I am located in the beautiful community of Verrado in Buckeye, Arizona.  I sublet an office within the Majestic Beauty Spa, Suite A104 in the white Jackson building located across from CVS Pharmacy.

It is completely normal to be nervous about your first therapy session; everyone is.  It’s not easy to talk to a stranger about some of your most personal and private thoughts and feelings.  I also consider it brave, and a sign that you are ready and willing to step out of your comfort zone in order to feel whole again.  I get that therapy can feel scary initially, and that’s why I’m committed to making sure you feel comfortable, safe, seen, heard, and accepted by the end of the first session.  You will walk out of our first meeting feeling understood and with a greater sense of hope and comfort, maybe for the first time in a while.

The length of sessions for a traditional therapy hour is 50 minutes

I offer counseling sessions Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays.

$150.  Payment is due at the time of service.  I accept cash, debit or credit cards, Flexible Spending Account (FSA) card or Health Savings Account (HSA) cards, and checks.  Cards will be processed through my online HIPAA-secure practice management platform.

I am credentialed with Medicare only and have only a few reserved spots for Medicare clients.  I am considered an out-of-network provider with other insurance panels. 

As an out-of-network provider, I do not bill insurance directly, however, I can provide each of my clients with a monthly superbill (a receipt of payment) they can submit to their insurance company for potential reimbursement, or it may be applied to their deductible, depending on their plan. 

If this is something you are interested in, I recommend calling your insurance provider and asking about your out-of-network benefits and deductible.  

During the pandemic, I chose to get credentialed with one insurance panel, so that I could make myself more accessible to more people.  It was not a good experience. 

After a year of spending countless hours on the phone trying to get payment and justifying treatment decisions to non-clinical insurance representatives, I felt exhausted, overwhelmed, and frustrated by the system and its restraints.  By the way, an exhausted and overwhelmed therapist does not make a great therapist (or mom or wife or friend)!  For me, this was a problem, because I strive to be an excellent therapist and to go above and beyond for my clients.  

As a client that goes through insurance for psychotherapy, it is important to note that insurance companies require therapists to give a diagnosis in order to receive coverage.  If you don’t meet the criteria for a DSM diagnosis, you don’t qualify for coverage. 

Perhaps you want to come in to work on particular issues such as stress management, boundaries, communication, relationship conflict, or self-care.  You probably won’t meet the criteria for a psychological disorder, so you won’t qualify for coverage. 

Also, if you are given a diagnosis, that diagnosis and the dates and length of your psychological treatment are recorded and could follow you if you pursue jobs in the military, certain government positions, or when you apply to certain professional schools. 

Even life insurance underwriters will often consider the psychological history of their clients when determining their policies.  For further information please read this article I discovered online that further explains problems with privacy and confidentiality when insurance is included in your psychological treatment.   https://www.envisionwellness.co/why-i-no-longer-accept-insurance/

I work in the master-planned community of Verrado.  It is full of beautiful trails, desert hikes, and sidewalks.  We can determine the pace and route together.  Clients and I usually begin and end outside my office if we are walking sidewalks and local trails. 

For those wanting to hike into the desert, we meet at the top of one of the many trailheads 5 minutes from my office.  It is always a great idea to wear comfortable shoes and bring water.  There is also a great coffee shop across the street from my office for those early morning walks!

It is hot in Arizona during the summer months!  During the summer, I do mostly virtual and office therapy.  As soon as the mornings and evenings cool off, I schedule walks in the early morning hours and later evening hours. 

If you are interested, please inquire about these options when we chat. 

Everyone is different and has different needs, experiences, and histories when they begin therapy.  I believe this is your journey, and with my support, you can determine what frequency best meets your needs and budget. 

If a client is in crisis, I will suggest meeting weekly in order to stabilize the situation. Once the crisis has resolved, we move to a frequency of bi-weekly and later monthly. 

Ethically, a therapist shouldn’t promote a codependent relationship with their clients.  I want my clients to feel better as soon as possible and to feel empowered to take control of their lives with the coping strategies and tools they’ve learned in therapy. 

Once clients “graduate” from seeing me on a regular basis, they will often check in from time to time when life gets messy for a “tune-up,” similar to routinely seeing their physician for a check-up.  Let’s remember, mental health is just as important as physical health, and they are inextricably linked!