Frequently Asked Questions about Counseling

I currently have availability on Monday and Tuesdays in the afternoons and evenings.

I am currently taking on new clients ages 12 and older. I am also happy to see couples.

Our first time meeting together often looks a little different than subsequent sessions. Before your session, I will send you paperwork to complete beforehand, at the beginning of our time together, we'll review the paperwork and answer any questions you might have about the counseling process or work with me. We then spend the remainder of your first session discussing what's bringing you to counseling and what you hope will be different as a result of our work together. By the end of this first session, we typically are able to establish some mutually agreed upon treatment goals and objectives. 

In future sessions, we dig a little deeper and focus in on the particular treatment goals we've established identifying troubling symptoms and developing skills to address your particular concerns.

I usually meet with clients once a week, especially when first starting counseling. However, I do have some clients that are unable to come weekly due to scheduling, financial, or other reasons. I work with my clients to determine the best frequency of appointments to meet their counseling needs.

For clients under the age of 18, I need parent or guardian consent to start treatment. Typically for our first session, I will meet with the teen, alongside one or both of their parents for the first part of the session. Once we have reviewed the legal and ethical procedures surrounding the counseling process, as well as any questions the parents may have, I ask the parents to step out and spend the rest of the session meeting with the teen individually. Going forward, I meet with the teen individually with check-in sessions with parents monthly, or bi-monthly. The goal of these check-in sessions is to facilitate collaboration in supporting the teen and making sure we're all on the same page working towards treatment goals and understanding the current struggles your teen is facing. 

The answer to this is unique to each client. I work with clients (and parents in the case of teen clients) early in treatment to set therapy goals, and counseling typically ends when the client (and/or parents) reports that they are satisfied with their progress toward meeting those goals.

I use an integrative approach in my work with clients. This means that I  identify what evidence-based therapies might best address my clients' presenting concerns and help meet their treatment goals. I work from a trauma-informed lens and often incorporate cognitive-behavioral therapy, emotion focused therapy, and person-centered therapy.

Typical counseling sessions are 50-55 minutes, I also provide 90-minute sessions.

My fees are $150 for 90-minute counseling sessions, and $120 for 50-minute counseling sessions. These fees cover the session time, as well as any case management, research, documentation, phone calls, email, etc. that I do in between counseling sessions. The only time there may be an additional fee would be for meetings with other professionals (ex: school personnel, pastor, physicians, etc) done on behalf of my clients. Any additional fees would be discussed in advance.

I am in-network with KanCare (Kansas Medicaid) and Aetna. For other insurance carriers, clients will pay me directly at my private pay rate. If a client wants to file for out-of-network reimbursement from their insurance company, I can provide an account statement that shows dates of service, service fees and payments, service location, and any applicable diagnostic codes. The client can then submit this to their insurance carrier for reimbursement. I do not bill insurance companies directly for clients utilizing out-of-network benefits.

Payment is due at the time of the counseling session and I am unable to offer payment plans.

No, these types of services are outside the scope of my counseling practice. In situations of divorce, my role is to work with the children or adolescents to help them navigate the changes happening in the family and their emotional reactions to them. I also work with the parents to help them tend to the needs of their children as they go through the divorce process.