Services

I will be contracting with Octave in order to accept insurance and expect to be able to provide in-network rates to clients with Evernorth (Cigna) and Aetna through the Octave platform starting in mid-October! All information about billing will be answered by Octave. If you want to work with me through Octave, you can still schedule a free consultation with me first or you can initiate the onboarding process with Octave directly.

For private pay clients or people looking to use Out-of-Network benefits, my standard session rate is $160, and I am happy to provide monthly superbills to assist you in seeking reimbursement from your insurance company. Click here for information about your rights to a Good Faith Estimate under the No Surprises Act.

I apologize for the inconvenience of not being directly in-network with insurance companies, I know how necessary and how hard it is to find in-network therapists, and I adamently wish it were not this way. This recent Pro-Publica article shares important information about why paneling with insurance companies is so difficult on the therapist end, and why patient care suffers as a result. I encourage you to share it with your state and federal representatives to advocate for better regulations and oversight (and better systems). (And while you're at it, register to vote and/or make sure your registration is up to date!)

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitizing and Reprocessing, which is a long way of saying that it uses bilateral stimulation (visual, tactile, or auditory) to help process and integrate memories and memory states that are causing distress and suffering (also a long description). EMDR Therapy offers a powerful therapeutic approach that centers our innate healing capacities and transforms how our memories are experienced from the inside out. One of the things that I most appreciate about EMDR is its standpoint that the brain has a natural healing mechanism, the Adaptive Information Processing system (AIP), much in the same way that the skin and other organs typically have their own healing mechanisms, such as ability to form a scab and heal a wound. Trauma is understood as any experience that overwhelms this system, thus derailing the brain's capacity to integrate the experience. EMDR therapy helps to support the AIP in getting back to running smoothly, so that the brain's healing mechanism can do what it does best - foster healing. It sounds weird, it looks a bit weird, but it can work wonders, and has the research to support it.

EMDR Therapy is considered a gold standard treatment for PTSD and has also been found effective for multiple conditions that can be related to memories (including depression and anxiety). Learn more about EMDR Therapy by reading this brochure or by watching this video from the EMDR International Association.

Internal Family Systems is another evidenced-based therapy approach, and it normatively views all individuals' psychology as containing multiple parts (like the different emotion characters in the Inside Out movies, but many more of them). These parts show up in our sensations, emotions, thoughts, memories, and behaviors; some of them have been burdened by difficult experiences while others of them have been drafted into sometimes-extreme roles as a response. In addition to these parts, IFS also recognizes that we all have an underlying Self Energy, which can be experienced as calm and loving awareness of our parts. It is this Self who we ultimately want to be in the lead, similar to an orchestra conductor standing on the podium, working harmoniously with the different orchestral sections and musicians (i.e., parts) to bring them in as needed.

However, very frequently we find our parts taking over the lead, (the way that the Anxiety character does in Inside Out 2). Though all parts have good intentions and are usually trying to protect us in some way, they can get so stuck in their particular role (e.g., parts who are drafted into the role of the Inner Critic) that it is hard for them to recognize when the overall impact of their actions are actually harming rather than helping. IFS therapy helps foster communication and trust between Self and parts, ultimately allowing for more freedom and a greater sense of trust, safety, and compassion.

IFS-Informed EMDR integrates these very complementary therapy approaches, and is particularly useful when protective parts with long-standing survival behaviors need additional support before being able to benefit from EMDR reprocessing (which is often the case with Complex Trauma). IFS-Informed EMDR is a very gentle approach that can result in very profound healing.

Mindfulness-Based Therapy incorporates mindfulness and meditation practices and principles from Buddhist psychology to explore and address the suffering we experience and to seek the ways to alleviate it, within the container of therapeutic space. This might be helpful for those times in life where additional support is necessary in order to safely be in contact with our suffering.

Buddhist scholar and climate activist Joanna Macy, whose work has been a profound inspiration (and is referenced here and here) shares the wisdom: “when you’re not afraid of the suffering, nothing can stop you.” But how do we not fear our suffering, particularly when every protective function in our body is determined to get us as far away from it as possible? And what even is our suffering, and what are its causes?

A simplified version of Buddhist teaching is that suffering arises whenever we are caught in wanting things to be different than how they are in this moment—which is a pretty easy place to be stuck in. And a trauma-lens would say that suffering arises from unresolved memories of overwhelming experiences and the impact of the self-protective but often burdensome beliefs and adaptations that we have acquired in an effort to survive these experiences. From both approaches, looking safely but deeply into our experience in order to gain perspective, better understand the truth, and release the grip of fear, hatred, and delusion are how we move toward liberation and healing and away from suffering and trauma. This makes it possible to be with and feel our emotions, and for them to help be a trustworthy and integral guide toward wisdom, compassion, and wise action. As such, mindfulness based treatment integrates beautifully with trauma processing work and is also a beneficial way to approach climate psychology.

If you are looking for individualized meditation instruction or support in developing a practice, please be in touch. I have particular skill in supporting people whose trauma symptoms have made safe access to meditation difficult, as well as with people who have struggled to find a way into the practice. Please note that this service is not a substitute for therapy, and that my therapy provision can only be to clients located in Maryland based on my license. There are no geographical limitations for meditation support.

Meditation teaching will be offered on a pay what you can model, following the dana (generosity) practice that has shepherded these teachings from the time of the Buddha to the current day. The availability I have to give to this offering will depend on the number of clients I am seeing and my income needs, and will likely vary.

If you are interested in hiring me to design a training or present to your group, please be in touch.