Questions?

Efficacy and outcome therapy research shows that weekly meetings for the initial and middle phases of active assessment and intervention works best, to keep up momentum and keep the process attuned and collaborative. Weekly sessions help keep therapy front of mind. Having a weekly space to contain and ‘file’ ongoing threads we’re investing time with can be really powerful. In later phases of treatment when appropriate, some folks like to step down to every other week to give them a bit more time between sessions for homework and offset the cost (of money and energy and time) of therapy. That said, sometimes people are a good fit with every other week therapy from the beginning, and we can look at if that feels appropriate for you if you are interested in starting with that lower frequency cadence.

This depends on what your goals are, how the work is progressing and how longstanding and impactful the things you want to work with are. Folks vary in how they motivate and engage with their treatment and respond to interventions. That said, I like to work with patients in a structured and goal-oriented process. I want clients to work towards ending therapy and becoming their own therapists. I like to check in regularly with clients about how sessions are going, and take stock of their overall therapy arc to try and ensure movement where they want to see it.

Overall, how long therapy lasts and how deeply it goes really depends on what you want to get out of it. Some folks arrive focused on a carved out set of goals that don’t need a longer time in therapy and can be wrapped up in 4 to 6 months, sometimes less. Some folks arrive with this intention and plan an ending to therapy when they feel their stated goals have been met. Others arrive with this plan and expand it as they find their goals met and new ones have opened that they now want to make progress on. Still others arrive with deeper, broader aspects they want to pursue and the process is about acclimating to a slower, richer quality of attention and presence, and this can take more time.

The first phase of therapy with me is focused on assessment and formulation, where we create a collaborative framework for what’s awry, what’s keeping the issues in place and where your change goals are. The main active phase of therapy flows from this, where we meet and discuss implementing change strategies, and how you want to practice change in between sessions. Often after this intensive phase, there is a period of integration where you continue to show up in some of the new ways you have learned in your life, and deepen these new pathways. Finally, the ending termination phase of therapy can be surprisingly moving, as it gives a chance to consolidate and bookend the learning and create a map of the arc of therapy to take with you going forward. Good therapy continues to keep growing from seeds after therapy is over, that were planted during active therapy. This is part of why you want to take some time with the work, to increase the core change and ongoing growth practices after therapy ends.

Confidentiality is a cornerstone of therapy, and everything we discuss will be kept private. This allows trust and safety to build and lets us go to the hardest places that need the most healing. The only limits to confidentiality (per legal and ethical professional guidelines) are if there’s a concern for your safety or for someone else’s safety.