FAQs
Who do you work with?
I work with individual adults (18-elders). In thinking of patterns of who tends to appear: I find myself working with a lot of craftspeople, artists and musicians, some deep in it, some returning to it, or finally getting around to it; educators, managers, academics, and other high achievers and people under performance pressure; people at midlife who are feeling stressed or stuck or burned out in their careers; a lot of queer folk and neurodiverse folk and third-culture folk growing up between cultures; a lot of people ready to change their fast habits of anger or the heavy suffering of suicidality; a lot of people undergoing illness, loss, and grief.
What kind of therapy?
Overall, my approach is somatic and experiential, since a common goal is to help people learn to shift out of painful, limiting states and cultivate positive states that then become their new baseline. (For those with lifelong anxiety/depression: Yes, this is possible. And the process tends to be enjoyable.)
My way of working is tailored to each person, and weaves together various approaches, ranging from more cognitive approaches like ACT, which are rooted in experiential mindfulness, to the somatic listening of Focusing, which taps into the lifeforce as a river of change, to embodied partswork (IFS), somatic EMDR, and dreamwork. (See the Ways page for more fleshed-out glimpses of these approaches.)
The Confluence page shares a bit about the roots of my way of practicing, including work in helping people cultivate creative processes, perceptual changes, and enlivening practices that expand vision.
Our work is collaborative and conversational. Sessions often include transformative experiential work, and we craft practices for in between sessions to help you become more of how you want to be.
How much are sessions?
My rate is $150 with a sliding scale, based on household income.
(In case it is helpful, here is a list of low-cost/no cost therapy in St. Louis.)
Do you take insurance?
Big River operates on a household-income based, sliding-scale basis. As many of you may be aware, the current health insurance system is constantly changing, yet stuck in a pathologizing clinical model. This means that therapeutic services are bound by diagnosis, confined timelines, and narrow goals that ignore the layered nature and natural pace of life and growth.
While we are out of network with insurance companies; we can provide you with a superbill that you can submit to your insurance company.
Where do we meet?
I provide HIPAA-complaint telehealth. People mention enjoying the flexibility and comfort of meeting from cozy corners of their homes. I’ve found that meeting in your living space—with your pets, art/craft projects, and belongings—supports us in cultivating more flourishing in your daily life.
Meeting this way also allows us to kickstart together transformative practices (your homework) in the space where you spend most of your time between sessions. This can be especially helpful for folks grappling with loneliness, depression, anxiety, grief.
(People beam in sometimes from backyards and parks on their lunch hour or after work, enjoying time outside as we explore the world inside.)
As a counselor, I am licensed to practice in Missouri. As a coach and Focusing trainer, I can work with you in any time zone. See more about Coaching on the Ways page.
whAT IS THE FIRST SESSION LIKE?
Before we meet, I’ll send paperwork that will help me start to get to know you and your hopes for therapy.
Our first session will be 90 minutes, which allows space to hear about your life so far.
Our first session tends to have a warm conversational flow, as I will ask questions that will help you reflect aloud. This helps us get a sense of what you want to tend to first and ways we may want to work together.
Most sessions after that are the standard 50 or 90 minutes.