Frequently Asked Questions
You’re close to picking up the phone about therapy for yourself or your relationship, and you want straight answers before you do.
All of my sessions are online. I work with adults and couples anywhere in the state of Missouri.
You join from home, or from any room where you can talk freely.
A quiet room, a device, and reliable internet are all it takes. I’ll send you a simple link to click, and there’s nothing complicated to download.
Call me today at (636) 591-8696 to set up a free phone consultation.
On that call, we’ll talk through what’s going on and what you’re looking for. Together, we’ll decide whether working with me makes sense for you.
Sessions typically run 45 minutes.
If we occasionally go a few minutes over, there’s no extra fee. My priority is that you feel heard and that we have enough time to do real work.
You’ll never feel rushed with me.
I see men and women 18 and older, as well as couples. I don’t currently work with children or teens.
People come to me with depression, anxiety, grief and loss, relationship problems, and trauma, including childhood trauma and sexual abuse. They come from all kinds of backgrounds and life situations.
In graduate school, I took extra coursework in family systems and couples work. I’ve also done the Gottman training in couples therapy.
With couples, I draw on the Gottman Sound Relationship House, a model of what strong relationships are built on. I also use solution-focused couples work, which keeps the focus on what the two of you want going forward.
Put simply, I help you understand your thoughts and the effect those thoughts have on your life. Then we change the ones that are hurting you.
Expect some teaching in every session. I explain what’s happening in your mind in plain language, and then I want to hear what you think.
I also pull from more than one method. When one approach stops helping, I change course.
Most of the people I see have been in therapy before, some of them for years.
We go to the root. When shame or guilt shows up in how you react, we trace it back to where it started, which is usually childhood.
Growing up without a strong emotional bond with your caregivers leaves you feeling unworthy. We work on that directly.
Work with me is challenging, and my job is to help you get results.
If you keep changing the subject, I’ll point it out. If something you say contradicts what you told me earlier, I’ll ask what’s going on.
I follow what I call a success roadmap. It’s a checklist of work we finish before you graduate, which is my word for completing therapy.
We start with an intake and set your goals. Then I teach you about shame, attachment, the stages of life, and love languages.
From there, we work on anxiety and on cognitive distortions, the thinking errors that twist how you see things. Using a feeling wheel, you learn to name your emotions and face them.
Around the sixth or seventh session, we sort out the difference between self-esteem and confidence. After that, we identify your strengths and your values, with a worksheet for each.
Some sessions go to whatever came up that week. Every item on the roadmap still gets done before you graduate.
For the concerns you bring in, I typically need about six months.
That timeline assumes we stay focused on those concerns. When new issues come up during therapy, they add time.
Therapy with me has an end point by design.
One change I watch for is in your self-talk. I listen for lines like “I am unlovable,” “I did something wrong,” and “everything is my fault” to drop out of your vocabulary.
Another sign is that you stop treating a mistake as evidence of your character. Smaller signs count too, like holding eye contact more easily.
You’ll have worksheets, like the ones on your strengths and values. The bigger assignment is a habit you practice all week, catching negative thoughts as they start.
Every feeling you have connects to a thought that came right before it. Depressing thoughts make you feel depressed, and those thoughts and feelings together shape how you act.
Catch the thought early, and you stop the chain where it starts. That’s how you get the most out of our work.
Crying is part of the work, and there’s one phrase I ask you to drop right away, “breaking down.”
A car breaks down. When you cry, you’re expressing your emotions.
Take your time when the tears come, and stay with what you feel. I’ll stay there with you.
I’m licensed in the state of Missouri. I hold a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Psychological Science from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
My specialized training includes Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Psychoanalytic and attachment theories are also a strong part of my clinical foundation. They shape how I look at the early experiences behind the way you relate to yourself and to other people.
Ask what you want to know. I’m comfortable sharing a personal experience when it will help your therapy.
When it won’t help, I’ll keep the focus on you.
Still have a question this page didn’t answer? Call me at (636) 591-8696 and ask it during your free consultation.
Let Your Relationship Support You Again
You still love each other. That's the part worth building on.
The quiet nights, the repeated arguments, the topics you avoid; none of it has to stay the way it is.
Call me at (636) 591-8696 and tell me what's been happening between you. We'll figure out the first thing to change and whether this is the right next step for the two of you.
Call to Get Started Together