Frequently Asked Questions

I work in a cozy office in Ridgewood at 65 North Maple Ave (the corner of Franklin). There’s plenty of parking in the back to make things easier.

Yes! While I always love to be able to be in a shared space with you in my office, I have many clients that prefer to meet from their own homes. As long as you are located in NJ, we can meet virtually. I send you a secure link the morning of your session and we get to work!

My goal with your first appointment is to make you feel comfortable and at ease. I will typically spend about an hour or so and ask you a lot of questions (we call this a biopsychosocial assessment) so I can get a good idea what is bringing you to see me at this time. I like you to come away from your first session with some actionable takeaways: typically we’ll have some tentative goals we set together and a plan for how we want to start getting there.

Don’t worry. We all have things that seem scary or embarrassing. Me too. But my main job is for you to feel safe talking about anything you need to discuss. And remember, I’m bound by HIPAA and my Ethical Code as a therapist to keep everything discussed in the therapy room (or virutal therapy room) in the therapy room.

This depends on the individual person. I have clients I’ve worked with for many years and some that might come to therapy for a very specific short-term challenge.

And how often you come depends on a few factors: how often you want to come, the nature the issues bringing you to therapy, and finances, in addition to other things. We can figure that out together. I don’t really subscribe to any old school rules with this. Every week is great. Once a month can be useful for people too!

For me, my most important focus is on our relationship as therapist and client. Research shows that a great therapeutic relationship is the best indicator of success in therapy. That said, a strong theoretical approach is certainly a foundation of good therapy. I typically use an integrative approach, tailoring the modality to each individual client. Sometimes I’ll use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to challenge negative thoughts to reduce anxiety or Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) to manage intense emotions. At the same time, I might utilize a psychodynamic framework to help a client understand how their past impacts their thoughts, feelings or behaviors today. I might also use some somatic approaches to help regulate the nervous system to manage trauma or anxiety. This is often a collaborative process with the client, as is most of my therapy.

My current out-of-network rate is $205 for a 50-minute session.

Initial assessment is $235 (typically 1 hr to 1 hr 15 min)

I do request payment at the time of service, through Venmo, Zelle or you HSA or credit card. The good news is, if you have out-of-network benefits, your insurance may reimburse you for a good chunk of that.

I can provide a cheat sheet on what to ask your insurance company to understand your out-of-network benefits.

At this time, I am only in-network with Cigna. When you book your first appointment, I will call and check your benefits so you know what your financial responsibility should be before we meet.

I can also provide a cheat sheet on what to ask your insurance company to understand your in-network benefits.

The No Surprises Act, which was effective on Jan. 1, 2022, requires providers to offer a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical and mental health care should cost.

Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who either don’t have insurance, or those who are not using insurance, an estimate of the expected charges for medical services, including psychotherapy services.

You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” for the total expected cost of any non-emergency items or services.

You can ask your health care, or other provider, for this “Good Faith Estimate” before you schedule a service. I’m happy to provide this to you.

If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than this estimate, you may dispute the bill.

For questions or more information about your right to a “Good Faith Estimate",” please visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises or call (800) 368-1019.