Many people have questions about how psychotherapy might help them or about how to select a psychotherapist. My approach is to view our initial meetings as an assessment period to determine the issues or problems you want to address in treatment, whether I am the right person to assist you, and whether you feel comfortable working with me. These are the general steps towards getting started:

1. Telephone Consultation. We should start our initial discussion with a brief telephone consultation. This will allow me to get a beginning sense of the issues that you want to address in psychotherapy. This will also be an opportunity for you to ask me any initial questions you might have. We should review any insurance coverage or managed care requirements since many plans require preauthorization to begin treatment. You may also e-mail me your questions and/or indicate your interest in setting up a telephone consultation.
2. Initial Assessment. Our first 2-4 meetings will be an initial assessment period in which we will review the issues that are troubling you in more depth. As noted, this will be an opportunity for you to determine if you will be comfortable working with me, as well as an opportunity for me to evaluate whether my training and experiences match your needs.
3. Treatment Plan. After our evaluation period, we will review your goals and develop a treatment plan to meet them. There are a number of different approaches that can be utilized to treat the problem(s) you hope to address. The treatment plan is an opportunity for us to think through the methods we would use and the resources you have available to achieve your goals.