FAQs

Questions people ask before reaching out

Starting therapy involves a lot of unknowns. I've gathered the questions I hear most often. If yours isn't here, please reach out.

GETTING STARTED

  • If something is affecting your quality of life, such as your relationships, your sleep, your ability to be present, or your sense of safety in your own body, therapy is worth trying. You don't need to be in crisis. Many people come to therapy not because everything is falling apart, but because they sense there is a different way of living that they haven't quite been able to access on their own.

  • The consultation is a relaxed 20-minute conversation. You can tell me a little about what's bringing you in, ask me any questions you have about my approach or how we'd work together, and get a sense of whether you feel comfortable with me. I'll also share a bit about how I work. By the end, we'll both have a clearer sense of whether we are a good fit.

  • This varies widely depending on what you're working on and what you're hoping for. Some people come for a focused period of 3–6 months around a specific transition or issue. Others find that deeper work, especially with complex or developmental trauma, benefits from a longer relationship over 1–2 years. I don't have a fixed timeline; I follow your lead, and we check in regularly about how the work is going and whether it's meeting your needs.

  • Currently I am primarily telehealth, seeing clients via secure video across New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I am exploring in-person options in Monmouth County and will update this page when that becomes available. Research consistently shows that telehealth therapy is as effective as in-person therapy for most presentations, and many clients find the flexibility of telehealth genuinely valuable.

ABOUT SOMATIC EXPERIENCING

  • Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a body-oriented approach to healing trauma developed by Dr. Peter Levine over 45 years of clinical work and research. Unlike traditional talk therapy, SE works primarily with body sensations, movement impulses, and the nervous system's patterns of activation and settling, rather than focusing on the narrative or cognitive content of traumatic events. This makes it particularly effective for people who have found that talking about difficult experiences doesn't resolve them, or who experience their trauma more in their body than in their thoughts.

  • This is one of the things that distinguishes SE from some other trauma approaches. SE works gently and indirectly with traumatic material, often without requiring detailed verbal recounting of what happened. The focus is on what your body and nervous system are doing right now, and on slowly building your capacity to process difficult experiences without becoming overwhelmed. You are always in control of the pace.

  • Yes. There is a growing body of research supporting the effectiveness of SE for PTSD, complex trauma, and stress-related conditions. A randomized controlled trial published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress found significant reductions in PTSD symptoms for participants who received SE treatment. SE is also consistent with the broader neuroscience of trauma, including the work of Bessel van der Kolk (The Body Keeps the Score) and Stephen Porges (Polyvagal Theory).

INSURANCE & FEES

  • Being out-of-network allows me to provide care that is not constrained by insurance requirements. This includes the pace of treatment, session length, and the type of work we do together. It also protects your privacy. That said, I provide superbills that many clients use to get significant reimbursement from their insurance's out-of-network benefits. I encourage you to check your plan before we meet.

  • Call the member services number on the back of your insurance card and ask: "What are my out-of-network outpatient mental health benefits?" Specifically ask about your deductible, coinsurance percentage after the deductible, and how to submit for reimbursement. If you have a PPO plan, you very likely have some level of OON benefit. HMO plans vary.

IMMIGRATION EVALUATIONS

  • An immigration evaluation (also called a psychological evaluation for immigration purposes) is a mental health assessment conducted by a licensed therapist or psychologist to support certain immigration cases. These evaluations are often requested for applications involving asylum, VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) petections, U-visas, hardship waivers, or other immigration proceedings. The evaluation involves a clinical interview and, in some cases, psychological testing, resulting in a written report that documents the individual's mental health history, trauma experiences, and psychological functioning. This report is then submitted to immigration courts or USCIS to help support the applicant's case.

  • The clinical interview typically takes 2–4 hours, sometimes spread across more than one session. The written report usually takes an additional 2–4 weeks depending on complexity and the documents provided by counsel. I discuss timeline and turnaround with the referring attorney at the outset and do my best to accommodate court deadlines when possible.

  • Yes. I work with professional interpreters for evaluations where the client is not fluent in English. The referring attorney typically arranges interpretation, though I can assist in identifying qualified interpreters if needed. It is important that interpreters are professional and impartial. Family members should not serve as interpreters for clinical evaluations.