The 15 to 20-minute consultation is a way to determine whether therapy is a good fit. Therapy is a process of talking about vulnerable and sometimes upsetting things. The advantage of the consultation is to see whether this is someone I feel safe and comfortable talking to. You can expect a genuine introduction to Dr. Pike that feels more like a casual conversation than a question-and-answer session. Dr. Pike will provide a good understanding of how they conduct psychotherapy, which is humanistic and relational. The value of the relationship between the therapist and the client is so important, and Dr. Pike takes this meeting with great acknowledgement that clients bring a lot of stress to this, so you will be met with warmth and curiosity.

The first appointment is about answering two crucial questions: 

1.What brought you to therapy today?

2. How can I help you?

It is not necessary to go into the depths of your life; therapy is a process of exploration and gaining awareness and insight.  Understanding your life and laying out your goals will be part of this process.  The first appointment is ultimately about helping to formulate a diagnosis, set treatment goals, and establish the flow of therapy.

There are two main ways to engage with psychotherapy services. The first is out-of-pocket, and the second is insurance-based. As with all well-trained and experienced professionals, the fee per session reflects the level of care and education. This means that your care from Dr. Pike is supported by decades of training, further education, and ongoing continuing education to support therapy.

The out-of-pocket rate is $150 per session. Payments are due at the time of your appointment.

The insurance-based rates are subject to your plan, meaning your deductible, copay, and/or co-insurance will fluctuate throughout the year. Insurance-based care will also allow you to have a superbill to submit to your insurance company.

Yes! You can come into therapy with ideas in mind, or at any point feel ready to focus on something in particular. If you think something is not being focused on and is important to you, talk about it to help align with the healing process. Psychotherapy is about healing, gaining insight into who you are, increasing awareness of problems, and finding solutions. If something you want to focus on comes up and you feel it isn’t being addressed, making sure you are cared for is essential to the healing process.

Absolutely. Sometimes statements provoke strong feelings. Mental Health practitioners are well-trained to help facilitate the healing process through psychotherapy, but that does not mean it will always be easy. Growth is often accompanied by discomfort, as new ways of interacting with yourself and engaging with the world around you can cause agitation. This is normal, and you are encouraged to ask for clarity and ensure that things are done in a way that helps. Remember that the healing path is not always easy, but truly rewarding.

This happens more often than you think in the therapeutic process. Healing isn’t linear, so if you feel stuck, bring it up. It may mean you are hitting an area that is difficult to work through or that you are ready to move on. Either way, you need to know that this is about your healing. So your voice is so important. Let your therapist know if something isn’t working or if the intervention isn’t helpful. Not everyone benefits from CBT or DBT. And, not everyone benefits from narrative therapy or other expansive therapies. Remember too that the feeling of “stuck” is part of the process of growing. If it is stagnation, where you feel you are just chatting about life and not actually getting the benefits of therapy, then it may be time to talk about a new therapist, and that is okay.

Yes! Sometimes it just isn’t a good fit, and occasionally new things arise that make a different perspective from a new therapist helpful. The mental health field is a helping profession, so feel free to ask for a new therapist if you feel it is no longer a good fit. Setting firm boundaries for yourself is the key to healing and gives more room for growth.

Therapy can last anywhere from one session to years. It usually takes between 3 months and 18 months to help resolve inner conflicts, gain confidence in learned insights and coping skills, and feel better about the reason for referral. Insurance-based care sees the need for “medical necessity, which means that the symptoms of anxiety, depression, trauma, etc., are reduced to a significant amount.

It is the understanding that therapy is meant to help. It is not meant to be an ongoing thing, as the point is for you to get better and thrive. much like the oak trees that inspired this practice, becoming deeply rooted in yourself, growing and becoming stronger, and stretching out in ways that last. Therapy should always be there when you need it, and when that need is over, it is time to live your life.

There may be times when you wish to return to therapy as new obstacles and challenges arise. So always know that if you end therapy, you can return later. It is okay and encouraged to treat therapy as a form of healing. You are on a path of empowerment, not victimhood.