First, it’s completely normal to feel a little nervous or unsure about starting therapy. If you’re feeling that way, you’re not alone. Many people feel the same way when going to therapy for the first time.

In general, psychotherapy is a safe, confidential space where you can talk openly about things that may be weighing heavily on you. Such things can include a mental health concern, like anxiety or depression, or life adjustments or transitions, like graduating college or ending a romantic relationship. Psychotherapy can also be a place to explore your identity, reflect on patterns in your life, build on strengths that you already have, or learn new strategies for coping. In contrast to talking to just anyone, a therapist brings a supportive, non-judgmental presence and professional training to help you better understand and navigate the challenges that brought you to psychotherapy in the first place.

In my own approach, psychotherapy is a collaborative process. In this way, I view my clients as the experts in their own lives and see my role as a guide who provides support and clinical knowledge that can help you reach the goals that matter most to you.

The amount of time in therapy varies person-to-person and is based on several factors, including your therapy goals and what you’d like to work on. However, most clients begin noticing improvement after about 8-14 sessions.

In my practice, we’ll regularly check-in on your progress by reviewing the goals you set for yourself. One way I often do this is by having clients complete a short questionnaire at the start of each session. This helps us determine when therapy may no longer be necessary, as well as decide whether we should shift the focus of therapy, or if we need to try a different approach.

The structure of therapy varies depending on what we’re working on, but in general, sessions will start with a brief check-in, followed by reviewing what you would like to address during our session. Toward the end, we will commonly discuss ways for you to practice different skills or strategies outside of therapy before our next session.

In some cases, therapy may be informed by treatment protocols to address specific concerns (e.g., disordered eating, panic attacks, insomnia, etc.). However, even with these types of treatment, my goal is to personalize therapy for each client and their own situation. In other cases, therapy may be more open-ended and less structured, especially for presenting concerns that are not easily captured by a formal mental health disorder. These types of sessions allow space for you to process difficult emotions or explore ongoing patterns in your relationships, identity, or life circumstances. When discussing treatment options during our first session, I seek input from each of my clients to share their preferences with regard to how we might structure our time together.

A cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) approach means that I work with clients to better understand how their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are connected, as well as how these patterns often contribute to the concerns that bring them to therapy. During our sessions, we may practice different therapeutic skills, such as noticing and considering other ways to view unhelpful thoughts, learning strategies to manage emotions more effectively, and discussing ways of how to engage in meaningful behavior change aligned with your values and goals outside of session.

That said, I don’t believe CBT (or any type of therapy) is a one-size-fits-all approach. Because of that, I tailor therapy with each of my clients by combining cognitive behavioral strategies with a multiculturally-informed perspective. This means we also explore how your cultural background, social identities, and life experiences have shaped your mental health. While CBT has been shown to be effective for many people and concerns, a CBT approach may not be helpful for every person or in every situation. In such cases, I draw from other evidence-based approaches, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Compassion-Focused Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Interpersonal Therapy, all in collaboration with my client and their goals in treatment.

I offer both in-person psychotherapy and teletherapy. When possible, I prefer to meet with clients who live in Cincinnati or the greater Cincinnati area in-person so that I can reserve my teletherapy appointments for those who live in other parts of Ohio.

For in-person psychotherapy, my private office is located at the Spaces location on Vine Street in OTR. For teletherapy, sessions will take place via a secure online video portal, which is HIPAA-compliant and easy to access from your computer, tablet, or smartphone. Before our first session, I will send more detailed instructions regarding my in-person office location or how to access the online video portal for teletherapy.

Currently, I’m most available to see clients on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. I’m also available to see a limited number of clients on Saturdays and Sundays.

Since I work full-time as a professor at Miami University, please note that these are general windows of availability, which will depend on my research and teaching schedule. I typically have the most availability in the mornings and evenings. I am happy to find a time that works with your availability during a 15-minute phone consultation or at our first appointment.

My practice is fully private pay, so I do not bill insurance directly and do not participate in any insurance panels. Instead, I am an out-of-network (OON) provider, so if you have an insurance plan that includes OON benefits, your insurance may reimburse part of the fees. Here are few reasons that you might consider an OON provider for psychotherapy.

I recommend that my clients reach out to their insurance provider to confirm whether OON benefits are included in their insurance plans. If so, I can provide a superbill for you to submit to your insurance provider for OON reimbursement benefits. I am happy to discuss this further during our 15-minute phone consultation or first appointment.

I do not provide couples or family therapy services.

I also do not provide psychological evaluations for legal or forensic purposes, such as custody cases or court-ordered assessments.

First, go ahead and contact me here by sharing a little bit about yourself and your current needs. I will follow-up with you within 2-3 business days to either schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation or an initial appointment, whichever you prefer.

Before the initial appointment, you will receive an email from my HIPAA-compliant, electronic health portal with important documents to review and sign before our first appointment.

Once you sign those documents, I will contact you to schedule our initial appointment. The first appointment will be 90 minutes and consists of a thorough assessment of your presenting concerns, background, and mental health history. At the end of the first appointment, we will begin discussing treatment goals and collaborate on potential treatment options based on your goals and presenting concerns.

If you have any additional questions, I am happy to answer them during our 15-minute phone consultation or first appointment. I look forward to potentially working with you.