Individual therapy
A place to understand yourself differently.
Providing evidence-based, telehealth services for teens and adults in West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia.
INDIVIDUAL THERAPY
The heart of my practice
Patient-centered, individualized psychotherapy for adolescents and adults, delivered by secure video. My passion is helping you understand how your symptoms make sense in light of your learning history and the relationships that shaped you — then building a clear plan to make real progress.
Whether you’re just starting to name what's wrong or you've been in therapy before without the progress you hoped for, individual sessions are where we do the deepest work together — one hour a week, fully yours.
How I work with you
I'm trained as an integrative clinical psychologist, drawing from psychodynamic, interpersonal, and existential traditions. My guiding frame is Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy (IRT) — I'm one of a handful of practicing psychologists in the world certified in it, and I teach this model to other clinicians.
Treatment begins with a case formulation: understanding how your symptoms make sense. From there, we reverse-engineer the patterns that no longer serve you.
Common concerns I treat
Anxiety
Depression
Trauma & PTSD
Personality disorders
Grief
Life transitions
Identity concerns
Perinatal mood disorders
Religious/spiritual concerns
Therapy tends to progress in predictable phases
Knowing what to expect can make the process feel less uncertain.
Phase One
Evaluation
Spanning the first few sessions, we get to know each other, set treatment goals, and build a case formulation — an understanding of how your symptoms make sense.
Phase Two
Treatment
The work most people picture when they think of therapy — actively addressing your goals, often with homework between sessions to practice new skills.
Phase Three
Termination
As progress continues, sessions space out to every 2–4 weeks. When goals are met, we meet once more to consolidate what you've learned.
Individual Therapy FAQs
Reaching out is the first step. From there, we’ll talk for 15 minutes over the phone, so I can hear more about what’s bringing you in and we can decide if we’re a good fit. If it feels like a match, we’ll schedule an intake. If not, I’m happy to offer guidance on finding someone who better fits what you’re looking for.
Usually, yes. The initial stage of therapy is meant to be evaluative and shed light on what is going on and inform what we do to reduce your distress. You don’t have to be the expert on mental health in order to start therapy - we will figure things out together.
The research generally summarizes that the fit between a patient and therapist is one of the most powerful indicators of success. That’s part of why I offer a complimentary 15-minute consultation - to see if I am able to help with what you’re looking for and if we seem like a good fit. It can take a few sessions to fully determine if a therapist is a good fit for you, but ultimately it comes down to if you feel like you can open up and want to meet and engage with the material discussed in session.
That is alright! If you think about it, the whole concept of therapy is you go to a stranger and tell them all the things that hurt that you don’t generally tell other people. It’s normal to feel anxious. Also, if you’ve had a negative experience with therapy in the past or are suspicious if therapy can be helpful for you, it makes sense to have some trouble trusting. If you work with me or anyone else, I would encourage you to talk openly about this - I want to make sure you feel comfortable and are benefiting from the process. My personal approach is being very open and transparent about my thought process and offering you treatment options - I think transparency builds trust and it’s how I want to be treated, too. But, the only way you’ll really know if this helps you is to give it a try.
I think it makes sense to worry about this - as humans, we are concerned about how others view us. However, one of the central roles of a therapist is to understand, not judge. I cannot help you if I’m clouded with judgment, and I’ve spent many years in training that have convinced me that all of our behavior has a rationale behind it. Once you understand human behavior, it doesn’t really make sense to judge. However, it is helpful to understand what’s going on and where it comes from so we can pave a path forward.
We set treatment goals that we review together periodically and talk about progress made. In addition, in terms of symptoms I will administer screeners so that we can track progress over time.
Therapy works best as a collaborative process. Research consistently shows that the quality of the relationship, along with both your engagement and mine, is strongly linked to outcomes. In practice, that means showing up consistently, being willing to reflect honestly, and engaging with the work both in and outside of sessions. This might include things like noticing patterns as they come up, journaling, practicing something we’ve discussed, or being open to experiencing difficult emotions. Bringing in what feels important to you—especially as it relates to your goals—also helps us make the most of our time together.
Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy is an integrative frame especially helpful for chronic concerns that haven't responded well to other treatments, including personality disorders. We'll talk through whether it fits your goals in our first sessions.
It depends on your presenting concerns. Single-incident traumas or phobias often take 12–16 weeks; more complex or long-standing concerns may take longer.
I don't bill insurance directly, but I provide a superbill you can submit for out-of-network reimbursement if your plan offers it. Please check out the general FAQ page for more information.
READY WHEN YOU ARE
Let’s see if we’re a good fit
A free 15-minute consultation call is the first step - no pressure, no commitment. Just a conversation.