Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the questions people ask me before they decide, including the ones they almost didn’t ask.
Before You Reach Out
People with big emotions. Deep thinkers. Helpers. High achievers.
People who are tired of carrying everything alone. People who want to understand themselves better and are willing to be curious about why they do what they do.
I see men and women, 18 and up.
Wonderful.
Therapy is for people who want it, not only for people in crisis. You don’t have to earn it by suffering enough.
The good weeks are the perfect time to celebrate wins, notice what’s working, and build more capacity in your nervous system so those weeks become more common.
Probably.
I haven’t met a client I couldn’t like yet (and I spent the first two years of my career running groups in prison).
It’s incredibly brave to let another person see the vulnerable parts of you. That fear makes perfect sense.
My hope is that over time you’ll discover you don’t have to hide here. And together, we’ll work on softening the judgment you carry toward yourself, too.
Then you’re wonderfully, frustratingly human.
Changing patterns is hard because those patterns once helped you survive. We’ll understand why they’re there before we help you let them go.
And if the idea of changing scares you, of course it does. Change is unknown, and unknown can be scary. It’s also where freedom, growth, and adventure tend to live.
Sometimes life, expectations, trauma, or years of taking care of everyone else bury who we are.
You’re still in there.
Therapy is about uncovering the person who has been in there the whole time. If you’ve spent your whole life being the strong one, it might be time to experience someone being strong for you.
And all that skill you’ve built taking care of everybody else? It transfers, and I’ll help you learn how to turn it inward.
That is completely okay.
Here’s something most people are surprised to hear: healing from trauma doesn’t require you to tell me every detail of what happened.
We can work with the parts of you that those experiences shaped. The anxiety. The shame. The hypervigilance, the people-pleasing, the numbness, the anger, the fear.
All of that can shift without you walking back through the facts.
You’ll never be pressured to share more than you’re ready for. We’ll move at a pace that feels safe enough for your nervous system.
We’ll let your healing, not your history, guide the process.
What Therapy with Me Is Like
We’ll spend a little time getting to know each other. I’ll ask about your history, what’s bringing you to therapy now, and what you’d like to be different in your life.
And yes, we’ll dive in. You don’t have to spend six sessions telling me your life story before we begin doing meaningful work.
If you’ve never done this before, you’re in good company. You don’t have to know how therapy “works” or say all the right things.
That’s my job. Show up as you are and we’ll figure it out together.
And if you’re nervous walking in? Who isn’t?
Most people arrive with some version of it. You don’t have to get rid of the nervousness before you come. Bring it with you.
If you don’t know what to talk about, we’ll start there. “I don’t know” is a great place to begin.
We’ll get curious together.
Soft.
You do not have to lie down, although you’re welcome to if you’d like. There are a few blankets to choose from, and I have THE softest couch in the world.
If what you’re really asking is whether you’ll cry, it’s definitely possible. Even the relief of finally talking to someone who gets it can bring tears. Premium Kleenex is within reach.
Wear whatever you’d like. Swearing is always welcome.
Laughter is highly encouraged, and if you laugh while talking about something painful, that’s your nervous system doing one of the brilliant things it does to help you cope.
Both.
I’ll absolutely listen, but I won’t just nod for fifty-five minutes.
Expect questions. Expect me to notice patterns, offer perspectives you haven’t considered, challenge you when it’s needed, and celebrate your growth along the way.
No.
I’ll help you understand yourself, sort through your options, and get clear on what matters most to you. Then you’ll make your own decisions, with a lot more confidence.
Lovingly.
I’ll simply help you notice the obstacle you haven’t been able to see yet. There’s no shame in it.
I’m probably more relational than many therapists.
Yes, you can show me a picture of your ex.
Yes, I’ll share a relevant story if it serves you.
Yes, I’ll laugh with you.
Yes, I offer in-between-session coaching when appropriate.
Above all, I want therapy to feel like a real relationship. Professional, of course, but also genuine, human, and deeply connected.
Which is why you can ask me personal questions. If you have a question about me, ask it, and if answering it would benefit our work together, I’m happy to share.
The same goes in reverse: you never have to answer a question you don’t want to answer. Healthy relationships include honesty and boundaries, and therapy is a wonderful place to practice both.
And yes, it can be funny. I wouldn’t still be doing this after twenty years if it weren’t. We laugh a lot around here.
You’ll probably notice before you can explain it.
Something feels lighter. You’re more at ease, and more accepting of yourself.
The hard afternoon that used to cost you three days costs an hour or two instead. A boundary you’d have agonized over gets said out loud, and less of your energy goes into fighting yourself.
The Practical Part
My office is in Olympic Valley, California, and I see people there in person.
I also work virtually with people all over California and all over Utah. I’ve been licensed in Utah since 2007 and in California since 2020.
We’ll meet by video, in real time, on a HIPAA-compliant platform. You can be in the comfort of wherever you choose, as long as you have an internet connection.
Each session is 55 minutes.
Weekly is the best place to start for most people. As you begin feeling better and building momentum, many clients move to every other week, then monthly, and eventually graduate from therapy altogether.
My goal is to help you get to the point where you don’t need me anymore.
How long the whole thing takes depends. Some people come in with one specific goal and are finished in a few months. Others are looking for deeper healing and stay longer.
There isn’t a “right” timeline, so we’ll check in regularly to make sure therapy continues to feel helpful and worthwhile.
My fee is $350 per session. This includes in-between session coaching over text as needed. Sometimes you need help right now and don’t want to wait a week to talk about it. Clients find this premier service to be extremely beneficial, especially as they are practicing new skills and new ways of being with themselves.
For a variety of reasons, I do not take insurance directly. My clients value privacy. Not using insurance directly is a great way to retain complete privacy over your mental health treatment.
While I do not take insurance directly, if you have insurance which includes “out-of-network mental health benefits” (you can call your insurance and ask), you may be reimbursed for part of the fee. I will provide you with everything you need to submit to your insurance if you do have that benefit.
If you need to cancel, please give as much notice as possible. Sessions canceled inside 24 hours may be billed at the full rate.
How to Start
Reach out and we’ll set up a free 20-minute phone consultation. Call me at (530) 213-0696.
It’s a relaxed conversation. You’ll tell me a little about what’s bringing you in, ask me anything you’d like, and I’ll share how I think I could help.
If it feels like a good fit, we’ll schedule your first session. If you need time to think, take it.
If it isn’t the right fit, that’s okay too. No pressure.
If you’ve been to therapy before and it didn’t help, that doesn’t mean therapy won’t help. Not every therapist is the right fit, just like not every teacher, coach, or doctor is. It usually means that particular approach, or that particular relationship, wasn’t the right one for you.
Worth telling me what didn’t work, so we can aim somewhere else.
If what you’ve read here resonates with you, let’s schedule a free consultation and see if the vibe is right. Therapy is a relationship, and finding the right fit matters.
I want you to feel excited, even if you’re a little nervous, to come to therapy.
And if we aren’t the right fit, that’s okay too. I’d much rather help you find the right therapist than convince you to work with me.
Anything I didn’t answer, bring it to a call: (530) 213-0696. Bring the nervous parts, too.