Welcome
As a psychotherapist, my goal is to help you experience more success in your life and have an increased sense of well being and self confidence. We will work together to better understand and navigate the roadblocks that have been undermining your success. Whether your concerns are personal, professional or involving relationships, it's often helpful to take a fresh look with a professional whose only agenda is to help you find your way forward in a new direction.
Please explore my website and learn more about me and how I work. Feel free to call if you have questions.
I look forward to working with you.
Why Seek Assistance?
There are many reasons people seek professional help. You might find yourself not functioning well, not feeling like yourself and your efforts to address the issues are not bringing you relief. You might find yourself a bit stuck and repeating behavioral or thought patterns that frustrate and exasperate the problems. In these cases it can be helpful for a new perspective to untangle the problems and find new solutions.
My primary goal is to help you experience more success in your life. There is no better time than the present to feel better.
Reported gains from the therapy process:
- Increased understanding of yourself, your goals and what is inhibiting your ability to experience more success
- Increased ability to recognize and master roadblocks in relationships
- Improved self confidence
- Finding new ways to resolve old and lingering family issues
- Learning new ways to cope with stress, anxiety and anger
- Finally having the upper hand with behavior patterns that you haven't been able to interrupt on your own
- Gaining a new sense of hope for your future
- Experiencing more success in your endeavors
- Replacing experiences of avoidance and dread with experiences of excitement, enthusiasm and adventure
Services Provided
I work with individuals and couples providing psychotherapy, consultation and coaching.
I have maintained a private practice in the Hillsboro/Beaverton area for 29 years. In that time I have had the pleasure to work with a broad diversity of men and women.
I provide psychotherapy and consultation/coaching services.
Consultation/Coaching: These services involve assistance for a broad range of issues where the person seeking the services is functioning well and primarily looking for consultation and/or coaching to address a problem. It is often helpful to have the support of trained professional when navigating complex and stressful situations. The type of issues addressed might include:
- Marital frustration and disappointment
- Career development
- Workplace conflict
- Major life transitions
- Health related issues for self or partner
- Parenting concerns
- Extended family issues
- Care for an ailing partner or family member
Consultation and coaching services are typically private pay.
Psychotherapy: Psychotherapy typically, but not always, involves treatment for a mental health condition (e.g. Anxiety, Depression). In this case the person seeking services, maybe experiencing symptoms that are distressing and interfering with their daily functioning.
Initially we work to reduce the symptoms (e.g. anxiety, depression) and then to understand and address the underlying patterns that have contributed to the development of the problem. Our goal is an increased sense of mastery and control over how you live your life.
Treatment specialization areas include:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Trauma history
- Abuse history
- Grief issues
- ADHD
- Anger issues
These services may involve a medical diagnosis and therefore can be billed through your medical insurance.
What to Expect
Perhaps you've never seen a therapist before or your past experiences were disappointing. It might be helpful to know what to expect. We will initially talk on the phone. I will ask you a few questions to assess whether we are likely to be a good fit. I will answer any questions you have about me or the work. If we both agree, we'll set up an initial appointment. That session will last 55 minutes.
At this initial appointment I will ask a lot of questions. I will also be available to answer questions you might have. I will share with you my observations and how our work might proceed. By the end of the initial session, most people are fairly clear about whether they believe this process will be helpful.
Typically I see people once a week. In some cases I might see someone more that once a week. Some times issues are resolved quickly. Other times we might uncover more complex issues which involve longer term work to address. The length of our work will be something we look at together.
Psychotherapy is a collaborative process. We will work together to insure you fully benefit from this experience.
Experience
I have over 40 years of experience providing diagnosis, counseling, coaching and psychotherapy for individuals, couples and families.
I graduated with a master's degree in clinical social work from the University of California at Berkeley in 1986. I worked in the public sector for a number of years serving high need populations.
I obtained my license in 1989 (#1332 Licensed Clinical Social Worker).
I continue to engage in ongoing post graduate training and consultation. Some of these trainings have included:
- EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
- family of origin
- treatments for depression
- treatments for anxiety
- trauma issues
- couples work
- ADHD
- psychoanalytic work
- cognitive therapy
- abuse issues
- anger issues
I have maintained a private practice in the Hillsboro/Beaverton area for the past 29 years, where I see adults and adolescents.
Fees
Services are billed on at hourly rate.
Insurance: Psychotherapy may be covered by your medical insurance if it is deemed "medically necessary." What this means is that if you are evaluated and meet the criteria for a mental health diagnosis (ie: Anxiety, Depression) your psychotherapy is considered treatment and therefore covered by your medical insurance. I will complete this evaluation which will involve a clinical diagnosis. I will bill your medical insurance directly. You will be responsible for co-pay and deductible payments. I am in network with the following insurance companies: BCBS, Moda, Cigna, Pacific Source, Aetna, Medicare, First Choice. All other insurers would be billed as out of network.
HSA (Health Savings Accounts): Often with high deductible medical insurance plans you may have an HSA. I encourage you to take some time to understand the benefits of this type of plan by visiting HSACenter.com. These accounts can be used to pay for qualified medical expenses including some not covered by your medical insurance. They can be used for co-pay, deductible or out of network expenses. They can also be used for services that are necessary to prevent a mental illness if provided by a mental health professional. This might include a level of distress or disturbance that does not meet the criteria for a medical insurance eligible diagnosis but should be addressed to alleviate the problem and not further compromise your mental health.
Private Pay: If you are seeking assistance and are not impaired by a mental health condition you will be paying privately. These types of situations might include: parenting support, career development or life transitions with limited symptoms or pre-marital counseling.
Couple's Counseling: If you are seeking couple's counseling it is likely not appropriate to bill your medical insurance. These services may be eligible HSA expenses. If one or both individuals in the couple have a level of distress and disturbance a mental health professional may consider therapy necessary to prevent a mental health illness and would therefore qualify for an eligible HSA expense.
I accept cash, checks, and PayPal, but no credit cards.
Contact Information
Address
1865 NW 169th PlaceSuite 201
Beaverton, Oregon 97006
Phone
(503)-681-8041