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 counseling?
INSURANCE: I am not on any insurance panels, however I am happy to provide you with a receipt so that you can request reimbursement from your insurance company (ppo). Because I focus my time on my clients and continuing my education rather than the often time consuming nature of billing, I don’t generally bill insurance companies directly. You can contact your insurance company directly for instructions on how to seek reimbursement. There are also providers and apps on the market, such as this one, that will process the billing for you.
In some instances I may contract with a biller to process your reimbursement claims for you. In this cases you would still pay the full fee of the sessions at the time of service. When payments are received directly from the insurance company, the 8% billing fee would be passed on to you.
ACCIDENT RELATED: If you have been in an automobile accident, yours or the at-fault person’s insurance may cover trauma treatment related to your accident.
CRIME RELATED: If you have been a victim of a crime that has been reported to the police, you may be eligible for free counseling with me paid for by Nevada Victims of Crime Program. You may also be eligible to receive coverage for medical and psychological costs as well as lost wages due to the crime.
PAYMENT METHODS: I accept cash, Visa and Mastercard
What are your rates?
- Day of service rate (i.e., when you pay for the session on the day it was provided) is $170. A cash discount may also apply. My full professional rates are $300 for an initial consultation, $220 per hour session.
- I provide consultation for professionals on my expertise in Psychotherapeutic Touch. In addition to the 20-hour Ethics and Fundamentals of Psychotherapeutic Touch Training, I also train and consult with clinicians and paraprofessionals on a variety of topics such as integrating the body in psychotherapy, somatic meditation, trauma assessment and other topics. My consultation rates are $300/hour plus travel expense/time.
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 am likely not going to be able to call back right away should you call me. I will usually call you back within 24-hours; 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 10-20% 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?
My main practice is at the border of Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada in the Las Vegas Valley. My practice is in a confidential location. The address will be provided to you prior to our first session.
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 zoom.