COMPLIMENTARY TELEPHONE CONSULTATION

Before scheduling an office visit, I find it useful to schedule a 5-10 minute complimentary telephone consultation with a potential patient so that we can discuss your reasons for seeking therapy, address any initial questions you may have, and determine whether your needs and my expertise are a good fit.  

psychotherapy intake

A psychotherapy intake session lasts 45 minutes and focuses on obtaining a history of your concerns, assessing your symptoms, discussing treatment options, and setting goals collaboratively.  

Individual Psychotherapy

Individual psychotherapy sessions are 45 minutes in length.  I use cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), a structured, evidence-based, collaborative, goal-directed approach that helps people change their thoughts and behaviors in order to achieve emotional change. 

One essential component of CBT for certain anxiety disorders (e.g., Specific Phobia, OCD) involves exposure to situations that are feared and avoided without the presence of other behaviors that temporarily mitigate the anxiety (safety behaviors). This is known as exposure with response prevention (ERP). Often times, ERP can be conducted in my office, sometimes with the assistance of virtual reality technology (e.g., for fear of flying and fear of storms).  At times, however, it is necessary to conduct exposures in natural settings.  To this end, I conduct ERP in community settings (e.g., bridges, elevators, tall buildings, etc.) as needed to achieve therapeutic goals.  

Prolonged Exposure

At times, we can complete ERP sessions in a standard 45-minute time frame.  It is often helpful, however, to schedule some prolonged exposure sessions that are longer than 45 minutes in order to achieve more rapid therapeutic gains.