Services
Psychodynamic and Integrative Psychotherapy
I specialize in longer term, depth-oriented therapy with adults and young adults who are pursuing change or struggling to adjust to it. Many of my clients are involved in the academia, medical and mental health professions, or other high-pressure professional fields. I enjoy working with people of all sexual and gender identities.
My fundamental approach to therapy is psychodynamic. This means broadly that I believe that the causes of psychological suffering are not limited to biochemical imbalances in our brain or thinking styles that are under our conscious control. Therapy, in order to bring about change and relieve suffering, needs to attend to multiple levels of our experience, including feelings, thoughts, conflicting desires and parts of ourselves, and repeating processes and patterns that we may or may not be aware of. I am interested in the ways clients are affected by both their past experiences and their current situation, including culture and society, race, ethnicity, and gender and sexuality. My involvement in psychotherapy effectiveness research has given me a good sense of what clients tend to find most helpful about psychotherapy, but also a deep appreciation for the need to be attuned to the specialness of every client.
Depending on the clients' needs and personal qualities, I combine aspects of the psychodynamic approach with other evidence-based therapies, such as mindfulness, IFS (Internal Family Systems), ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), and Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy. I believe that the best possible psychotherapy work requires attentiveness to the singularity of each experience and thus flexibility and creativity.
In order to be most effective, psychotherapy should be consistent and offer a solid, trusting relationship between the client and therapist. I usually meet with clients weekly, but also offer intensive, more than once a week psychotherapy, which can be very effective when clients feel deeply shaken or stuck, or are pursuing profound, long-lasting change in their lives.
Psychoanalysis
Psychodynamic psychotherapy and psychoanalysis share many basic assumptions about humans and the origins and causes of our dissatisfaction and suffering. Compared to psychotherapy, psychoanalysis is a more intensive and methodologically somewhat different way of working together to bring about clarity, acceptance, and change. It usually involves the use of the analytic couch, and a meeting frequency of multiple times a week.
According to psychotherapy research, psychoanalysis is one of the best methods we know of for bringing about long-lasting change on the personality or character level. The effects of psychoanalysis have been shown in studies to persist well after the end of the analysis itself. Many people find psychoanalysis to be a powerful, life-changing experience.
Psychoanalysis is the best fit for people who are curious about themselves and about what aspects within might be getting in the way of living, loving, and working the way they would wish. If you are interested in or wondering about starting psychoanalysis, I am happy to consult with you to discuss whether it might be the right choice for you.
Practice Info
Session length
Therapy sessions are 45-55 minutes in length, and typically once or twice per week.
Psychoanalytic sessions are 50 minutes in length, at a frequency of 4-5 times per week.
Payments
My preferred payment is via check or direct transfer, but you can also use a debit, credit, or HSA/FSA card via a secure, HIPAA-compliant online payment system.
Insurance
I am not in network with any insurance companies, but will provide a statement for insurance reimbursement at the end of each month. With some types of insurance (PPO, POS and Indemnity), you can get reimbursed for a substantial part of my fee after submitting this statement to your insurance company. I have partnered with Reimbursify for clients to easily submit claims for out-of-network health insurance reimbursement at no cost for my practice.
Please call your insurance company to verify you have out-of-network coverage for outpatient mental health services. Some questions to ask when you call are:
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Do I have out-of-network mental health benefits?
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Is there a yearly deductible? How much is it and has it been met for this year?
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How many sessions per year does my plan cover?
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What is the covered amount per therapy session?
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Do visits require a pre-authorization or a referral from my PCP?
Some clients prefer to pay privately for their therapy, even if they would be eligible for reimbursement, because health insurance companies require a mental health diagnosis to be assigned to the client in order to reimburse for services. Insurance companies may also dictate how often and for how long a client can be seen in therapy. I'm happy to discuss any questions and reservations you may have about using insurance vs. paying privately, and will help you decide what's best for you.
Cancellation Policy
A notice of 24 hours minimum is required for all cancelled or rescheduled appointments.
