Explore some of my most frequently asked questions about therapy!

Starting therapy for the first time – or with a new therapist – can be intimidating! Especially if you are navigating anxiety, trauma, or perfectionism, you may have a lot of concerns or curiosities before feeling comfortable enough to reach out. That’s why I’ve put together a list of common questions and answers I hear from my clients.

  • Yes. Therapy can be helpful to almost everyone, whether its for “serious” issues like trauma, anxiety, or depression, or “lighter” issues like stress, life transitions, and overall growth and evolution. Therapy is all about feeling like you have a safe space to talk about your life and a trusted person to share your life with. Its about addressing your human needs and getting the support you need.

  • In Massachusetts I accept Aetna and Optum insurances including UnitedHealthCare and MGBH plans. For all other insurances I am considered out-of-network. If your plan has out-of-network benefits, I provide superbills so that you can submit these to your insurance for possible partial or full reimbursement.

  • I offer online therapy to Massachusetts residents. We will meet through Zoom, an online platform that is HIPAA compliant.

  • Weekly or biweekly. Clients benefit the most when they are consistently checking in with themselves. I often suggest weekly to start off, maintaining meeting weekly if you overall are cycling more rapidly through thoughts or emotions needing processing, and then tapering down to biweekly in more stable periods. Additional sessions may also be requested as needed.

  • It all depends on what you are looking for help with. Some clients prefer short term work to worth through specific issues. Others prefer to have a long-term therapeutic relationship and are looking to have consistent emotional support. You are in it as long as you want. For those with extensive trauma histories, I encourage a realistic timeline for trauma recovery, usually 6 months - two years for significant progress. For those who want to be ever mindful of conscious growth and evolution, therapy can be ongoing and open ended.

  • If you plan to use insurance to cover your cost of sessions, they will need a diagnosis. I will provide a diagnosis to your insurance and that diagnosis will be present on your medical records as well. If you also would like to submit superbills for reimbursement, that diagnosis will need to be provided. If you do not use your insurance at all and are Self-Pay, you will not need a diagnosis. However, I use a diagnosis loosely in therapy, as the process of therapy will be individualized to you.

  • No. However, I am able to provide you with referrals for local prescribers.

  • In the first session we will complete an intake assessment that includes questions about your history including developmental history, your current context and circumstances, identities you may identify with, mental health history, and goals you might have for therapy.

  • Every session will be different depending on what you choose to talk about and what techniques we are using. What will be consistent is the feeling of being held in kindness and understanding while you unpack difficult emotions and experiences as well as celebrate successes and joys as you evolve and grow.

  • Yes! We can still work together via coaching. Therapy often addresses emotional challenges and patterns that may be affecting your well-being, while coaching is usually oriented toward personal or professional growth and achieving desired outcomes. Coaching is not a direct replacement for therapy. Many people benefit from coaching alone, many benefit from therapy alone, and some find that the two complement each other. Coaching and therapy aren't on a hierarchy where one is "better" than the other—they're simply designed for different purposes.