FAQ

I am located in Raleigh, North Carolina in the Brier Creek area, however all of my sessions are currently online via Telehealth Video. I have lived in Portland, Oregon and Charleston, South Carolina in the past. I am licensed to see clients in North Carolina, Oregon, Washington and South Carolina.

Individual Therapy: $150.00 per 45-Minute Session. $175.00 per 55-Minute Session

Couples Therapy: $200.00 per 50-Minute Session*

*Along with couples therapy is a 1x $39 fee to take the relationship assessment on Gottman Connect not covered by insurance. Fee covers the assessment of both partners.

Aetna, Cigna, and Optum (United). If you have a different insurance, I am also happy to check your out of network reimbursement benefits or you can check them yourself here. Many folks don’t realize they have some out of network therapy coverage once a certain deductible is met. In order to use insurance a diagnosis must be made that will go on your permanent medical record. In order to use insurance for couples therapy, clients using their insurance must get a diagnosis and a goal of therapy must be in support of that diagnosis.

Specific Optum Plans Accepted:

• UnitedHealthcare
• UnitedHealthcare Shared Services (UHSS)
• GEHA – UnitedHealthcare Shared Services (UHSS)
• Oscar
• Harvard Pilgrim
• Oxford
• UHC Student Resources
• UMR
• All Savers (UHC)
• Health Plans Inc
• Medica (Eligible if policy is commercial only)
• Surest (Formerly Bind)
• Optum Emotional Wellbeing Solution (Premium EAP)
• Optum Live & Work Well (EAP)

Specific Aetna Plans Accepted:

• Meritain
• Nippon
• Allied Benefit Systems
• GEHA – United Healthcare Shared Services (UHSS)
• Trustmark
• Trustmark Small Business Benefits
• Health Scope
• Christian Brothers Services

I don’t. However, the following are potential resources that do offer sliding scale, low fee and no fee therapy services for folks who have low or no income:

• Open Path Collective is a search engine with all low fee sliding scale therapist options.
• Community Counseling Centers run by Professional Counseling or Marriage & Family Therapy Graduate Masters Degree programs. You can often find these on college websites, offering student therapists in training. Here are a few by state:
  • For Oregon Residents:
    • Lewis & Clark College
    • Portland State University
  • For Washington Residents:
    • Antioch University Seattle
    • Western Washington University
  • For South Carolina Residents:
    • University of South Carolina
    • Winthrop University
  • For North Carolina Residents:
    • North Carolina State University
    • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Therapist Search Engines: Make sure to click “sliding scale” in the website search filters.
  • Psychology Today
  • TherapyDen
  • For Oregon Residents: Portland Therapy Center
• Sign up for your state’s medicaid program, as therapy services are usually fully covered. Sign-Up Links Here:
  • Oregon Medicaid: Oregon Health Plan
  • Washington Medicaid
  • North Carolina Medicaid
  • South Carolina Medicaid: Healthy Connections
• Some agencies and private practices have graduate student interns in training who offer low or no fee therapy sessions. If you find a practice you really want to work with, you could try asking if they have any discounted services available.

Scroll to the bottom of this page and fill out the contact form and submit. We will reach out to set up a free 20-minute phone call consultation to see if I am a good fit for your therapy needs.

Age 20 and up. Adults Exclusively.

It is important that you get the therapy support that makes sense for the stressors you are experiencing. I am most competent to work with Anxiety, ADHD, LGBTQ+, and Couples Therapy.

Outside of these areas, I’d be happy to provide referrals. If you are looking for any of the following as main reasons you are coming to therapy, you may need more specialized therapy support: severe depression, personality disorders, substance use, eating disorders, PTSD, severe trauma, domestic violence, sexual abuse, family therapy, adolescent therapy. You deserve to get competent therapy support.

A great way to find therapists who offer these specialties is to go to Psychology Today or Therapy Den, and select the specialties you are looking for in the search filters.

We start with a few intake sessions where I ask a lot of assessment questions to find out more about your background and current experiences. This includes mental health history, relationship/family background, communication styles, recent and past experiences that have affected you, and more.

Then, I apply a combination on techniques based on what makes sense for what you are going through.  This can include validating and normalizing your experiences, sharing helpful tools and techniques, and sharing new perspectives to consider. In between sessions, I offer resources, videos, and activities to help assist in your growth.My main therapeutic tool is the relationship we build, providing a safe space for sharing and vulnerability.

You will know when you are getting to a better place overall or in specific areas.  You will report to me changes you are noticing and I will report to you changes I’m noticing in sessions. On average, most clients notice a shift by around 12 sessions on average or 3 months into therapy. But this varies depending on may factors unique to you, your background and current circumstances.

Yes. I am trained in intercultural communication, which helps inform my interactions with various cultural backgrounds. However, I recognize I do not know everything about every way to be. I do my best to be sensitive to whatever your cultural background is and seek consultation when I need to know more, as I don’t expect you to teach me. I also am not perfect and welcome you to call me out on any blind spots that may come up.

I work with all gender identities and sexual orientations. I focus mainly on the LGBTQ+ community, though all are welcome.

I have a Masters in Marriage, Couples, and Family Therapy from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. During my time in graduate school, I also received a certificate in Ecopsychology, which informs how to integrate nature and the environment into therapy support.

I am Gottman Couples Therapy Level 1 & 2 Certified, which integrates 30 years of relationship research & techniques into our therapy work together. I have also received training in Intercultural Communication, CBT, Internal Family Systems, LGBTQ+ & BIPOC Competency, and Nature Therapy Interventions. For the full extent of my background through my Curriculum Vitae, click here.

Evaluation of your therapy needs will inform which therapeutic modalities I include in our work together. Some of the main modalities I focus on in individual therapy are Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), ADHD Skill-building, Psycho-education, Humanistic Therapy, and Ecotherapy. The main therapy modalities I use with couples are Gottman and Intercultural Communication.

Canceling in under 48 hours or not showing up to session will result in being charged the full session fee.