Knowing you want to hit the send button, but there’s fear of what comes next.
01 / MY PROCESSMy Therapy Process in Iowa City
Starting therapy is easier when you know what to expect. Here is how we work together, from the first conversation to your last session.
02 / Step by stepWhat happens after you reach out
Step 1Ask for a free consultation
Fill out the form on my contact page. I will respond to that contact form via email within a few business days. We set up a 15-minute talk by phone, by video, or in person. You let me know what has been going on, and I let you know how I can help.
Step 2Decide together
If I am the right fit for your work or not. I will tell you early on, and if I am not the best fit, I will help you find the clinician who is. If we are a good fit, we book your first session.
Step 3Before your first session
I send you an intake packet via a secure email link. These intake forms allow me to get the clearest picture of the work we need to do. You can also ask for a Good Faith Estimate before we start.
Step 4Your first session
Each session runs 53-minutes, usually once a week. The first session can look vastly different for each client, as it is a session all about history taking, resourcing, and building the plan for our future work together.
Step 5Step 6Finishing therapy
Therapy usually ends when you decide it does. The reason I say this is because therapy can be an ever expanding experiencing leading to more and more development to pursue. However, a checkpoint I share with my clients is when they are no longer meeting criteria for the issue they came into therapy for. This can feel like a natural place to end. Also, once a client, always a client, so please never worry about finishing up a chapter of therapy and then not being able to come back. I like to leave the door open, just in case.
03 / How I WorkFour approaches, matched to what you bring
For memories that still hit as though they happened last week, whether from a single shock or from years of it. A trauma treatment with decades of research behind it.
Practical skills for handling strong emotions, riding out a crisis without making it worse, and keeping your relationships steadier.
For the parts of you that pull in opposite directions, and for the moments you feel detached from your body or your surroundings, which is called dissociation.
For the patterns you built early to get through childhood, which still shape how you connect with the people closest to you.
04 / The logisticsWhat it costs and how long it takes
I do not bill insurance, so you and I decide how your care goes. No insurance company sets a limit on the sessions you get.
You can still ask your insurer to pay you back. I will give you a superbill, which is an itemized receipt you send to them yourself.
You can also ask for a Good Faith Estimate before we start, and the No Surprises Act gives you the right to one. It lists what your care is likely to cost.
How long therapy takes is different for every client. One clear goal may take a handful of sessions, and patterns you have carried since childhood can take longer. I will give you my thoughts after the first few sessions, rather than a firm number on day one.
Free
Free Consultation
A relaxed, 15-minute talk about what you need and whether we fit. By phone, by video, or in person.
$185
Therapy Sessions
Weekly 53-minute sessions shaped around your needs, in Iowa City or by telehealth in Iowa and North Carolina.
From $275 an Hour
Private Practice Consulting
For therapists at any stage, from opening a practice to running an established one.
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05 / The First StepStart with a free 15-minute consultation
By phone, by video or in person. You say what has been going on, I tell you how I work. We both get a sense of whether we fit.