What to Expect
A Typical Session
Our first session will involve an evaluation of your needs. I will be able to offer you an initial assessment with a treatment plan. You should weigh these recommendations along with your assessment of our working relationship to reach your goals. Therapy involves a large commitment of time, money and energy, so you should feel comfortable with the therapist you select. If you have questions about my procedures or policies, we should discuss them whenever they arise. If your doubts persist, I will be happy to refer you for a second opinion. You also have the right to terminate therapy at any time.
Meetings
My normal practice is to initially conduct an evaluation/assessment lasting 45 minutes.
At this time, I also appreciate any documents/labs/reports from a referring physician or teacher etc. to assure that treatment gains are transferable and helpful outside of therapy. If after the initial assessment, you feel like a workable treatment plan has been established then I typically schedule appointments ahead of time for several meetings so that patients can plan ahead. Most often, I treat patients from 7:00 am to 5:30 pm Monday through Friday. It is difficult to predict length of treatment without an initial assessment but most of my patients require 6 to 10 visits for lasting results. Other more significant diagnoses with medical complications may initially require more intensive treatment with some ongoing maintenance every month or two.
Whenever children/adolescents are the focus of therapy, I select a flexible paradigm so that parents can provide input while allowing their child to process changes autonomously. In addition, I welcome spouses and or grown children when valuable in promoting workable resolutions for my adult patients.