Questions?

What is online therapy, and what do I need? 

Online therapy is very similar to in-person therapy, but we connect online via a safe and secure video platform. You can join a safe, private work environment (office) from your home, or some clients connect in their cars. I use a HIPAA-secure and compliant video platform to protect your confidentiality/privacy from my home office. 

To have a good online therapy experience, you must have a private/quiet/uninterrupted “session hour” where you can openly talk and explore what is going on and reliable internet, and a secure device. We will discuss safety during our initial intake appointment. 

What are the advantages of online therapy?

Online therapy provides flexibility for clients who juggle many different responsibilities. You can be in the comfort of your own home or a private location that works for you; we can still do our online therapy session. Online therapy allows you to specifically work with me, even if you live in a remote area or some distance from me. Some clients note that space and the screen provide a level of safety. 

Who benefits from online therapy?

Online Therapy is an excellent option for clients who want to engage in therapy. However, they struggle with time constraints. It is also a great choice if clients want to work with my particular specialties and expertise. 

Is online therapy for everybody? 

No. Online therapy is not for everyone. Clients who struggle with severe mental health symptoms such as chronic panic attacks, self-harm, frequent suicidal thoughts, or safety concerns will be best helped by seeing a local in-person therapist. Online therapy can also be a challenge for someone who does not have internet connectivity or a safe and private place to talk.

“Art is a constant agent of transformation is indeed the soul’s drive to health” Cathy Malchoidi.

Ok, let’s get one thing straight! You do not have to be an artist to do expressive arts therapy! I will say it again; you do not have to be ‘creative’ or an ‘artist’ to feel alive and connect with your body, heart, and soul. If you are human, you can do expressive arts therapy. Humans are expressive beings and social creatures! It is in our DNA!

We all have painful stories about what happened to us. Expressive Arts Therapy is a model of psychotherapy that uses multi-art modalities such as painting, movement, dance, drawing, writing, poetry, play, oil pastels, drumming, and clay to help you move through the psychological/emotional blocks that keep you from living your full life.

Expressive therapies help you calm down and deal with your feelings differently.

Expressive Arts Therapy helps you imagine a new way of being, a new story that empowers you to move forward and cultivate the life you desire. You want to feel alive and playful. You want to experience it fully. Expressive Arts can help you connect to your body, imagination, self-compassion, and ability to create a new life.

Ok, that sounds all good, Tanya, but what do we do?

In an Expressive Arts therapy session, you will bring the art materials to our online therapy space. You need some room if we play with movement and dance. I will lead you through a warm-up exercise, and we will start with what is coming up for you today. I guide you through using the multiple arts to calm down, connect with your body, and express yourself more fully. I will gently give you verbal guides such as increasing your movement or slowing it down as I notice your body moving or doing art.

“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are strong at the broken places” Ernest Hemingway.

EMDR is highly researched in the mental health field and uses evidence-based techniques in therapy.

Sometimes we have experiences that change our beliefs about ourselves, and after a while, we start to believe that story/belief about ourselves. People perceive trauma as a big event, such as a natural disaster, sexual abuse, or physical/mental abuse. But it is NOT! Trauma could be a young girl needing help but getting shot down and told to buckle up and deal with it. Or a young person gets made fun of in class for how they look and dress outside their control.

When we have a trauma response, we are usually in shame. We are social creatures, and our brain is wired for connection.

These traumatic experiences and memory networks are stored in our brains. Our brain is wired to store these stories/memories with our physical sensations, images, thoughts, feelings, etc. There is communication between our amygdala (alarm system for stressful events), the hippocampus (assists with learning and memories about safety and danger), and the pre-frontal cortex (control behaviors and emotions). Most of the time, the brain can naturally work through the traumatic event and does not cause stress responses.

Sometimes, our brain cannot process the event without help. Our minds can trick us into thinking that we are reliving painful experiences. EMDR helps the brain reprocess our fight-and-flight freeze response and restore balance.

In my experience, clients tend to blame themselves for their blockages, yet it is a brain thing, which means that different levels of stress influence the brain and get stuck in the nervous system. We are working on the neurological rewiring of your brain, which leads to you changing your negative pattern to nourishing and feeding your life.

After history taking, we identify the negative beliefs around the traumatic event (I am not safe, I do not have value, I am not enough, I am not worthy). Then, we use a 30-second rapid eye movement set to help you move through those beliefs, and we identify the positive beliefs you want to move to cultivate in your life.

The investment for your first intake session is $200 to gather information to meet your needs best.

Any follow-up individual 50-minute psychotherapy appointment is $185.

Supervision Sessions:

$100 for $50 minutes.

During your first session, we’ll work on your intake paperwork & sign releases. Your first session will be 75 minutes to cover paperwork & get to know each other. This session will be a little longer to get a complete understanding of your needs & how I can help. Our first appointment is also an opportunity for you to interview me as well to see if I’m a good match for you.

Every session will be 50 minutes, & I recommend in the beginning that we meet once a week for the first 9 weeks to keep up the momentum we see in session. Payment is collected at the beginning/end of your session via Credit Card or Cash.

Therapy is a process where what you put in is what you get out.

Your length in therapy will depend on what you’re working on and how motivated you are for change.

I will talk with you every 90 days to check in on your feelings about how you’re doing on your therapy goals. Your length in therapy depends on a couple of factors. Your motivation for change, practicing the exercises outside of therapy, and being willing to sit with discomfort.

There are several reasons that I do not accept insurance.

Here are some reasons:

Confidentiality: Most insurance companies require your confidential information and use that information for billing and other uses. I try hard to keep my client's information as private as possible.

Diagnoses: The insurance company puts pressure on therapists to provide a diagnosis after the first session. I found that many clients benefit from therapy and do not meet the criteria of a diagnosis. Not taking insurance provides clients to have therapy without a mental health diagnosis.

Freedom and Flexibly: Insurance companies can dictate how long they will pay for a service. I can directly collaborate with you on the frequency of therapy you need.

While I do not accept insurance, some clients submit receipts (superbill) to their insurance companies to receive out-of-network benefits. I am happy to write those receipts (superbill) for you! Please check with your insurance company for details of your benefits. Please note that if you decide to submit a superbill, the insurance company will require a mental health diagnosis.

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 or call 800-985-3059.