The first time we meet, we will address what brings you to counseling now. I encourage discussion about what you hope to achieve as well as questions you have for me about my professional background, licensure, training, therapeutic approach. If we think we can work together, we will set up additional sessions. I am careful to provide therapy only within my scope of practice, so if your needs may be better met by a specialist or another therapist, I will refer you. 

We will make decisions together on how often and when we will meet based on your needs and preferences. While some clients prefer to meet more frequently, others will want to wait a week or more between sessions. Talk therapy sessions in person or via telehealth usually last about 50 minutes. Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy sessions at the Denovo Therapy Clinic are scheduled in 2-hour blocks.

As a licensed clinical social worker, I will work to get to know you through conversations about your life currently and in the past. Together we will make goals to help guide the direction our conversations take in therapy. 

The short answer is no. However, I can with your permission, facilitate communication with your physician and/or psychiatrist about potential risks/benefits of medication in support of your wellbeing. 

If you're interested in therapeutic Ketamine work with me, I partner with Denovo Psychedelic Therapy whose medical providers can prescribe Ketamine to provide safe and effective treatment for a range of diagnoses in a clinical setting.

The standard fee for each session is $125, unless otherwise agreed upon. If you are interested in paying other than the standard fee using the equity rate scale, please let me know. I use IVY Pay, which works with your debit card, credit card, HSA or FSA account. It is HIPAA secure and it keeps our therapeutic relationship confidential. After we complete our first session, you’ll receive a text message with instructions on how to set up an account with IVY Pay and your card will be charged for the session fee. At this time I do not accept insurance. 

As we work together, we will determine the goals for your course of therapy. I welcome ongoing discussion about the progress we are making. 

For talk therapy, we will meet in-person or online on a private, HIPAA-secure platform as often as we decide together that it is beneficial to you. This can range from regular, weekly appointments to once or twice a month. In deciding how often we meet, I will be supportive of what makes the most sense for your life and personal goals.

For Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP), the process includes medical screening to ensure your safe participation in the KAP process. For more information on KAP, see the FAQs below.

It can depend. Some need fairly brief therapy to understand their conflicts and reach the goals they set for themselves. However, others may require many months or even years of work to achieve the growth they desire. I will work with you as long as necessary to meet your individual therapy goals. I also work to safeguard against your becoming inappropriately dependent upon therapy. You will probably know when you are beginning to "feel finished" with therapy work. I encourage you to discuss this when it happens so we can close our relationship as carefully as we begin it.

Ketamine treatment for mental health has been demonstrated to be medically safe. With client-centered care, I partner with Denovo Psychedelic Therapy clinic to uphold rigorous standards of care and ethical practice in using ketamine as a mental health intervention. Ketamine has been shown to provide relief from treatment resistant depression and other serious mental health diagnoses when used in a therapeutic setting.

Ketamine is a Schedule III medication that has long been used safely as an anesthetic in multiple medical and military settings. Now it is being effectively used to treat depression, alcoholism, substance dependencies, posttraumatic stress syndrome (PTSD), and other mental health concerns. Therapeutic ketamine sessions are 

considered an “off-label” treatment for these and other health conditions.

It’s in the brain! The medical and scientific community’s current understanding of ketamine’s mode of action in the mind and body is as an NMDA antagonist working through the glutamate neurotransmitter system in the brain. In comparison with other psychiatric drugs such as SSRIs, SNRIs, lamotrigine, antipsychotics, and 

benzodiazepines, it operates on a completely different neural pathway. 

At varying dosage levels, once can experience mild numbness, relief from anxiety, and antidepressant and potentially psychedelic effects. It is my view and that of the clinic with which I partner that psychedelic experiences of being in “non-ordinary” mind states may be instrumental in providing a more robust positive mental health effect. 

Relaxation from ordinary concerns while maintaining conscious awareness of the influence of ketamine is key. It supports expanded perspectives on one’s habitual mindset. This disrupts the patterns of one’s typical negative 

feelings or narratives and entrenched patterns of worry. It is our view that this relief, and the exploration and experience of other possible states of consciousness, can have positive impact in thinking about and living in one’s own life. As practitioners we act as guides through the experience and support you in processing what you encounter before and after the sessions.

It is essential that you receive careful attention during and after your treatment. Monitoring will include blood pressure and vital signs measurements as well as mental health assessments before each session. After a Ketamine 

session at Denovo Therapy Clinic, follow-up will be conducted electronically or in-person as needed. 

You are strongly encouraged to participate in psychotherapy that will prepare you for your ketamine session(s) and assist you in integrating your experiences(s) afterwards. For people participating in a ketamine medicine session, a therapeutic program outside of their ketamine experience provides support for the continuation of emotional healing and growth. We encourage you to access support from family, partners, close friends, safe environments, etc. We see how social and environmental supports can be integral in creating lasting positive change.