Let’s talk about how weird the concept of therapy is. You come in, meet with a complete stranger and then proceed to tell them all of your stuff. I want to honor how that in itself can be nerve wracking. Know that it is ok to take a little while to warm up. It is fine to be uncertain at first. Any relationship takes time to build up trust and understanding. That is healthy and expected. If you give it some time and are still not feeling it, let’s talk about it. You need to find that right fit for you. Think about it, you don’t click with everyone you meet, same goes with a therapist. Therapy is an investment on many levels, emotionally, financially, time-wise, it has to work for you.

Therapy is about having a safe space to open up, explore what you are wanting help with, and find explanations and/or tools to get you feeling better able to take on life. Now that is not to say that every session you will walk out like sunshine and roses. Sometimes you may leave therapy super motivated, excited, awesome. Sometimes sessions can be challenging so you may be leave feeling contemplative, exhausted, or upset. Therapy takes work and all of these emotions are all part of the process to help you get to place where you feel content and able to manage, so these emotions won’t de-rail you like they may be doing now.

I get a lot of calls where people say, “I have been wanting to try therapy for long time, but I didn’t know if what I was going through was ‘enough’ or thinking I would take away from people who really need it.” Therapy is not just for those who have experienced a trauma, are too depressed to function, or are severely impacted by mental health. This could not be further from the truth. Therapy is for anyone who wants to better themselves. Whether it is trying to figure out what you are passionate about, you have trouble holding conversations and making friends, your love life is non-existent, or you hate your job and you get stressed just thinking about your to do list. It can be anything you want some help with or gaining clarity around.

Since therapy can vary from person to person, it really depends. It can depend on what you are seeking help for, the severity of the issue, how hard you work in and outside of sessions, and if other concerns come up for you. Sometimes the concerns you have will resolve in a short time frame, other concerns may take a while to unpack and sort through. Also, life happens, and events, good or bad, can change the trajectory. In general, I like to start seeing people on a once a week basis. This helps you and I to get to know one another, have a good understanding of the goals you are working on, and develop that trust that will help you get to your goals faster. Once you feel like you are managing well, we will try every other week to give you time to try things on your own. Then some choose to set up an appointment once a month or once every few months as a way to check in, keep accountable, and get a refresher if needed.

It allows you and I more freedom and the utmost in privacy. There are no session limits, restrictions, or confusing billing issues. Additionally, any diagnosis will not be given to your insurance where it can live on forever. Insurance will not have a say in how sessions are conducted or their time limit. Insurance will not have access to notes or any other information you don’t want them knowing. It also allows me to spend my time and energy with you, the client. However, if you would like to submit to your insurance company for out of network benefits, I would be happy to provide you the information needed to do so.