feels like success, we will determine the best next steps for you before we bring our counseling journey to a close. 

Duration of services

It is impossible to tell how long you may be actively participating in counseling. Every journey is different, and I make it a point to move at a gentle pace...healing takes time. You can expect to attend sessions for at least 3-4 months before seeing the changes you are looking for.  

Once you have achieved what it is you were aiming for we will discuss your needs. You may choose to end all therapy, attend less frequent sessions to help you maintain your wellness, or check back in at a later scheduled date to determine your needs after a pause in our work.

How a session works

I offer individual therapy sessions via telehealth or in-person meetings at my office which last approximately 53 minutes each.

Each session begins with a check-in of your current wellbeing and review of the experience you had between your last session.

The rest of the session is flexible to suit your needs.

I will always arrive to our sessions prepared with an intervention or exploration that is specially catered to your goals, but this can always be set aside at your request to attend to whatever it is that you need to focus on in that moment.

Some sessions may be focused on trauma-intensive reprocessing, some sessions may be focused entirely on finding feelings of ease and stability in your mind and body. Some sessions you may leave feeling raw, and some you may leave feeling elevated. The journey of therapy is dynamic, complex, and at times surprising- and every single moment of it brings you closer to thriving.

I aim to fill up your toolbox with techniques and strategies for maintaining emotional balance and peace in your mind and body. Many of your sessions will entail learning a new strategy for wellness which you can practice between sessions.