Getting Started

A phone call is all you need to get started.

You can leave a confidential message on my voicemail by calling 703-761-3100.

This allows us to set up an initial consultation appointment. I will send you a link to my intake paperwork via my secure patient portal. Upon completion of this set of consents and questionnaires, we will set up an inital intake appointment.

At this appointment, we would discuss your hopes and expectations for treatment and we consider initial goals, as well. It also gives you a chance to meet me and get a sense of whether or not we are a good match and are likely to work well together.

After this initial session, we'll likely meet about three more times to get a greater sense of what is going on and I can complete a broad assessment of appropriateness for therapy. By the end of the third or fourth session, I'll give my impressions, talk about reachable goals, how long we might work together, and we'll talk about your impressions as well. We can then make a decision about whether and how we will work together. If we determine that I am not the right therapist for you, I will be happy to provide appropriate referrals.

I always do an initial consultation with the parents of a minor before ever meeting the child, to assure that the parents have met me before I meet their child. I seek both parents' consent for treatment of their minor child. If parents are separated or divorced, I like to meet with both parents, ideally together. In those cases especially, it is important that all adults can collaborate to help the child feel better and have effective treatment. In cases of separation and divorce, I may ask for copies of relevant sections of a settlement agreement to assure that all who need to consent to a minor's treatment have done so.

When working with children, it is important that the parents and I have a collaborative relationship in which we can communicate as necessary in the interest of their children. Confidentiality is essential for all patients, including children. I assure children of the confidentiality of their therapy and explain the limits of this confidentiality in age-appropriate terms.

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