FAQs

Therapists listen to your presenting issues and place them within the context of your biological, psychological, social, and spiritual framework to help you resolve behavioral, cognitive, emotional and other barriers that keep you from living your best life according to your goals and values. I do this by drawing on my years of education and experience and applying evidence-based therapy techniques to help you better achieve results.

I use a variety of techniques from the following modalities:

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy

Interpersonal Therapy

Solution-focused Therapy

Narrative Therapy

Motivational Interviewing

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy

In your first appointment, we will review and sign paperwork and I will explain important policies like your rights to privacy & confidentiality. We will explore the issue that brought you into therapy. Let’s face it, most people don’t wake up one day and think, “I might need some help from a therapist,” without being in some sort of discomfort or pain. I call this pain the presenting problem and we will begin with whatever issue is most important to you. The first appointment gives me an opportunity to learn about you, what issue(s) you are looking to resolve or to manage better, and to determine what goals you might have for our work together. You are in charge of the process and get to determine what we talk about, when, and at what level of intensity.

Therapy is confidential with a few exceptions. I cannot, by law, disclose to any person what we talk about without your written permission on a release of information form. What we talk about and what you say in therapy remains between us.

The exception to this law is if I feel you are a danger to yourself or to someone else. I am lawfully allowed to break your right to privacy if I am concerned for your safety or the safety of another person. I am also a mandatory reporter of child and dependent adult abuse. If you disclosed to me that you were abusing a child or a dependent adult, I am required by law to contact the Iowa Department of Human Services and make a report.

I am located at 2550 Middle Road in Bettendorf, Iowa. I am conveniently located on the third floor of the Northwest Bank building. There is ample parking both in front and behind the building. You can take the stairs or the elevator to the third floor and take a seat in the waiting room. I will walk out to greet you for your appointments and we will walk back to my office in Suite 316 together.

I offer appointments on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 3-8 pm and on Saturdays from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm.

If you are experiencing a life threatening emergency, please dial 9-1-1 or go to your nearest emergency room for help.

If you are not concerned about your safety or the safety of another and you would like to talk outside of business hours, you can send me a message through your patient portal or you can call my office and leave a message. I try to check my messages every 24 hours when I am out of the office but there will be times when I am out of town or on vacation and may not have access to my voicemail.

In rare situations, I am able to provide therapy over the phone. Insurance will not reimburse for this service and if the conversation extends past five minutes, I will charge you a pro-rated fee for my time.

If you are experiencing a level of distress that makes you afraid for your own safety or the safety of someone else OR you are having a life-threatening emergency, please go directly to the nearest emergency room or dial 9-1-1 for assistance. I do not provide emergency or crisis intervention services.

The initial therapy session is $165 and subsequent sessions range between $100 and $150 depending on the type of session. Motherhood coaching sessions are $100.

Payment is due at the end of each session. I require 24 hours advance notice for all cancellations. If you do not provide at least 24 hours notice, you will be charged the full session fee.

I am in network with Blue Cross Blue Shield and am happy to file insurance claims on your behalf for payment. Any co-pay is due at the time of service.

For all other insurance providers I am not in network. I recommend you contact your insurance provider to inquire about your out-of-network benefits and what would be covered for counseling with me. I am happy to answer any questions you may have about insurance coverage.

I encourage clients to look into using their flexible spending accounts (FSA) or health savings accounts (HSA) on mental health therapy if that is a good option for you and your family. Again, it is your responsibility to make sure that my services are covered by your FSA or HSA.

I offer home-based therapy for women who are on bed rest or modified bed rest, who are in the initial 6 weeks postpartum, and whose condition makes it difficult to travel to my office for sessions.

I will travel up to 10 miles from my office location.

There is an additional $30 charge for home-based therapy.

I strongly encourage you to find a trusted person to watch your child or children during your therapy session. Therapy is for you and I want to make sure we can stay focused on you as much as possible during sessions.

That being said, I understand it can be difficult to separate from your baby. I welcome babies up to 6 months old in my office. Feel free to bring whatever your baby needs to feel comfortable during our session.

From your first appointment forward, we will develop treatment goals that are concrete and measurable. It is important that you have goals to work toward throughout the therapeutic process. We will also use different tools to gauge your symptoms and I will be asking you to complete screenings periodically.

Therapy is completely voluntary and you have the right to stop treatment at any time. If you don’t like therapy, I encourage you to talk about why you don’t like therapy before leaving therapy. You never have to worry about hurting my feelings or upsetting me. I am here to provide you with a quality service and if it’s not working for you, the best course of action is for us to discuss that fact.

If you don’t like your therapist… I encourage you to tell me! Part of therapy is being able to express ourselves in ways we might not out there in the world. Finding the right therapist is like finding an awesome pair of shoes. Sometimes you have to try on more than one pair before getting the perfect fit. If it doesn’t work out with one therapist, I do encourage you to try more providers before giving up on therapy. If I am not the right fit for you, I am always happy to help you find the right fit. This process is not about me… it’s about you.