You may be right at the brink of making a decision when you think; am I prepared for this? Should I have some prior knowledge before walking into a first session? Is there a way I can make sure the therapist is really right for me? Knowing what questions to ask can help you: ‍ Feel more confident as you enter that first session Set the stage for a collaborative therapeutic relationship Better understand whether a therapist is the right fit for you Make sure that your expectations of therapy align with their services ‍ By the end section, you’ll have 20 questions you can ask during your first therapy session. These answers may illuminate the style of the therapist, their practice, and your potential fit! ‍ Cost and Coverage Do you provide direct billing? Do you have cancellation fees? Are Out of Pocket services covered by insurance? How much do you charge per session? Education and Expertise What degree do you have? Are you currently licensed? How long have you been a therapist? How much experience do you have working with issues like mine? ‍ What to Expect Will you diagnose me and if so, how? How long is each session?‍ How often should I attend sessions? How long will therapy last? Will sessions be in-person or online? What does a typical session look like? ‍ Approach to Therapy What will my treatment plan look like? What types of therapy do you specialize in? Do you have a typical therapy approach? ‍ Other Concerns What are your expectations of me during this process? How can I best make progress in therapy?‍ If I need a diagnosis or medication, how will you be able to help? ‍

We all go through ups and downs in life. It’s normal to feel awful one day, then gain a new perspective that makes you feel better a week later. But if your feelings are becoming overwhelming, or you’re having trouble functioning in your daily life, it might be time to see a therapist. You just don’t feel like yourself. Your relationships are suffering. Your emotions feel out of control. You’re altering aspects of your life to accommodate your feelings. You’re spending a lot of time thinking about your emotions and challenges.

It can be comforting to know what to expect during your first therapy session, and asking a therapist about their plan is a great place to start. ‍ Some other ways to prepare include: ‍ Keeping an open mind about therapy—be open to the possibility that it can help you. Writing down specific topics and issues you want to cover—it can be easy to draw a blank if you’re a bit nervous during your first session! Being prepared to speak your mind about what’s bothering you—your needs, thoughts, and opinions are just as important as the therapist’s.

I get it—your friends know you, you trust them, and they may be genuinely helpful. But seeing a therapist has additional benefits, like: ‍ A therapist has professional training. A therapist has objectivity and confidentiality. A therapist has firm professional boundaries. A therapist can prioritize you and your feelings. You don’t have to feel guilty about taking up a therapist’s time.

Psychologists, Socials Workers, Counselors, and Psychotherapists can help you greatly—but one may be a better fit for you than another. While many therapists offer similar types of therapy services, only specific therapists give an official diagnosis, and in the state of Tennessee, no therapist can prescribe you medication.

Out of Network Reimbursement If you have insurance, you may be able to receive full or partial reimbursement for our sessions. I can provide a ‘superbill’ (basically, a receipt) after each session or monthly. You will submit this to your insurance company. If you plan to use this option, please contact your insurance company before we meet to get a full understanding of your specific policy’s procedures related to out of network reimbursement. I do not work directly with insurance companies and every policy is different. It is important for you to be fully informed about the following for your specific policy: Are mental health benefits included and, if so, how many sessions per year are covered? What percent of out of network mental health is covered? Do you have an out of network deductible and, if so, how much have you met so far? Do you have an out of network maximum? How do you submit claims for reimbursement? More on Superbills A superbill is simply a type of receipt that includes very basic information: your name, diagnosis, type of service, cost, date and length of session, and my professional licensing information. No specifics about treatment are included, although a diagnosis is required.

Please review and sign this document prior to our initial session. Thanks!

Rates I do not take insurance. If you have insurance and are planning to use a superbill to submit for out of network reimbursement from your insurance company, please see my rates and information in the Services section based on the type of therapy you are seeking. (More details on superbills in that section.) Sometimes, nature based work can benefit from more time than the standard hour. If you are interested in a longer session, we can talk about an extension. Fee will be the standard rate over time. If this is a financially and logistically viable option for you, clients have found the extended time can allow them to go deeper in their healing and often to meet their goals sooner. Longer sessions are never required. Payment due at time of service, whether or not you will be submitting to your insurance company for reimbursement. Cash, check, credit card, HSA card, and other forms of payment are all accepted.

GOOD FAITH ESTIMATE INFORMATION: Under Section 2799B-6 of the Public Health Service Act, health care providers and health care facilities are required to inform individuals who are not enrolled in a plan or coverage or a Federal health care program, or not seeking to file a claim with their plan or coverage both orally and in writing of their ability, upon request or at the time of scheduling health care items and services, to receive a "Good Faith Estimate" of expected charges. You have the right to receive a "Good Faith Estimate" explaining how much your medical care will cost. Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who don't have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services. You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency items or services. This includes related costs like medical tests, prescription drugs, equipment, and hospital fees. Make sure your health care provider gives you a Good Faith Estimate in writing at least 1 business day before your medical service or item. You can also ask your health care provider, and any other provider you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule an item or service. If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill. Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate. For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises.

Clinical ecotherapy, also called nature based therapy, is therapeutic work that facilitates a reciprocally nurturing, healing, and growth-full reconnection between humans and nature. Ecotherapy in the one-to-one clinical format has a stronger foothold in Europe and the west coast of the US than it does here in the Southeastern United States. I don’t know for sure why this is, but I’d guess more temperate climates are a large factor! The recognition that humans are part of nature is one tenet shared by most eco-therapeutic approaches. A second is that nurturing the connection between humans and the rest of nature is healthy and necessary for all to thrive. Whether I’m indoors, outdoors, or even on telehealth with clients, I am mindful of integrating our full landscape into our experience together. There is so much to discover about ourselves in noticing how our human animal bodies and mind respond to being in relationship with nature. Ecotherapy can be effective for any of the typical reasons people seek out counseling – complicated life transitions (relationship & career changes), grief and loss, depression, anxiety, relational struggles, burn out, feeling a lack of purpose, and more. In addition, eco-therapists can be uniquely helpful in supporting people experiencing ecological grief/fear/anxiety (related to experienced and/or anticipated ecological loss due to human causes) and burnout related to activism.

As you are scheduling, be mindful of what type of landscape/environment feels right for what you want to work on in session and your overall goals for therapy. A sheltered woods? An open view? Water access? Meadow? Someplace familiar or someplace new? A place you can walk quite a distance? Indoors so you can ensure privacy? There are no right or wrong answers here. It's just something to start noticing and pay attention to as you are exploring your relationship with nature and your goals for therapy. Not all locations are available in all seasons, largely due to increased summer traffic. Locations may be temporarily dropped at other times due to things like excessive ice on trails or a sudden horde of mosquitoes, etc. I try to keep the online scheduling options current in regards to such situations and you can generally assume if it's available to schedule online, we are good to go.

That is a really important question. A counseling relationship is legally and ethically a confidential one, so navigating outdoor sessions has some special considerations. There are definitely ways to work with confidentiality, even in our small town/state, and we won’t leave the office unless we have a plan you feel comfortable with. Before our first outdoor session, we will talk in detail about this exact concern, but here’s a general overview of how we handle confidentiality in the great outdoors: Before leaving the office, we will talk about what feels best for you if we run into someone on the trail that either of us know, and I am happy to follow whatever feels best for you. I try to work with clients in lightly trafficked areas. Of course, I can’t promise we won’t run into other people. When the person is unknown to both of us, it’s typically pretty easy to just pause the conversation while passing, and/or move far away enough from them to avoid overlap completely. Finally, even if you prefer being outside for therapy, there may be some particularly challenging topics or explorations better served by a guarantee of privacy, and we can always plan to meet in the office for that work.

There is not a clear answer to this question as every session is different. In general, I think of the natural world as the container in which I practice. Different ecotherapists (just like more traditional therapists) will inhabit that container differently, depending on their own training, skills, and interests. Into the ecotherapeutic container, I bring clinical training and experience in mindfulness, polyvagal theory, somatic awareness, IFS parts work, and emotion and compassion focused approaches - also, a strong (if not always skilled) sense of humor and appreciation for playfulness and exploration of spirituality if requested. I like to share with clients both the felt experience of therapy and some of the neuroscience of how brains work and why we’re doing what we’re doing. Outdoor work is so supportive in faciliating this kind of head and heart understanding. The multi-sensory input and space to move allows for immediate embodied understanding of our experiences. We can meet indoors at my office. We can also meet at an outdoor location in the Middle Tennessee area and walk/explore, or find a spot to sit and talk. We have also been known to splash in puddles, skip down hills, create art out of natural objects, leave messages in the sand, sculpt snow, and lie on warm boulders in the sun. (Yep, it can be really fun and healing, all at the same time!) What we do and where we are will depend on your goals for therapy, your comfort and desire to engage with outdoor work, and the appropriateness of different environments for your particular needs and situation. Our work together is not an exercise routine or a wilderness expedition and does not require fancy gear . We are focused on your therapeutic needs. We can sit, we can stroll, we can walk briskly, we can wander. Regardless of your comfort level outdoors, if you are interested in being out, we will work together to figure out where and how that feels right for you. Once we are outdoors, we will be observing and listening deeply for what you need in that moment, so a change in activity or location is always possible during session. There are plenty of days that just aren’t practical to be outdoors, and we can meet in my office or via telehealth at anytime. Note that inclement weather is not always a reason to meet indoors. As long as the conditions are safe and you have the clothing necessary to keep you warm, there is often something to be learned from experiencing rain, wind, snow, or darkness with intention and curiosity. Meeting outdoors is an option year round, but it is never a requirement.