Frequently Asked Questions

What is the "No Surprises Act" I've been hearing about?

The No Surprises Act gives you the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical care will cost.

Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services.

You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency items or services. This includes related costs like medical tests, prescription drugs, equipment and hospital fees.

Make sure your health care provider gives you a Good Faith Estimate in writing at least one business day before your medical service or item. You can also ask your health care provider, and any other provider you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule an item or service.

If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill.

Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate.

For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises.

Where is your office located?

I have closed my office in downtown Denver. I currently am offering all sessions online.

More information about online counseling is available here.

What are your hours?

My regular hours are Tuesday through Thursday. My first appointment is at 11 a.m. My last appointment is at 6 p.m. If you need to see me before 11 a.m. or after 6 p.m., please let me know and we can schedule an appointment. I’m also available Mondays and Fridays by appointment.

How long are sessions?

Individual sessions are 50 to 55 minutes.

Do you take insurance?

I accept most Tricare and Cigna insurance plans. Through an arrangement I have with a third-party agency, I also can accept many Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Kaiser Permanente (in Colorado but not California) and United Healthcare insurance plans.

I encourage you to verify your insurance benefits prior to your first appointment just to be sure that I am in-network for your specific plan and that it covers telehealth services. If you live in California, please verify that your policy covers out-of-state telehealth services. To help the insurance company representative find me in their database, you can provide them with my National Provider Identifier (NPI) number: 1417150087.

For other insurance companies, I am an out-of-network provider. As a courtesy to you, I will bill your company for services. I also can provide you a statement with the necessary information to send to your insurance company. I encourage you to call the customer service number on the back of your insurance card to determine whether your insurance company covers out-of-network behavioral health services via telehealth.

How do I set up an initial appointment?

For a free 20-minute phone consultation, call me at 720.837.3466, fill out the contact form at the bottom of this page or e-mail me.

What happens during – and after – the initial phone call?

The goal of the phone consultation is to determine if I’m the right therapist for you. We’ll talk about what’s going on in your life and what changes you’d like to make. I’ll give you my initial impressions about ways I could help you. If we both feel we’re a good fit for each other, we can schedule our first in-person meeting.

How quickly can I get in to see you? I’m ready now, and I don’t want to wait three or four weeks.

I completely understand. Because I’m a full-time therapist and offer evening appointments, I can usually schedule new clients within two to four business days.

What is your cancellation policy?

If you can’t keep a scheduled appointment, I ask for a 24-hour notice. This time is reserved specifically for you; late cancellations and no shows prevent me from offering the time to other clients; and insurance companies do not pay for missed appointments. The exact dollar amount of the fee varies and will be clarified during our first session.

Do you do sessions on FaceTime or Skype?

I offer therapy sessions online via the computer or tablet. However, FaceTime and Skype are not private or secure. Instead, I use other platforms that meet all federal privacy and security guidelines and requirements. Each of these platforms is easy to use, and you don’t need to download extra software or set up a user account. For more information about online counseling, click here.

How do I pay for services?

I use a third-party company (either SonderMind or Headway) to manage billing for the majority of my clients using insurance to pay for their counseling. When you create an account with one of these companies, you will provide your insurance information as well as a credit or debit card for co-payments and deductibles.

Exceptions to the above apply if you don’t have insurance, choose not to use insurance, or have Tricare insurance. In these cases, I will ask you for a credit or debit card to put on file when you fill out your initial paperwork. This information is encrypted, so I will have access only to the last four digits of the card.

I accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express. You also can use your Health Savings Account.

What age ranges do you work with?

I work with adults.

Do you work with women? Men? Couples?

Yes, yes and no. I no longer accept couples clients due to focusing my practice on working with individuals who have experienced trauma.

What modalities do you use in your client work?

Good question. The answer depends on you and your specific issues.

When my clients have experienced trauma, I highly recommend EMDR. This therapeutic approach is scientifically proven to be the best way of resolving and healing both “Big T” Traumas (e.g., physical and sexual abuse, car accidents, military experiences and medical emergencies) and “small t” traumas (e.g., bullying, poor self-esteem, anxiety, depression and chronic pain).

When people come to me for anger management, I tend to focus on Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. I teach my clients ways to recognize when they start getting angry and develop strategies for communicating anger in more productive ways. Clients also learn how to relax and self-soothe. I’m likely to give homework assignments between sessions.

With other clients, I use a combination of therapies depending on their specific needs and strengths.

What is your professional training and experience?

I graduated from the University of Santa Monica (Santa Monica, California) in 2004 with a master’s degree in counseling psychology. I completed a one-year master’s-level program in Consciousness, Health and Healing in 2016.

I’m licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist in Colorado (MFT.0001441) and California (LMFT 44578).

I’ve been a Certified EMDR Therapist since February 2013. To achieve this certification by the EMDR International Association, therapists must complete 40 hours of basic training plus 10 hours of supervision; conduct a minimum of 50 clinical sessions utilizing EMDR with at least 25 separate clients; receive an additional 20 hours of consultation; and complete 12 hours of continuing education in EMDR every two years.

While employed at several agencies during the beginning of my therapist career, I:

Worked extensively with children and adults involved with Child Protective Services and foster care.
Facilitated court-ordered domestic violence batterers groups for male and female perpetrators.
Facilitated anger management groups (court-ordered and voluntary).
Served as a court-ordered evaluator in high-conflict divorce cases to make recommendations for child custody and visitation arrangements.
Worked individually, and in groups, with homeless military veterans suffering from drug and alcohol addictions.

More recently in my private practice, I’ve worked with:

Individuals who experienced major traumas, including childhood sexual abuse, fatal car accidents, significant health issues, traumatic military-related experiences and work-related accidents.
Individuals in distress because of a partner’s affair or abrupt decision to leave the relationship.
Clients who are overwhelmed with anxiety or depression. They may already take prescribed medication, are considering medication, or are self-medicating with drugs or alcohol.

By far, however, most of my clients are “normal” people living reasonably fulfilling lives and doing the very best they can. By all standards, they are successful. They’re just not happy, and they want to figure out why.

I believe in Jesus Christ. Is it OK to talk about that?

Absolutely. I want you to talk about whatever is important in your life. If your religious/spiritual beliefs matter to you, they matter to me. In fact, there is no topic that is forbidden when you’re in session with me.

I’ve had some bad experiences with religion. Are you going to shove God and the Bible down my throat?

No. Many of my clients have had negative experiences with religion, which sometimes is a key element of therapy. Quite a few others have no beliefs at all. Though I am comfortable talking about religion and spirituality – or the lack of it – I will never attempt to influence you to believe one way or another.

How do I know if I'm doing therapy the right way?

There’s no one “right” way to do therapy, but here are some ideas for you to consider. To the extent you can faithfully do many of these things, most of the time, you’re more likely to benefit from counseling:

Be as open and honest as you can about your thoughts and feelings. Accept that you may feel uncomfortable at first, and that’s OK. I much prefer “I really don’t want to talk about that right now” to an untruth or denial.
Know that nothing is off limits. Talk about anything and anyone: sex, dreams, fantasies, fears, anger, God, family members, co-workers, politics, resentments, drugs, anything. (Don’t worry about dropping the F bomb, either. I think I may have dropped it once or twice in my life, too.)
Let me know if I’m doing or saying something that isn’t working for you. Especially let me know if I’ve angered you in some way. Believe it or not, this can be a great way of strengthening our therapeutic relationship.
Schedule sessions consistently (once a week if possible) for at least two or three months to give yourself enough time to experience true growth and healing.
Ask me questions. I try really hard not to use what a friend calls “25-dollar words,” but I sometimes may lapse into using psycho-babble or terms you’re not familiar with. I won’t get offended if you ask me to explain.
If there are two or three things you could talk about, start with the topic you most want to avoid. Chances are this is where you’ll experience the most benefit. When we’re comfortable, we’re not growing.
Think about the end of therapy. Part of my job is to make myself unnecessary. When that time comes, let’s spend time to evaluate the work you’ve done, celebrate your progress and plan for your future. You can always come back if you need me.

Don’t you get tired of listening to people complain all the time?

Some people tell me they could never do my job. They say they’d never be able to sit all day hearing people complain … or cry … or talk about the horrible things that happened to them in the past.

My response is: It’s not like that for me. It’s a privilege to have people trust and confide in me. There are no words to describe the feeling I get when clients share painful experiences with me – experiences that have haunted them for years, even decades – that they’ve never told another human being. This is the first step toward healing, and I’m the one who gets to witness their strength and courage.

There’s also a huge amount of joy and laughter in my sessions. Participating in the “aha” moment when my clients suddenly understand, or gain insight, is invigorating for everyone. Witnessing my clients transform their lives; acknowledging and celebrating their successes; hearing a client tell me, “What you said last time really made an impact on me” – and not having a clue what it was I said; saying goodbye to a client when therapy is complete; these are all part of my experience as a therapist. These are the reasons why I love doing what I do.

What do I need to do next?

For a free 20-minute phone consultation, call me at 720.837.3466, fill out the contact form at the bottom of this page, or e-mail me.

Don’t wait another day. It’s your turn now. It’s time to heal.