What certifications and licenses do you have & what do all the letters after your name mean?
LCPC: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (CP0097) in the State of Nevada. In order to obtain an LPC, therapists must have met educational standards, have a minimum of 2 years experience and 3,000 supervised clinical hours, and have passed the National Counselors Exam (NCE). I have also passed the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Exam (NCMHCE).
LPC: Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC-6402) in the State of Colorado.
MA: I received my Masters of Arts in 2009 from Naropa University in Somatic Counseling Psychology. I completed a dual-track in Body-Psychotherapy and Dance/Movement Therapy.
R-DMT: Registered Dance Movement Therapist. This means that I have met the educational and experiential requirements to be a Dance/Movement Therapist (R-DMT-1619) registered with the American Dance Therapy Association.
CIFST: Certified Internal Family Systems Therapist. I have completed all three levels of the Internal Family Systems, have completed a designated number of clinical hours using this method, and have been recommended by both peers and supervisors of Internal Family Systems. Certification comes through the IFS Institute.
RYT: validates me as a Registered Yoga Teacher (15395) with Yoga Alliance.
BA: I have a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from San Francisco State University. I completed specialties in both Human Sexuality and Spanish.
NBCMT: During 2002- 2017, I had been a Nationally Board Certified Massage Therapist (#294913-00) through the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (NCBTMB). I completed my basic training at the School of Healing Arts in San Diego. I then completed an extensive massage program at IPSB and earned a Holistic Health Practitioner Certification with an emphasis in Structural Integration. I was a licensed massage therapist for over 25 years. I have continued my education throughout the years and now work more at the energetic and emotional levels via the framework of Somatic Psychotherapy and Spiritual Counseling. Since the work I do now is more psychotherapeutic, I have let this certification lapse.
How can I pay for your services?
I accept credit cards (MasterCard, VISA, Discover), debit cards, and bank-to-bank transfers through Zelle. If you have a supportive person who is willing to cover or defray a portion of your fees, I can coordinate that.
If you are a psychotherapy client (Colorado and Nevada only) your insurance may reimburse you for the costs of therapy, however I am not a preferred provider on any insurance and do not bill insurance companies directly. I am happy to provide you with a bill to seek reimbursement. You may also receive reimbursement if you are receiving therapy for an automobile accident or crime related trauma. Please discuss these options with me directly.
What are your rates?
My full fee is $220/hour for coaching and counseling. Payments through Zelle receive a 3.5% discount (I pass on the credit card charge savings to you). Phone consults are billed at $55 for each 15 minutes, though I don’t charge for brief calls. Consultation fees are $350/hour (Zelle discount also applies). I do offer a number of compassionate reduced price sessions. If my full rate is out of your financial range, please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss alternate fee arrangements.
What happens if I’m in crisis and I need to talk to you right away?
I offer non-emergency counseling and coaching services. This means that I may not be able to call back right away should you call me, though I will when my schedule allows. I will usually call you back within 24-hours at the latest; however, I may not always be able to do so. I do not answer client calls while on vacation. Should you have an emergency that you feel is life-threatening, please call 911.
One of my goals for people I work with is to help them be able to tolerate intense emotions so that they do not become overwhelmed by them. When we’re able to tolerate intense experience, we can draw upon internal resources that help us to manage crisis, rather than be buried under the weight of them.
I don’t want to do counseling for years. How can you assure me that I will see results?
You’re right. Some people spend a lot of time in therapy. As I see it there are five main reasons for this:
- They may have a very intense trauma history that just can’t be worked through in brief counseling.
- Some people continue in counseling because, even though they may have worked through their major issues, counseling is a way to keep on track and have time where they can commit to their own growth.
- The person is seeing me for an ongoing and chronic issue, such as chronic pain, or dealing with a progressive illness such as Parkinson’s Disease.
- The person isn’t taking responsibility for their growth and is not doing the work between sessions. I say that about 20% of growth comes from the sessions; The rest comes from what the person does between sessions. I usually give clients practices to engage in between sessions to enhance their growth.
- The counselor may not be very effective or may just be a bad fit. Like all fields and all jobs, there are going to be some people who are better at it than others.
I always begin by finding out what your goals are for counseling. I review those goals regularly to make sure that we stay on track and don’t get too side-tracked with issues of the week.
Where are you located?
I was located in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada in the Las Vegas Valley up until the end of 2020. I am currently located in Lafayette, Colorado which is about half way between Denver, Colorado and Boulder, Colorado. My practice is in a confidential location. For in-person sessions, the address will be provided to you prior to our first session. I only provide in-person sessions to those who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 (as am I).
Who do you work with?
I work with adults from all walks of life, though I do have some limits to my practice. If I feel that another form of treatment or another counselor would more helpful, I will refer you to another provider.
Do you offer Distance Counseling?
- I offer online counseling, coaching and consultation through Doxy.me and other video options such as zoom.