Therapy, like all professional services, is not cheap. There are many reasons why folks decide to seek it. Usually it’s because problems persist, despite all efforts to resolve them. You’re still depressed, your heart is still hurting from a relationship that ended, you can’t get rid of that empty feeling, you and your spouse just can’t get along, etc. In short, you’ve done everything you could to get there on your own and you’re still lost. So, in a way, you’re turning to a psychological GPS. Of course therapy isn’t as cut and dried as Google Maps and the psychic landscape is far more complex and often proves to be quite resistant to understanding. Nevertheless, therapy is worth it because it allows you to make another attempt at what has seemed impossible with someone who does that sort of thing every day. Your partner is someone who isn’t burdened and distracted by the stress and confusion of being in the middle of those problems and whose job it is to help you find your way in a comfortable, collaborative and empowering setting.

I am not on any insurance panels. As you may have already noticed, insurance companies are getting increasingly invasive, asking questions, making suggestions….They are just as nosy about psychotherapy as they are about medical conditions. One of the reasons why I stay outside their networks is because In-Network providers are often required to submit information to the insurance companies to justify the therapy. It often gets into a game of submitting information that makes the patient look “bad” enough to get the insurance company to partake in the process. That paperwork is not required of those clinicians who are out of network. Furthermore, if you pay for therapy out of pocket, it remains truly confidential. When insurance pays part or all of the bill, you’re in their computers and the information from their data base may be accessible to other companies. That being said, I do see a good number of patients whose insurance does pay me as an out-of-network provider. It depends on your policy. Unfortunately, however, deductibles – in all areas, not just psychotherapy – are through the roof right now.

That depends on what you want out of it. The simpler the problem, the more quickly we can take care of it. I often begin and end a psychotherapeutic process in a few months. Other times, it goes on for years. There is a general rule of thumb: As long as the process is active and alive, you’re accomplishing something. When the reasons for you being there have been taken care of and you’re having trouble coming up with material, it generally means you’ve accomplished your mission. The exception to that last statement is what’s referred to as “resistance.” Sometimes a patient will shut down to the process in some way – missing appointments, getting tired in session, not coming up with anything to say – because there’s something difficult there that’s being avoided. That said, however, ultimately, when you decide you’re done, you’re done.

I started doing psychotherapy online with a few patients who wanted to keep working with me but were no longer able to continue seeing me in my office. Honestly, I wondered how effective it would be myself. Having done it for six years, I can tell you honestly that my video patients are among my most rewarding! The work is essentially the same. The facial expressions and other nonverbal behaviors are all there and although those who started out in the office took about 20 minutes to adjust, it has been a resounding success.

Yes, I take Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover.

Yes and no. It is not psychotherapy per se, but it is highly therapeutic in that it changes your mental state for the better. Mindfulness meditation shows up in meditative techniques that are part of every great religion. Yet it requires no belief or dogma. It is a way of training your mind. It is very simple to do, but very difficult to master. I teach mindfulness in two ways. When anxiety, stress and/or restlessness show up in therapy, I will often teach the technique as a way of slowing things down and facilitating a better way of managing problems. Since the world has become such an abundant source of stress, I find myself doing this teaching more and more. Recently, I have begun teaching mindfulness meditation in groups to businesses looking for ways of increasing productivity, reducing conflict and improving the general health of their employees. It is a worthwhile technique since, as research has shown, it lowers blood pressure, increases the ability to handle difficult situations and improves immune system functioning, among other benefits.