Do you accept insurance?
Do you accept insurance?
Yes! I accept Aetna and Optum plans, both of which have a number of plans underneath them such as United Healthcare, Oscar, and Oxford. View the full list here.
What if I’m out-of-network?
If you are in a financial position to pay out of pocket, here are my rates. If you have out-of-network coverage on your insurance plan, you may qualify for reimbursement.
What is an intake?
Intakes are our first session together, and they are typically 60 minutes. Prior to the appointment, you’ll fill out an intake interview where you’ll answer a series of questions that help me get to know you more to guide our sessions together and help identify goals. During the appointment we’ll go over your answers and I might ask you to talk more about or clarify something. To be clear, there are no “wrong” answers! This is just so I can begin to understand who you are.
How long are sessions and how frequent?
Most clients choose weekly 45-50 minute sessions. This can increase to twice a week if you’re going through a time where you need more support, or decrease to every other week or even monthly once you’re in a space where you are feeling like you have the skills and support outside of session to start transitioning out of therapy. This process is different for everyone and there are no rules about when you should be “done”.
What types of therapy do you offer?
I have a foundation in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which has its place, but I also recognize its limitations. I also practice and am Certified in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for clients wanting to work through trauma, and have a certificate in Somatic Embodiment, which allows for a deeper connection to listening and responding to the body's reactions to things like anxiety, stress, and trauma. I practice all of these from a trauma-informed and strengths-based lens, meaning I am not here to "fix" anyone. I am here to guide and assist you in tapping into the ability you already have to heal.
How do you your clients describe you?
My clients describe me as warm, understanding, and patient; they tell me they look forward to our sessions so they can be themselves. Often the time we work together is the only time in their week where they can be their most honest. I feel honored to be able to hold that space for my clients while encouraging them to find a community where they can experience being their authentic selves outside of our sessions. I also deeply believe that there is room for humor and silliness in sessions sometimes! Did your cat just shove their face in the screen? Amazing. Did you just describe your week to me using a series of memes? Incredible. There’s room for the whole spectrum of emotions in our sessions.
My last therapist never let me talk too much about what was going on in the world and I always had to focus on myself as an individual. Will I be allowed to talk about these things with you?
100% yes. Therapy is political. Your identity is political. The job you have, the money you spend, everything is connected to the world outside of ourselves. We have all been shaped, stressed, threatened, or upset in some way by the place we live and the policies of the state. Forcing someone to keep those separate from their mental health work is unfair, potentially harmful, and in my opinion, in direct opposition to the process of therapy.
How do you engage in decolonization/liberation as a therapist?
First by understanding how steeped in colonization (read: white) the field of psychology is and has been since its founding. I had to unlearn (and continue this examine/re-examine process through my life) a great deal of biases and automatic thoughts/ideas I had about being a therapist and a big part of that was dismantling the idea of me being an expert. The client will always be the expert in their own life. I have learned so much through simply listening to my clients about their lives, their history, and their cultures. This also means rejection of pathology and placing blame on the client for what has happened to them, and instead helping them understand how much of our suffering is due to the state and our environment. This means holding space for that grief, while being sure to center healing over “fixing”. This liberates us from these old, medical models of "treatment" and allows space for expansion, joy, and growth.
Can I eat/walk/stand up/stretch/take a bathroom break during session?
Absolutely! Have a snack, eat a meal, drink some tea! Step away for the restroom when you need to! You’re a human being and most of us need to move around a little during a 45-60 minute time frame. Stretching and moving around can be an effective way of releasing anxious energy, or a way to ground when feeling activated by a traumatic memory. Above all, take care of yourself.
Why do you only offer virtual therapy?
First off, rent is expensive! Staying virtual keeps my overhead costs low, which means I can do things like offer more sliding-scale spots, and more easily afford Secondly, and more importantly to me, we are still in a global pandemic, and never left it. As a clinician with a chronic illness who takes immunosuppressing medication, this is the safest way for me to provide therapy in my community where transmission rates remain high according to wastewater data. Access in therapy is critically important to me, and I want to be able to provide a safe space for myself and my clients who may also be immunocompromised, or are a caretaker for someone at an increased risk, and for perfectly healthy people who I don’t want to get sick either! Until I have a space with things like the latest HVAC system, HEPA filters, and UVC devices for an office, plus a way to ensure accessible testing and treatment for my clients, I will remain virtual to do my part in preventing the spread of this dangerous virus. My unwavering opinion is that virtual therapy is disability justice in action.
I don't live in Philadelphia, but I do live in PA. Can we still work together?
Yes! I am licensed to provide therapy across Pennsylvania.