Frequently asked questions
Yes, I accept Blue Cross Blue Shield and Health New England.
I encourage all potential new clients and myself to have a 15 minute phone conversation as our first step, this will cost you nothing and give you a chance to share a bit about what you're going through, your history, and why you're seeking therapy. I will share a little bit about how I work, my policies, and answer any questions you have.
Based on the phone conversation, and what I share about my private practice, we discuss next steps. There may be times that I will communicate that I feel like another therapist might be more appropriate to meet your needs, and I know that can be disappointing, but I am taking my job seriously in trying to make your needs met best if this happens.
If it feels like a good fit, we start with scheduling an intake, which is basically just a more in depth conversation about what's going on. Before the intake, I will send you an invitation to complete a client portal, which will input all your necessary information, as well as sending intake forms that lay out the following:
What therapy is about (privacy policies, etc)
My personal practice policies (cancellation, payment, late fees, contact, etc)
Consent for payment
Consent for teleheatlh (currently what I exclusively provide)
And an intake information survey (goes into deeper detail about family history, struggles, medical, etc)
In our intake, we together assess frequency of appointments and schedule from there.
No, I am not licensed as a med provider. If you need a psychiatrist or medication management, I encourage you to contact your insurance for a list of psychiatrists, look on psychology today, or connect with your primary care to discuss medications. At present, I am still building connections to psychiatrists I hope to work with in an ongoing capacity, so I currently have no referral sources for medication management.
Short answer is, I don't know - sometimes it takes a few sessions to find out if we are a good fit for counseling, there are many things that factor into this - so here are some of the most common areas to consider:
- Appropriate level of care (as in are my clinical skills, or practice, or the level of care provided adequate to meet your needs)
- Personality types (sometimes personalities clash between client and clinician, that's OK, we're human after all! And it's important to be able to navigate therapy with respect, honesty and openness, and if we aren't getting along as people, that's important to note)
- Informed Consent conflicts (this may include things like my policy for cancellations/attendance, my late fee policies, my schedule not working with yours, or any number of other things)
- Conflict of interest (in our small community, if you are a person from the Berkshires, we can often see degrees of separation shrink, which sometimes becomes an issue in therapy)
In our therapeutic work together, part of that is building trust and an appropriate clinical relationship so you can feel safe to discuss whatever causes you struggle. With that in mind, however, I want to be clear, I am not a crisis clinician who is readily available 24/7.
If you are seriously in danger of hurting yourself or others, it is vital to seek the more appropriate immediate support via 988 (mental health crisis line) or 911, or a local crisis line. In Berkshire County, I recommend the Clinical & Support Options, and here are each branch's crisis numbers:
Greenfield Crisis Team at (413) 774-5411
Northampton Crisis Team at (413) 586-5555
Athol/N. Quabbin Crisis team at (978) 249-3141
Great Gardner/N. County at (978) 488-8888
Your safety is paramount, and I will follow up with any emergencies I've been made aware of - which I encourage all clients in emergencies to communicate your engagement with me as a counselor.
Non-Carceral Crisis Support Options
For Support Outside Therapy Without Fear of Police Involvement
I acknowledge that there are times when fear of calling these crisis lines is connected to fear of reactionary hospitalization, and possible Involvement by law enforcement, which may lead to not seeking support. That is absolutely understandable, and can make it feel very scary if something does happen that you need support with immediately.
Therefore, here are additional "warm lines" for alternative support options for these cases. PLEASE NOTE - some of these support lines have hours and are not 24 hour lines sometimes.
Boston Peer Support Line
Toll Free: (877) 733-7563. Hours: Monday to Sunday, 4 PM – 7:45 PM.
Call Blackline - centering BI&POC, LGBTQ+. Black Femme Lens folx
800-604-5841
Kiva Centers Peer Support Line
508-688-5898. Hours: Monday through Friday, 8 pm to 12 am
Western Mass Peer Support Line
1-888-407-4515 available Monday through Thursday, 7 pm to 9 pm & Friday through Sunday, 7 pm to 10 pm
StrongHearts Native Helpline - centering Native Americans & Alaska Native
844-762-8483
LGBT National Help Center
888-845-4564
Thrive Lifeline - Trans led & operated
USA (877) 565-8860
I offer telehealth, and in person options. My office is in Richmond, MA. Address will be given when appointment is scheduled.
I am generally available to answer phone calls, texts, or emails between 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday.
Note, I may not respond to outreaches right away for many reasons, but I will do my best to return any calls or emails the same day. I do not operate on major holidays.
Again, if there is an issue that is an emergency, your safety and appropriate care is paramount, and I do not operate 24/7. The list of crisis lines I recommend is on my contact page, or in the question about emergencies above.