FAQ’s
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My office is located in South Portland Maine in the Mill Creek neighborhood at 85 E Street.
For Counseling Services I can see people who live in Maine and Massachusetts.
For Consulting Services I can see people (Google Meetup) who live anywhere.
Telehealth sessions are all through through HIPPA-compliant Google Meetup. I will email a Meetup invite directly before each meeting time.
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I do not take insurance.
Why don't you take insurance?
I do not accept insurance as so much of the work I do with people lives outside of the traditional medical model.
Is there anything I can do with my insurance?
For counseling services, if you would like, I can provide you with paid invoices that include a diagnosis code so you can try to obtain potential reimbursement if you have out-of-network benefits. Please be aware that you are still 100% responsible for payment at time of service.
Some helpful questions to ask when you call your insurance company:
1) Do I have out-of-network outpatient mental health coverage?
2) What is my out-of-network deductible and how much of my deductible has been met?
3) What percentage of outpatient psychotherapy sessions are covered per session?
4) What is the process for submitting claims?Consultation & Coaching Services and Educational Workshops are not considered counseling services. They will not be reimbursed by insurance.
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I offer some (limited) sliding scale fees to make services more accessible to individuals from various economic backgrounds. Lets discuss right away if I have slots open n your tier. My sliding scale is based on your household's annual income.
To determine where you fall on the sliding scale, I ask about either your household income or the income of the person who will be paying for services. This helps ensure fairness across the scale, since I have a limited number of spots available at each tier
To determine your appropriate rate, I'll need to verify your household income through documentation. This process helps maintain fairness for all clients and ensures the sustainability of my practice while keeping services accessible.
The income verification is confidential and is only used to determine your session rate. I understand that discussing finances can feel uncomfortable, but this system allows me to offer reduced rates to those who need them most while maintaining the quality of care for everyone.
Please know that once your rate is established, it will remain consistent throughout our work together unless your financial circumstances significantly change and you request a rate adjustment.
Sliding Scale Rate Structure for Individual Meetings:
Tier A: $100,000+ annual household income = $160 per session
Tier B: $60,000 - $99,999 annual household income = $130 per session
Tier C: $30,000 - $59,999 annual household income = $100 per session
Tier D: Under $30,000 annual household income = $70 per session
Sliding Scale Rate Structure – Family Sessions
Tier A: $100,000+ annual household income → $200 per session
Tier B: $60,000 – $99,999 annual household income → $160 per session
Tier C: $30,000 – $59,999 annual household income → $130 per session
Tier D: Under $30,000 annual household income → $90 per session
My Standard Fees are 160 per hour for individual counseling or coaching and 200 per hour for family counseling or coaching.
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My wheelhouse is adults 18+ and parents of adult children.
Here are some places I trust that work with adopted kids, and kids who are in foster care as well as parents and caregivers
Maine:
Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine Inc, & the Kinship Program
A Light in the Attic, Keely Anderson LCPC 207.274.4431 South Portland
Andrea Coates LCSW. Andrea only works with PARENTS of child adoptees as well as adopted adults. Phone: 774-231-0797
When filling out the contact form, I suggest specifying wanting a clinician who works with adoption and understands the impacts of early attachment disruptions.
Massachusetts:
Boston Post Adoption Resources
Chandani Post Adoption Counseling
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This varies widely. It also depends on if I am seeing someone for counseling or coaching & consultation. I see some counseling clients who are in need of specific support and guidance for six months or so, and I also see clients for several years.
I typically see consultation or coaching clients three times initially, with additional consultation sessions added if needed.
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Counseling Sessions focus on the past and present to help clients reflect on, understand and resolve often long-standing emotional pain and trauma that they have been experiencing. Counseling with me involves a full biopsychosocial assessment and creation of a 6 month treatment plan. This plan will aid in moving you towards positive growth and change.
Consultation and Coaching Sessions are informational meetings that have a focus on assessment of a goal, education and skill development. These sessions are not therapy.
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Let's connect and have a free 10-15 minute consultation to see if one of my services might be the right fit for you.
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For counseling sessions and support groups:
You will provide credit card information when we do paperwork, which is then stored in a HIPAA-compliant, secure payment processing platform which will be processed the day of our session.
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A 70% late cancellation fee will be charged based on your original session rate if notice is NOT RECEIVED AT LEAST 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE. This is necessary because a time commitment is made to you and is held exclusively for you. If you are late for a session, you may lose some of that session time. Please let me know via email if you need to cancel.
If you are late to a session I will email you after 10 minutes. If you are more than 20 minutes late we will have to cancel the session and I will need to charge the late cancellation fee.
If I am sick, like with any Dr. who works at a Dr. office or Massage Therapist, for example, I will contact you as soon as I can and try to reschedule.
Thank you for your understanding.