FAQs
I have no or limited experience with therapy. What will happen in my first session?
The first session will consist of completing and reviewing necessary paperwork, and then starting the process of feeling each other out to see if we’re a fit. During early sessions you’re assessing my style and approach, as well as your own general comfort level. I utilize the first few sessions as time to get to know each other and begin to establish goals of treatment. This could very well be a time you decide I am not a good fit for your goals, which is always 100% okay to voice.
You take my insurance. How does that work?
I take Blue Cross Blue Shield and Optum products, but not all insurance plans are the same. The specificities of your unique plan are not something I have access to, so I encourage people to understand how their plans work before they commit to therapy. Some people have a deductible that they must meet before insurance will cover therapy, meaning you could be responsible for somewhere in the area of $75-$100 per session — cost depends on who is in session, if it is individual or couples therapy, etc — that you pay out of pocket for a period of time (once your deductible is met, insurance takes over coverage of your sessions). This can feel like a lot of money every week and can be a surprise if people don’t understand what they will owe before engaging in treatment. Even if you were not aware that you had a deductible at the time of a session, you are still responsible for payment in full — please come to therapy having reviewed the details of your insurance plan so that there are no surprises or debts accrued.
I am seeking therapy for my transgender child who is under 12 years old. Are you a good fit?
Because of my specialty with transgender humans, caring parents often get excited about my being a good fit for their young transgender child. While I am happy to work with families supporting a young child through transition and do parenting work, I only work 1-1 with clients who are 12 and older — 1-1 ongoing therapy with young children is not my area of expertise. Therapy with kids under 12 is unique and requires special skills and training. If your child is under 12, please reach out to me for a list of local play therapists who have experience working with trans children.
One of my goals in therapy is weight loss for aesthetic purposes via dieting and calorie restriction - are you a good therapist to help me meet this goal?
Probably not. I am a fat human and practice from a fat-positive/fat-liberation perspective. I believe the diet industrial complex is a patriarchal and deeply racist entity rooted in misogyny and white supremacy, and capitalizes on the vulnerabilities of women and the female-identified. If you are interested in unpacking, exploring and ultimately releasing your attachments to thinness as desirable, I might be a good fit for you. My practice framework will always be to investigate and reconcile a desire for thinness rather than focus clinical work exclusively on accomplishing weight loss. My perspective does not mean I discourage weight loss explicitly, but I am not the therapist to keep you accountable to your Weight Watchers points or help you plan for your cheat day.
Where do I park?
There is is limited parking across the street from 30 Federal St. There are two large metered lots close by: The Church St Lot and The Sewall St Lot by the Salem YMCA are both close by. The parking lot for the Salem MBTA commuter rail station is also directly across the street.