Welcome to our office. The decision to reach out for help is often difficult and I look forward to helping you with the problems you would like to explore and resolve. My view of psychotherapy is that you are hiring me to consult with you regarding problems or relationship issues that significantly affect your life. My overall approach is to develop a comfortable collaboration so we actively work together to gain insight into the various contributions to your feelings and problems. Then together we translate this understanding into more beneficial ways of thinking, feeling, and acting in your world.
In our first session, I listen and ask a variety of questions. I will then give you an initial assessment that attempts to capture your problem. I will also offer some useful perspectives on the factors that may be contributing to the problem/s, and suggest possible next steps that will likely be necessary in resolving these problems and helping you achieve your goals. I encourage you to ask me any questions that you have about the therapy process or my background.
By the end of our initial meeting, I will share my impressions of how I may provide help and/or I’ll refer you to other providers or resources in the area that may better meet your needs. If we decide to work together, we will define a clear outline of the goals you would like to accomplish. With these mutually agreed goals in mind, we will develop a treatment plan together using the latest psychological information available.
If you are coming for Couples Therapy, your first appointment will usually be for each of the partners separately and will last for 45 minutes. This allows each of you to say anything you feel important to tell me without hurting your partners feelings. In that first session I ask your individual goals for therapy. After you each have an initial session, I meet with you jointly. We discuss couple goals and the best format for working together. Those three meetings will allow me to give you a comprehensive initial evaluation of your relationship and develop a treatment plan with you for marital therapy, including a suggested length of treatment and commitment involved.
If you prefer to meet jointly with me the first time and then meet separately, I am happy to arrange to do that. Usually it means it will be the fourth session before we develop a treatment plan.
Some clients come to me for EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy for unresolved trauma referred by other therapists. We meet first in an initial 45-minute session so I can understand your goals and expectations and describe the procedure. The second meeting is a double session to see how you respond to the technique. After that, we schedule meetings at a pace that makes sense to both of us if you plan to remain involved with your referring therapist during EMDR. It is not necessary to do EMDR every week to derive significant benefit. If you contact our office, we will supply you with additional information and articles via email concerning EMDR, before your first meeting. You may also wish to explore the EMDR website, emdria.org Reading about the technique may be interesting but is not required for you to benefit.
- You should feel comfortable and understood
- I will give you an assessment and direct feedback about your problem and how I see you or your relationship as stuck at this point
- We will discuss your goals and make sure that we are both clear about them
- We will review various treatment options
- See Financial Matters under Therapy Investment Link
There are some policies and procedures that I may not fully review with you initially because I am most interested in understanding you and your concerns. Please read over and fill out the following forms before coming to your first appointment:
Separate forms you may wish to print
- Therapy Policies and Procedures Agreement - PDF | WORD
- HIPPA Privacy Notification Forms - PDF
- HIPPA Receipt - PDF
- New Client Information Form - PDF | WORD
- Patient Release Information - PDF
- How to Get the Most from Your Couples Therapy - PDF
- Retainer Agreement if Legal Involvement - PDF | WORD
You may download these documents by clicking on the link above. Should you decide to fill them out at the office, please arrive 20 minutes in advance of your appointment time. Please fill out all client information, read the details of each policy and bring it into the office. You may wait until we meet in person to sign the forms so that we can discuss any questions or concerns you may have. |
