First Session

In first session, I focus on you as a whole. I will have you complete a biopsychosocial assessment with the purpose of getting to know you, identify your strengths, safety concerns, and treatment plan goals. By sharing your story, I am better able to understand how your feelings and behaviors fit within the context of your life. Often times, my primary goal is to help you find self-compassion and a balanced approach to negative emotions while teaching you practical skills to cope with the difficulties of life. I use humor and a conversational-style to ensure you feel comfortable and not pathologized. 

Second Session

During the second session, I work collaboratively with you to create a treatment plan with measurable, well-defined goals.

Once we have identified your goals, I will check-in with you each subsequent session to see how you feel about your progression. If you don’t feel like your progress is meeting your expectations, then we will adjust the treatment plan and approach, to better target your needs. According to research conducted by Dr. Scott Miller, positive clinical outcomes strongly depend on the relationship between the clinician and the client. Ensuring we have a good working relationship is a high priority for me, so I like to ask how I am doing as the therapist during each of our sessions.

Third Session & Beyond

Typically a total of 6 to 12 sessions will focus on interventions to help you reach your goals. Sometimes sessions will be spaced out from once per week to bi-weekly to support your independence as well as prepare you for eventually ending your therapy. Other times more frequent sessions may be suggested (such as two-times per week) depending on the level of symptoms, support, and the assessed need for intervention. 

Final Session

Your final therapy session, often called the graduation session, is important to summarize progress, say goodbye, and set-up any tune-up sessions (one session over next several months to review coping skills)

For additional questions about therapy, visit my FAQ.