Frequently Asked Questions

• In person 50 minute psychotherapy session - $175 (limited sliding scale spots available)

• Online 50 minutes psychotherapy session - $175 (limited sliding scale spots available)

• I will be starting a Survivor’s Group - stay in touch to learn more

At this time, I do not accept insurance directly. I want to provide you with the most supportive and individualized care possible, and unfortunately, working within insurance requirements can sometimes place limitations on the therapeutic process. I do provide superbill receipts for each session, which you can submit to your insurance company. Depending on your plan, your payments may apply toward your deductible and/or you may be eligible for reimbursement for out-of-network mental health services.

I work with adults, emerging adults, and college students. Occasionally, I work with teens 15 years old and older.

There are many types of abuse, and not all forms involve physical violence. 

Abuse is complex and often begins with subtle, unseen acts of control that build gradually over time. Because these behaviors can be normalized or mistaken for typical relationship friction, many individuals may not realize they are in an abusive dynamic. Some terms you may find include:

• Intimate Partner Violence

• Narcissistic Abuse

• Post-separation Abuse

• Coercive control

• Legal abuse 

• Sexual Abuse

When victims eventually seek validation from friends and loved ones, their experiences are frequently dismissed as not being "bad enough" due to a lack of physical evidence and the normalization of relationships being “imperfect”. Isolation occurs because individual incidents, when viewed separately, may not reflect the full severity of the underlying control. Some eye-opening facts about abuse:

• Almost half of women (48.4%) and men (48.8%) in the United States alone experience psychological aggression by an intimate partner in their lifetime (Source: https://www.who.int/news/item/09-03-2021-devastatingly-pervasive-1-in-3-women-globally-experience-violence)

• Ninety-five percent of perpetrators who physically abuse their intimate partners also psychologically abuse them. 

• Psychological abuse is a stronger predictor of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women than physical abuse

• 7/10 women who are psychologically abused will display PTSD symptoms 

(Sources: https://dvcccpa.org/ & https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women)

Coercive control is a pattern of behavior used by a person to intimidate, threaten, control, compel or isolate another person in order to gain power, status and dominance over the victim. This abuse often goes unnoticed because it relies on invisible control tactics rather than physical violence.

Narcissistic abuse is a form of psychological and emotional abuse, designed to tear down someone’s sense of self, deepen self-doubt, and question one’s own reality. The abuser gains an inflated sense of self. Narcissistic abuse can be covert (very difficult to decipher if there is any abuse happening at all) or overt (where the abuser is often “louder” and more openly arrogant).

Post-separation abuse is abuse that happens after separating from one’s abuser. This can come in the forms of financial abuse, legal abuse (using the legal system against the victim), emotional abuse, defamation, and parental alienation from children. 

In our fast-paced, high-pressure culture, we are expected–even rewarded–for multi-tasking and overextending ourselves. However, many research studies have shown that doing multiple tasks and over-working stresses us out more. Mindfulness is the ability to pay attention to whatever is happening in the moment, be that pleasant or unpleasant. It does not mean we get swept away or overwhelmed by our emotions or let them take the wheel. Mindfulness is the practice of gently observing our present-moment experience—our thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations—without needing to change or judge them. As we develop this practice, we create more space between what triggers us and how we respond, strengthening our capacity to tolerate stress and respond with greater intention.

Fight, flight, freeze, and fawn (people-pleasing) are self-protective responses that can arise when we feel threatened, overwhelmed, or unsafe. Sometimes these patterns continue even when we are no longer in immediate danger. They can show up in relationships, work, or everyday life.

Somatic Experiencing (SE) helps you notice and work with these responses through awareness of physical sensations and nervous-system patterns. Internal Family Systems (IFS) helps you understand the different parts of yourself that may carry or respond to these protective patterns. Together, these approaches can help you develop greater awareness, compassion, choice, and a stronger sense of inner safety.