Answer: I do not do same-day appointments. Please schedule a 15-minute consultation with me through my website. If you’re already a patient of mine, please email me requesting for an earlier appointment. I’m a one-man clinic, and require adequate time to mentally and physically prepare before meeting for an appointment. If your mental health needs require a same day appointment, please go to an urgent care center or the emergency room especially if it’s an emergency/crisis.

Answer: I ethically will not answer this question. If I told you (x) number of sessions was sufficient to recover from your problem, it would cause undue harm to you in getting your hopes up and dashing them when you don’t improve in (x) number of sessions. I can be held legally liable for lying to you if that were to happen. Therefore, please respect my wish to not discuss with you how many sessions it takes for patients to get better. All I can say is that those who are willing to work hard and make some hefty commitments can improve faster. Even then, I’ve had patients who fought me tooth and nail every step of the process who improved very quickly, and I’ve had patients who followed all my recommendations to the letter but it still took close to a year (if not longer) to overcome their problem(s). Ultimately, I do NOT know how long it will take to get better. I just have confidence that my clients will improve at some point with or without my help. Because of all of the above, I will never include an expectation of time as a part of my treatment plan with you.

Answer: If you’re wanting me to help your child/family member no matter if they are a minor or adult, I’d prefer that you forward my website to them so they can determine for themselves if I’d be a good fit. I’m a voluntary, ambulatory clinic. I do not have the means to force someone to see me, nor do I have any ability to influence your loved ones’ decisions. I treat minors the same way I do my adult clients: by providing assessment, recommendations, and treatment ONLY to the minor and no one else. I do NOT involve, work with, or advise family members or parents of the patient in the process unless I’m explicitly asked to by my patient or if there is an imminent safety risk (suicidality/homicidality).

Answer: I do not. I work strictly on an individual basis. I can make a referral for a couples/family therapist if that’s what you’re looking for. Every time I’ve done couples/family therapy, I’d end up siding (by accident or on purpose) with one party over the other. I do not believe it’s possible for me to maintain 100% neutrality. I’m still willing to help you with a troubled relationship so long as you are the one willing to take all the accountability of changing. This way, I’ll always know who I’m working and advocating for.

Answer: No. If you do not know what you want, I won’t either! Usually, a conversation within the initial evaluation is sufficient to figure out what it is that you want. I don’t have any specific tools that can magically make you know what you want. Even after we try the above, if you’re still unsure, I’d usually recommend taking a break from treatment so you can experience your life. You’ll have the time to eventually figure out your goals. When you’re ready, come on back in! My door is always open to you.

Answer: No. The only thing I can do with regards to decision making is to help you weigh the benefits vs. risks of whatever decision you are considering. After that, it’s up to you to do the heavy lifting and settle on a decision of your own accord.

Answer: No. All these symptoms are usually signs that you’re avoiding (willfully or subconsciously) issues that are important to you. Therefore, any attempt on my part to increase your focus, lower your stress, or increase your motivation will almost always backfire. Your symptoms will usually remain unchanged or get worse. Therefore, I do not help with these symptoms. I can only help with the issues that you’re avoiding. After we solve those issues, the low focus, stress, and lack of motivation usually take care of themselves.

Answer: This is a common complaint for people who have tried CBT. If CBT isn’t working, there are many other ways to “dig deeper” to figure out what is making you stuck. Please go to my website link over here to learn all the different approaches I utilize.

Answer: I’ve been in practice for a total of 6 years and in private practice for 2 years. I do not attempt to convince people of my experience or my capability to help anyone based off my numbers of years in practice. This is because I do not believe there is any meaningful correlation between number of years in practice vs. rate of recovery. Some providers may have decades of experience and still have poor outcomes. If you’re doubtful that I or another provider can help, then you’re free to seek out someone else.

Answer: I don’t know and don’t keep track. I’m not a statistician. Just as with years of experience, this is a question I will not answer because I don’t believe there’s a meaningful correlation.

Answer: I do NOT do assessments for autism, ADHD, or Cognitive Issues. My areas of specialty include assessment and treatment for depression/anxiety and its many variations. I also help rule out bipolar and psychotic disorders. I recommend seeking another provider if you’re wanting assessment or help for autism, ADHD, or Cognitive Issues.

Answer: I assess for 60-70% of the most common DSM-V diagnoses including depressive-related disorders, trauma-related disorders, impulse control disorders, eating disorders, anxiety-related disorders, substance use disorders, and personality disorders to name a few. These are the most common diagnoses that people present with and are diagnoses within my capacity and toolset to treat.

Answer: I think of recovery as feeling a lot better than before and accomplishing all your treatment goals to a satisfying degree. I think of a treatment plan as “How can you go from where you are now to recovery?” Treatment plans are broken down into a list of necessary, accountable actions on your part. I’ll provide you a list of items that I require from you in order to begin treatment, and I’ll share what tools/approaches I’ll utilize as a part of your treatment. Accountability is one of the (if not the most) important first steps to ensure a good outcome in treatment. I already know what it is that I can do and can offer. To enter into a successful treatment relationship, I’ll need to know what you’re willing to do and offer on your end.

Answer: Talk it over with me in an appointment. I’m 100% pro-disagreement and pro-doubt. I’ve found the conversations on these issues with my patients to be very rewarding. It helps my patients feel more confident about either starting with me or seeking out a different form of treatment. I’ll never force you to do something against your will or push you to do something you don’t feel ready to do.

Answer: I do not. I’ve experimented with many scheduling frequencies, and I’ve found that what works best for me is meeting 1x/week. This way, neither of us will feel rushed or pressured, and the process in my experience becomes much smoother. We move slow to go fast.

Answer: I know myself well. When there is pressure of getting a person better in a short period of time, my expectations skyrocket. I put that on myself and onto my patients which doesn’t end up helping them. I do have colleagues who are intensive experts who’d love to help you out if you wanted an intensive! Just go to this website link: https://www.feelinggoodinstitute.com/how-we-help/intensive-cbt-therapy

Answer: I do not know. I usually go with the flow in each appointment pulling on multiple approaches that I think might work. The only consistent structures I have are the evaluation process and the evaluations that you’ll fill out at every appointment. I believe that techniques simply will not work until the right time comes to us. I’d strongly discourage you from seeing me just to learn new techniques. I’m way more expensive than simply looking up the techniques and using them on your own. While the techniques are powerful, they’re only useful if you’re applying them in the right context. My job is to help guide you to that right context.

Answer: No. Please seek out a General Practitioner or an Internal Medicine physician for that. If you agreed to work with me, I would NOT share any of my medical records to another provider or communicate with relation to FMLA. In my experience, FMLA for depression/anxiety (and their many related disorders) lowers patients’ odds for recovery. Filing an FMLA while suffering from these symptoms is a fancy way of saying “I don’t want to work at this place, but I also refuse to quit.” This setup will usually make patients feel miserable and burned out. I consider it unethical to support a decision that will keep my patients feeling that way. Therefore, I do not help patients with FMLA.

Answer: No. Please seek out a General Practitioner or an Internal Medicine physician for that. My stance on sharing medical information and records with regards to Disability are the same as with FMLA. Disability introduces a financial conflict of interest: you’d receive income for being depressed/anxious, and you’d lose that income if you no longer suffered from depression/anxiety. I ethically will not support this setup as it will usually taint our professional relationship due to fear on your part of losing money. Therefore, I do not help patients with Disability.

Answer: No. Please seek out another provider who is willing to offer that to you. In my experience, ESA certification assessment is flimsy, nonsensical, and potentially harmful. I do not have any validated tools to determine whether an animal would help you achieve recovery. The requirements to obtain an ESA certification are bare minimum and flimsy; all you need is a piece of paper signed by a licensed provider. It’s so easy to get one that some providers specialize specifically in handing ESA letters out within 1-2 meetings. Unlike certified Service Animals, ESAs do not require rigorous training in a variety of contexts and environmental situations. Assisting you with an ESA is therefore a legal liability – when your untrained ESA ends up causing harm for other parties, both you and your provider can be held liable.