FAQ

Emotions can be complex and confusing, especially distressing emotions like anxiety, anger, grief, sadness, jealousy, and fear. Understanding and effectively regulating emotions requires a safe space for exploration, curiosity, and awareness. 

In therapy we will foster opportunities for you to learn to see and accept yourself for who you are unconditionally. I trust your internal wisdom and believe you deserve to live fully without exhaustion, shame, guilt, and resentment. 

My approach fosters self-compassion to help free you of the societal expectations that lead to burnout, disconnecting from your body, anxiety, low self-esteem, and distrusting your own gut. When you learn to recognize your own strengths, instead of being held back by shame, you can set healthy limits in your relationships; develop balance between work, life, rest and play; foster creativity; and strengthen your intuition. 

Not only can I help you find concrete solutions to manage your symptoms, but also help you cope and navigate through the negative thoughts and feelings that your symptoms create. Through a detailed analysis of your everyday struggles, we will work together to find the hidden hurdles that block your way to success. Once those hurdles are discovered, we will devise concrete, individualized, and hands-on solutions to help you overcome them.

Each week in therapy we will look at what did and did not work and further tailor the solutions to meet your needs. Additionally, these weekly (or sometimes twice a week) meetings will provide accountability and externalized motivation, which help people stay on track.

**If you are struggling with ADHD traits, it is important to understand that ADHD is a performance issue, not a knowledge issue.  You know what you need to do, you just have a hard time doing it. And while that general tenant is true for most people with ADHD, the exact nature of the performance issue is highly unique and individual. Therapy helps you figure out exactly what gets in your way and come up with ways around those specific difficulties.

While we work on these concrete solutions, the emotional ramifications of your symptoms are likely to surface. This live, present moment experience, provides an optimal environment to address and process these feelings in the moment, rather than just being recalled from previous experience.

By addressing both the emotional and the concrete aspects of ADHD I can help you find solutions that create long-term change and success.

Therapy will help you work more effectively so that you are not wasting your efforts. You may spend a lot of time procrastinating and avoiding work and so it feels like you need twice as much time to complete a task. You may also be doing things that are relaxing, but never feel restored by them because you spend that time worried about all of the things you are not getting done. Therapy will allow you to work more effectively- so that you can complete your tasks, and prioritize time for things you enjoy without all of the stress. 

In this 20-minute meeting, we'll explore if we are a good fit based on my skills, your goals, and our personalities. We'll talk about why you are seeking services, I'll tell you a bit about my therapy style, and get a chance to see how we work together. I’ll tell you a bit about my practice and answer any questions you have (about me, therapy, my practice, payment, etc.) talk about concerns, and really dig into whether this is the environment to help you heal. If for some reason I’m not the right fit for what you’re looking for, I’m happy to help you through the process of finding someone who is the perfect fit for you.

Therapy is a relationship, and just like relationships in your personal life, feeling comfortable is essential.  If we determine this will be an effective partnership, we’ll schedule an initial assessment. 

Your initial session includes a Comprehensive Psychiatric Evaluation and Assessment. I will also ask you more questions in this session than others. This is so I can learn more about what makes you, you—both in the past and present. This session is also when we will begin to explore goals you have for treatment, the vision you have for your life during and after therapy, and how I can be most helpful in our work together. 

I am a neurodivergent and queer therapist, parent, and advocate. 

I am a Certified Clinical ADHD Specialist (ADHD-CCSP), and I am in the process of finalizing a certification as an Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical Specialist  (ASDCS) . I am knowledgeable of current research on how ADHD and Autism presents differently than we once believed, and what diagnoses can look like across a variety of populations. I engage in regular training, instruction, supervision, and consultation, which allow me the privilege to provide specialized diagnostic evaluations and affirming treatment.

I work with folks who are diagnosed late-in-life with ADHD and Autism; those experiencing anxiety, stress, burnout, organizational trauma; and people with Queer identities. 

My approach fosters self-compassion and challenges societal/neurotypical/ableist expectations that lead to burnout, disconnection from your body, anxiety, low self-esteem, and distrusting your own gut. 

 I am committed to creating a safe, supportive, and nonjudgmental therapeutic connection where you can choose to be fully emotionally, physically, and mentally vulnerable. I fiercely remove unnecessary barriers and gatekeeping to affirming and competent evaluations and therapy. 

I embody Neurodivergent Affirming Therapy (NAT). NAT is a form of therapy designed to empower neurodivergent individuals using a holistic approach. NAT fosters an environment of acceptance and understanding, is grounded in research and clinical practice tailored to the needs of each client, views the client as an active participant in the therapy process, and seeks to nurture the client's strengths and skills. I am trained/certified in many therapeutic interventions and will often pull on some of these techniques while bringing in other areas of focus that are important to each individual client.

Many therapists work only with one aspect of AuDHD treatment- either they focus on solutions or they deal with the emotional ramifications of the disorder. I have the ability and the experience to effectively deal with both in a way that respects their impact and importance. I concentrate on hands-on techniques to help you find strategies to help your symptoms; and I also discuss, process and address the emotions that come along with them. By working on both of these aspects of the AuDHD picture you can find greater peace and success more quickly and reliably. 

My practice is solely tele-health. 

Online therapy is all about accessibility, convenience, and privacy. 

I provide all of my services over a secure video tele-therapy platform and use a HIPAA compliant practice software that allows for secure messaging, a patient portal, electronic health records, and patient initiated booking of appointments. 

My services are currently available for adult residents of, or those in, New York, USA. 

I have chosen not to participate with insurance panels, which means I am not considered an "in-network" provider. As a result, I do not file claims or accept direct payment from insurance companies.

This decision is rooted in my belief in practicing therapy from a holistic and collaborative standpoint. With insurance, there is an expectation that therapy will be focused and centered around treating a specific diagnosis. This is especially problematic for my practice, because insurance expects therapy to cure people from ADHD and Autism. I recognize that neurodivergence by itself is not a flaw or illness that needs to be "fixed" or corrected, and that a framework that prioritizes curing ADHD and Autism is rooted in ableism.  

It is understandable that after paying the huge fees that insurance charges, you would want to use it to pay for all of your medical treatment and while that is often a good option for physical issues it is more nuanced for mental issues. The pros of using insurance are obvious. 

However it is important to consider the cons before making your decision:

• DIAGNOSIS: In order for an insurance company to pay for mental health treatment they you must have a mental health diagnosis; which is causing significant functional impairment. This rules out many people who have subclinical issues or who are looking for therapy for coping, relationship issue or coaching.

• LOSS OF CONFIDENTIALITY: One of the biggest concerns with using insurance is the possibility of losing confidentiality. When insurance is billed they gather information including what your diagnosis is, what type of treatment you are receiving, if you have shown improvement and when your symptoms began. Additionally, insurance companies can audit your records and have full access to all of the details of your treatment including progress notes, which include what occurred during a therapy session. Insurance claims pass through many people while being processed and each of these people has access to all of that information. Confidentiality is a cornerstone of the therapy process and this type of access, while easy to overlook, undermines that vital building block.

• SPECIALIZATION: When a clinician accepts insurance they, by nature of their contract with the insurance company cannot specialize. They are required to take any client for whom they accept their insurance if they have an opening even if that client’s issues are outside of their area of expertise. This is similar to going to see your primary care physician to treat your heart disease. Sure, they could have some ideas of what is going on and give you some good directions for treatment but would they have all the best tools to diagnose and treat you?

• LOSS OF CONTROL OF TREATMENT: When you use an in-network provider the insurance company gets to dictate how many sessions they will cover and therefore how your therapy progresses. This is usually determined ahead of time and is not based on need. Often the insurance company’s goal is to get you out of crisis and back to minimal functioning. Truly effective treatment which not only restores functioning to improves your quality of life is very rarely, if ever, covered.

• WAIT TIME / THERAPIST SELECTION: Unfortunately because of all of the issues outlined above as well as the logistical hurdles that accepting insurance as an in-network provider creates, many therapists do not accept insurance. This creates a supply and demand issue, which then causes people to have limited choice in therapists and have to wait for an incredibly long time for a first appointment. Given how hard it can be to make that first step to get help and how important it is to find a good fit with a therapist, this is extremely unfair to clients and causes significant further distress during an already difficult time.

I prioritize treating you as an individual with evolving needs. I believe this personalized approach aligns better with my professional understanding of mental wellness and promotes autonomy in the therapeutic process.

When we take care of each other, we all thrive! 

"Please thoughtfully consider the value of this service to you, your current level of income (no proof required), and your ability to support a fair price for fellow community members in need. 

Are you in a place of abundance where you can hold and nurture others today? Do you deeply need to lean on others today and recharge your batteries? The amount you pay may change at each appointment. This sliding fee system follows the principles of health insurance, where the healthy help to subsidize costs for the sick, and this allows both equal access to services and sustainable pay for the practitioner. Thank you for making the countercultural choice to support this practice!" - Anonymous Bodywork Practitioner, Minneapolis MN

Standard Plus Pricing: Pay for you and a little more for someone else.

• Choose this option if you have ample resources to pay the standard rate and a little more to help those in our community with fewer resources.

• Pay for yourself and a little more for someone else ($160+ for ongoing individual therapy)

Standard Pricing: Pay for the full fee for yourself. 

• Choose this option in you have adequate resources and can pay in-full for yourself.

Initial: $200 

Ongoing: $140

Equity Pricing: Pay an accessible fee. 

• Choose this option if you have limited resources and can benefit from community support.

• Pay as low as $100

**For more information on this model check out the Green Bottle by the brilliant Herbalist Alexis J. Cunningfolk.

I believe it is very important for my clients to understand how their health insurance benefits work so they can make informed decisions and advocate for their own care.

If your insurance plan offers OON benefits, I have partnered with Thrizer and Mentaya— two platforms that can help you understand your benefits and use your OON coverage. 

Mentaya submits claims for you, so all you have to do is wait for your insurance reimbursement checks to arrive in the mail or direct deposited into your bank account.

For individuals, Thrizer works by acting as a payment method that links with your health insurance to verify how much your insurance will cover for out-of-network therapy. With Thrizer, you only pay your responsibility for your sessions and they will cover the rest of the fee and wait for reimbursement on your behalf.

‍If you prefer to contact your insurance company and inquire about your OON benefits these following questions will help you to determine your benefits.  

• Do I have mental health out of network insurance benefits?

• Will CPT codes 90791 and 90837 be covered?

• What is my deductible and has it been met?

•  What percentage will I be reimbursed when I meet my deductible?

• Do my benefits cover tele-health sessions?

• Is there a limit to the number of sessions I can receive in a calendar year?