New to Counseling?

Great job, you have decided to better yourself and call to schedule a new patient appointment! What can you expect of this process?

Before the First Visit

In your first phone call with me I will ask some brief questions in order to assess if we are a good fit for each other based on your needs and my qualifications (i.e. your age, your presenting problem, insurance, telehealth or in-person, availability for appointments).

  • If it does seem that we are a fit, we will schedule the first appointment.
  • At that time I will then email you a link to the patient portal in order to fill out basic intake new patient paperwork, which will need to be filled out AT LEAST 2 DAYS BEFORE our first visit.
  • If it does not seem we are a fit based on this call, I will refer you back to your insurance provider directory to find someone who is a better fit for you.
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Your First Visit

Depending on whether your appointment is virtual or in-person (first time appointments are recommended to be in-person), the process will vary.

  • If your appointment is virtual, a link to the appointment will be emailed to you within 24 hours of your appointment. If doing the appointment on your phone, you will need to download the simple practice telehealth app prior to the appointment. If using a desktop or laptop computer, you don’t need to do this.
  • If your appointment is in person, you can follow the directions on the locations tab on my website. My office is located on the first floor, all the way to the right when you walk in.
  • At the first intake session, we will review your presenting problem, insurance coverage and associated fees, intake paperwork that you signed, and also most importantly, get to know one another. There is typically little actual ‘treatment’ that goes on in this first session. I always say that I can not help you with your difficulties until I get to know you better. However, sometimes I can offer quick and basic coping skills on how to relieve your symptoms a bit. We will then schedule follow-up appointments.

Follow-up Appointments

  • I tell all my patients that I am not the type of provider that insists that you schedule with me each week or every other week, though you can if you would like. We work together at your pace, at your convenience. However, depending on your severity of symptoms I may suggest more regular and frequent appointments. Also keep in mind that we still are on the journey of getting to know one another, so most patients come more regularly in the beginning of treatment than taper off as we become more familiar with one another.
  • Each session we will start with what you want to discuss and follow up with any assessments, interventions, treatments, discussion that I may want to conduct based on my experience and assessment of your needs.
  • Some people ask how many ‘sessions’ they will need to improve. My answer is always, that depends. I do not offer cookie cutter approaches and therefore do not have any ‘manualized’ treatment that I can tell you will take ‘x number of sessions’. Some patients are able to reveal themselves and implement solutions quickly, others have more difficulties in doing so. Some people have one difficulty that they are working on, others have numerous. We just have to assess you and your situation thoroughly and go from there.

IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROCESS OF ENGAGING IN COUNSELING WITH ME, PLEASE DON’T HESITATE TO CONTACT ME AT 614-259-7885 TO DISCUSS.