Frequently Asked Questions

How do you determine the best therapy for my child?

Therapy is not “one size fits all.” 

After our initial consultation call, the next meeting is the intake evaluation, which is conducted over one or two sessions. During the evaluation, I learn more about your child’s developmental, medical, family, educational, social, and mental health history. I also conduct a comprehensive review of their current mental health symptoms to ensure that I have a full understanding of their presenting concerns. At the end of the evaluation session, I provide a preliminary diagnosis.

Following the evaluation, I discuss treatment goals with parents and/or the youth and share my recommendations for the treatment approach that I think will be most helpful in achieving those goals. This is always a collaborative process. An approach that parents or patients don’t agree with will not work!  

How Do you involve parents in their child’s therapy?

It’s important for caregivers to be involved in their child’s therapy, especially for younger children. I include parents through a mix of parent-focused sessions, parent-child dyadic sessions, and parent check-ins at the start or end of child-focused sessions. Generally, the older the child the more time I spend working with them 1-on-1. For children under 7, I involve caregivers in all sessions.

Is Telehealth Right for My Child?

Telehealth (therapy delivered through video) can be just as effective as in-person therapy, but it depends on the child and their presenting concern.

In my experience, telehealth is not suitable for children under 8 years old. I also do not recommend telehealth for individuals with unmedicated ADHD or youth who lack access to a private space and stable internet connection. That said, many kids and teens have benefitted from telehealth and find telehealth appointments easier to fit into busy schedules.

I offer both telehealth and in-person appointments. During our consultation call, we can discuss which is most appropriate for your child.

How Long Does Therapy Last?

Therapy for children and teens generally takes about 15-20 sessions of weekly therapy. However, it is very common for therapy to take less or more time than the range above. More concerns and diagnoses mean more time is needed because there is more to address in therapy. In addition, since older teens often undergo multiple life transitions, they can prefer and benefit from an ongoing therapeutic relationship.

Other factors that can make therapy take longer: the patient is resistant to being in therapy, multiple missed sessions due to travel or emergencies, high distractibility in session due to ADHD, external stressors on the family. 

My goal is to provide effective therapy that gets patients and families back to their regular routines in a reasonable timeframe. 

Do You Accept My Insurance?

Currently, I am only accepting new patients with Aetna insurance.

For all other insurances, I am an out-of-network (OON) provider.

It is important to know that many insurance companies provide OON benefits for therapy sessions. This means that you can pay the full fee of your therapy session up front and then ask your insurance company for reimbursement of a portion of that fee. I provide “superbills” that allow you to seek this reimbursement.

The only way to know what OON benefits your insurance plan offers is by calling and asking them directly.