FAQs
1. Do you accept insurance?
Yes. I am only in-network for a small number of insurances. Out-of-network insurance is likely to cover significantly less of the cost of treatment. Generally insurance does not cover more than one session per week. Policies vary greatly. You should check the extent of your mental health benefits including your annual deductible and copay per session.
2. What can I expect when I come for my first visit?
I start by asking you about your current symptoms, concerns and goals, including what triggered your call. From there we proceed to a wide ranging discussion that may include your history of difficulties, your functioning in various settings and relationships, and your experience growing up
We begin with a mutual assessment. You get to know me and decide whether you want to work together. I get to know you and to understand the nature of your difficulties. After two or three visits I give you feedback about my understanding and my recommendations for treatment.
3. What types of patients or problems are best suited to your practice?
I see a tremendous variety of people for a great variety of problems, some of which are listed on my home page. My patients tend to be active in their pursuits, but some are not very active at the start. They are generally eager to understand themselves and to make changes. Not everyone who benefits from therapy begins with a great deal of motivation. Many are discouraged and skeptical. How much motivation do you need to begin? Enough to get you to my door.
4. What is your typical treatment structure?
Typically my patients come for regular 45-minute sessions one to five times weekly. We try to arrange for the same times every week. A regular schedule helps foster an experience of comfort, continuity and dependability, which enhances the potential for dealing with sensitive emotional experience.
5. Do I really need therapy?
A primary purpose of your initial assessment is to determine whether therapy can be helpful. Having read this far you may well be thinking seriously about it, if not for yourself, then for someone you care about. People often find it difficult to consider a consultation. There is a kind of “catch-22” to starting therapy: many who could benefit may be afraid to seek help. For example, a person struggling with feelings of shame may feel threatened by the prospect of revealing herself to a therapist.
6. Why choose therapy when I can try meditation, self-help books, motivational seminars or talking to a friend?
Any and all of these activities might be useful. Generally we continue the same behaviors, attitudes, and patterns of relationship until they fail us. When we recognize we are stuck we look for something to mobilize us. Any of these pursuits might help us get “un-stuck.” What psychotherapy offers is a unique opportunity to explore the deep emotional underpinnings of our ways of experiencing and acting in our world. The consequences of doing so can be profound changes in the way we think, feel and behave that enormously enhance our enjoyment and effectiveness.
7. Why psychoanalytic psychotherapy?
Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is a particular kind of talk therapy based on the establishment of a relationship between patient and therapist marked by trust and empathic understanding. The patient’s experience of his relationship with his therapist is used in several important ways: for direct support and encouragement; for furthering insight and for promoting the development of his capacity for joyful use of his unique creativity.
Yes. I am only in-network for a small number of insurances. Out-of-network insurance is likely to cover significantly less of the cost of treatment. Generally insurance does not cover more than one session per week. Policies vary greatly. You should check the extent of your mental health benefits including your annual deductible and copay per session.
2. What can I expect when I come for my first visit?
I start by asking you about your current symptoms, concerns and goals, including what triggered your call. From there we proceed to a wide ranging discussion that may include your history of difficulties, your functioning in various settings and relationships, and your experience growing up
We begin with a mutual assessment. You get to know me and decide whether you want to work together. I get to know you and to understand the nature of your difficulties. After two or three visits I give you feedback about my understanding and my recommendations for treatment.
3. What types of patients or problems are best suited to your practice?
I see a tremendous variety of people for a great variety of problems, some of which are listed on my home page. My patients tend to be active in their pursuits, but some are not very active at the start. They are generally eager to understand themselves and to make changes. Not everyone who benefits from therapy begins with a great deal of motivation. Many are discouraged and skeptical. How much motivation do you need to begin? Enough to get you to my door.
4. What is your typical treatment structure?
Typically my patients come for regular 45-minute sessions one to five times weekly. We try to arrange for the same times every week. A regular schedule helps foster an experience of comfort, continuity and dependability, which enhances the potential for dealing with sensitive emotional experience.
5. Do I really need therapy?
A primary purpose of your initial assessment is to determine whether therapy can be helpful. Having read this far you may well be thinking seriously about it, if not for yourself, then for someone you care about. People often find it difficult to consider a consultation. There is a kind of “catch-22” to starting therapy: many who could benefit may be afraid to seek help. For example, a person struggling with feelings of shame may feel threatened by the prospect of revealing herself to a therapist.
6. Why choose therapy when I can try meditation, self-help books, motivational seminars or talking to a friend?
Any and all of these activities might be useful. Generally we continue the same behaviors, attitudes, and patterns of relationship until they fail us. When we recognize we are stuck we look for something to mobilize us. Any of these pursuits might help us get “un-stuck.” What psychotherapy offers is a unique opportunity to explore the deep emotional underpinnings of our ways of experiencing and acting in our world. The consequences of doing so can be profound changes in the way we think, feel and behave that enormously enhance our enjoyment and effectiveness.
7. Why psychoanalytic psychotherapy?
Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is a particular kind of talk therapy based on the establishment of a relationship between patient and therapist marked by trust and empathic understanding. The patient’s experience of his relationship with his therapist is used in several important ways: for direct support and encouragement; for furthering insight and for promoting the development of his capacity for joyful use of his unique creativity.