How to start working with me

First contact

Call (415) 497-3757 or fill out this form , and I will follow up with a phone call.

Initial Meeting

If we choose to move forward after speaking on the phone, we will schedule a 45-minute no-fee meeting, either in my office or on video, to give us both an idea of how we might work together. We meet in this way for four primary reasons.

1. For you to ask me any questions, and for you to explore/answer the question, why now?

2. So that I can begin to assess if my experience, training, and therapeutic approaches will support you adequately.

3. I will review your rights as a client and my professional duties as a psychologist, e.g., confidentiality and exceptions to it.

4. Lastly, we will discuss the practicalities — scheduling and fee. 

A note on the psychotherapist/client match, or the therapeutic alliance: Extensive research (and analysis of that research) on the effect of the therapeutic alliance consistently finds that both the client and the therapist need to a) like each other, b) feel there is a shared willingness to work together, c) feel there is good communication, and d) agree on the goals of psychotherapy and the means used to reach those goals. In short – a strong and positive connection between a client and their psychotherapist = positive outcomes for the client.

A note on the Initial Meeting and subsequent 5–10 sessions: The first 5–10 sessions of psychotherapy are the Assessment Period. Why the Assessment Period? Psychotherapy is an at-will business relationship for the client. During the Assessment Period, I will actively evaluate whether my experience, training (e.g., I do not have special training in eating disorders or addiction), and therapeutic approaches will adequately support you in what you seek. During the Assessment Period, you will be actively evaluating whether the commitment of your time and resources will be supportive and of value for you. After 5–10 sessions, then what? We commit to working together, or I suggest different psychotherapists and/or other healing modalities for you, and I will remain a resource for you.  

Your first session

Our first (and if necessary, our second) official therapy session will still be somewhat atypical, with me asking many, many questions. Your answers will help me gain an overall (albeit initial) view of you, and it will help me work with you on establishing goals in the Assessment Period.

We will:

1. Formalize our agreements

2. Once again, and more in-depth, review your rights as a client and my professional duties as a psychologist, e.g., confidentiality and exceptions to it

3. Review your intake form together—questions you expect from a mental health professional’s initial intake (questions regarding your childhood and developmental history; your medical history, including your mental health history; your family of origin; your social history and current social support system and/or family; any history of past mental health treatment), the concerns that prompted you to seek therapy, and continued exploration of the question, Why now?

NOTE: Often in the Assessment Period and/or farther along in psychotherapy, there may be conditions for your continuing with me — a visit with a medical doctor and appropriate labs to rule out physiological explanations for certain symptoms (e.g., low or high thyroid can look like depression or anxiety), or your being concurrently under a psychiatrist’s care or another mental health professional whose expertise you require while continuing psychotherapy with me.