New patient questions

If this is your first time seeking therapy, you might have many questions for me. For many individuals, seeing a psychologist for the first time is difficult. Below, I include a brief discussion and some links to resources that may help you make these decisions.

Psychotherapy is private and confidential within the limits of the law—once you are a client of mine, everything you tell me will be part of your medical record. We will discuss such confidentiality when we have our first session.

The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy has some guidelines on how to choose a therapist that are helpful for anyone considering therapy. (Click the numbers at the bottom to page through, or view the PDF.)

In our first conversation—before beginning treatment!, we will discuss what you are looking for in therapy—but you should also feel free to ask me questions about fees, how we’ll work together, what my policies are about missed sessions, and so forth. You should be sure to peruse my services page for more information. You may want to know more about my background and credentials, talk with me about what would make you comfortable in treatment, and discuss my treatment style. We can discuss what differentiates me from other therapists with different credentials (for example, as a clinical psychologist, I do not prescribe medications).

It’s important that you have a good fit with your therapist—research shows that this is one of the most important factors in how quickly you’ll feel like therapy helps you. I look forward to hearing from you and getting to talk with you about what you’re looking for.