Our Meetings

Meeting Length: Generally, our meetings are approximately 45 minutes long. I accept checks or cash for the copay (if you are using insurance). Alternatively, I am happy to send you a statement at the end of each month, if you prefer to pay on a monthly basis. In order to make maximal use of our time together, I ask that you arrive with the check for your copay already made out. In this way we can get the business side of our meetings taken care of at the beginning. Confidentiality: Our meetings are confidential, which means that what you share with me stays in the room. I take this legal and ethical responsibility very seriously. There are several exceptions to confidentiality, and I want to mention some of these: For purposes of assuring safety, if you threaten to harm yourself or someone else, if you pose a danger to yourself or someone else, or are gravely disabled, I am required by law to break confidentiality. Also, if I learn of, or suspect that a parent is engaging in child abuse, I am required by law to report such suspected abuse. The same is true if I have reason to believe that an elder or dependent is being abuse. Our Time Together: My natural inclination is to follow your lead; I assume that you have some idea where you wish to begin. I am happy to ask questions as they arise and make suggestions, too. I am not the kind of therapist who sits back, nods every so often and makes only occasional sounds like, "Uh-huh, go on." While I am happy to discuss the past insofar as it is relevant to what is happening now in your life, I am not the kind of therapist who dwells on the past. This is what psychoanalytically oriented therapists do; my focus is more solution-oriented and rooted in the here-and-now.