Frequently Asked Questions

I offer a range of therapeutic services on a per session basis (session length: 50 minutes).

My session rate is $165.00.

Evaluation and assessments: $165.00 her hour plus the cost of testing materials and scoring.

Testimony in court: $475.00 per hour. Billable time includes travel to and from the venue as well as time spent at the venue.

I have office hours Tuesday - Friday 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM

Saturdays 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM (double sessions only)

With each new client there is an average of five hours of work spent outside of session preparing your treatment. This time includes coordination with other professionals, building your treatment plan, communicating with other involved parties (i.e. parents, partners, probation officers, lawyers, social services, etc.), and gathering necessary background information. This out-of-session work does dwindle over time, but it never disappears completely. The 50 minutes you spend in session with me is not the only time I spend on your behalf. However, the primary reason I charge what I do is far simpler. I’ve been doing this for 28 years and over that time have figured out what I do well. What I do well is help people make changes and overcome difficult challenges. From day one, I bring every bit of my personal and professional experience, education, and training and put it to work on your behalf. There is no shortage of therapists in Denver and you’ll find some who charge less for a variety of reasons. I charge what I charge because the services I provide ultimately are worth it.

No, and here’s why: For some time most of the major insurance companies have closed their panels to therapists working in the Denver Metro area. In this sense, I couldn’t accept insurance even if I wanted to. But the primary reason I choose not to work with insurance companies has nothing to do with their panels or their ridiculously onerous paperwork requirements and everything to do with the quality of your care. Your mental health care should be determined in partnership between you and your therapist. In order to use your insurance for mental health benefits, I would have to disclose to your carrier information about your care that I believe is best kept confidential. In addition to assigning you a diagnosis for billing purposes, I often have to also disclose information about your treatment progress and provide periodic updates regarding your care. And while it’s true that protection exists for how this information is supposed to be used (i.e. HIPPA), exactly how this information “follows' ' a person around once it’s been disclosed has not been made sufficiently clear. In order to use insurance for mental health benefits, the carrier not only requires me to disclose this sensitive and deeply personal information, the insurance company also sets the number of sessions you receive. Therapy should not be a game of “name that tune” where a person who knows nothing about who you and what you’re dealing with uses an actuarial table to determine how many sessions you need. I will protect your privacy and do not want your mental health information to follow you around.

If you have insurance with out-of-network benefits, I am happy to provide you with a superbill or 3rd party-billing sheet (a more detailed receipt with the basic information required for you to submit to your insurance company). However, I encourage everyone to educate themselves about exactly how your carrier utilizes your clinical information and then decide for yourself whether or not to proceed.

This is such a natural and perfectly appropriate question to ask, and yet due to the unique circumstance of each person and family, a firm answer is difficult to provide without knowing more about your situation. The length of each session is 50 minutes but the length of treatment is determined by the seriousness of the issues we’re dealing with, the kind of therapy we’re doing, and by how hard you are willing to work between sessions. I ask new clients to consider making at least a three-session investment initially. By the end of that third session, I will have a handle on what needs to be addressed and will be able to give you a more responsible estimate of how long your treatment will take. Knowing this, therapy should have distinct beginning and ending points. The goal is to make me irrelevant in your life as quickly as possible.

Again, much of this answer will depend on your situation and the kind of therapy required. I recommend that you consider coming at least once per week for the first three weeks. This gives us the opportunity to get to know one another and establish some momentum. Once you and I have had a chance to build a solid relationship, it may not be necessary for you to come in as frequently. People typically come to sessions more frequently in the beginning (one to two times per week) and then gradually come less frequently (once to twice per month) as things stabilize and improve. We have excellent data showing “brief” or solution-based therapy can be effective. Brief therapy is generally considered to be between eight and twenty sessions and is focused on a specific problem, challenge or desired change. For a person(s) who is both highly motivated and willing to put in the work between sessions, therapy can progress faster.

I provide cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). CBT can be used when there is a pattern of unwanted behavior accompanied by some kind of impaired or distorted thinking. EMDR is a commonly used treatment for people who have experienced trauma but also have useful application in addictions. CBT and EMDR are not mutually exclusive, though it’s best to stick to one kind of therapy in each session.

That’s perfectly fine. I don’t expect your teen to want to come to therapy and neither should you. And while not wanting to come to therapy is understandable it also shouldn’t be a reason for you to not send them. When an adolescent or young adult says they are interested in treatment, it’s a bonus and it’s generally best to strike while the iron is hot and capitalize on that interest. But if you intend to wait until your teen wants to come to therapy, you might be in for a long wait. Even if your teen says the only reason they are coming to meet with me is because you are making them, that’s fine. Don’t argue with them about having a better sounding motivation or more positive attitude, just get them through my door. Your job as a parent is to get your teen to my office. It’s my job to get them interested in coming back. However, keep in mind that a parent who want’s their teen in therapy doesn’t always means the teen needs therapy. Sometimes, we as parents are the ones who need to see a therapist. Having a teen too focused on their inner world is a pathway to anxiety. There’s a balance in all of this, but these are dynamics to keep in mind.

This might be the most important question of all. If you’re a parent looking to find a therapist for your teen and family, the right fit should be your first priority. Someone you and your teen can trust is essential and the only way we’ll know this for sure is to come in for a visit. I offer free in-person consultations between 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM (these can also be accomplished on the phone or via video conference). These meetings last 15 to 30 minutes and are extremely useful ways of determining the right fit. However, if a consultation isn’t an option, then your best bet is to schedule an initial session. Once we begin working together, it will quickly become apparent if it’s the right fit or if we need to find another option. There is good data to suggest that the strength of the therapeutic relationship (the “fit”) by the end of the third session is a strong indicator of successful client outcome. If we start working together and later find out that it’s not the right fit, I will help you find someone who is a better option.

No. I actually work with people of all ages and with all kinds of different issues. I specialize in teens, young adults and their parents, but I work with a variety of individuals who are trying to make difficult changes in their lives. I also specialize in working with couples in distressed relationships or who just want to learn the skills and tool that make relationships last. I also work with men wanting to “get better at relationships”.