FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Please note printable pdf documents below.

What is your education, training and experience? Both my Masters and Specialist graduate school degrees (M. S., Ed.S.) are in counseling psychology from Florida State University. I have earned additional expertise as an EMDR Institute/EMDR-HAP Facilitator and Approved Consultant and Certified Therapist in EMDR, and licensure in both Georgia and Florida. My clinical experience ranges from inpatient treatment for people with dual-diagnoses, outpatient community health as a substance abuse counselor, and a thriving private practice since 2000. My primary expertise is in the recovery from acute- and post-traumatic stress, panic, anxiety, depression, and grief and loss.

What happens during counseling? My intention is always to provide my clients with the highest-quality counseling services by being thorough, compassionate, and ethical. Most people seek counseling because they desire certain changes in their lives and /or are experiencing very distressful emotions or challenging circumstances. During our first meeting I will ask you for details of your specific concerns as well as your past history. We will together gain a working understanding of the issues, the possible outcomes, and identify the most effective approaches that could best benefit you. We will work together in an open, honest, and collaborative way towards helping you to attain greater freedom, understanding, peace, integration, and connectedness.

What is EMDR?  EMDR (Eye Movement Densensitization and Reprocessing) is a powerful form of therapy that is shown by much research to be highly effective at providing rapid emotional relief for many people for whom talk therapy by itself was not enough. EMDR targets undigested memories of trauma which a person may now experience as depression, posttraumtic stress, panic attacks, shame or guilt, low self-esteem, anger, worry or anxiety. About 80 –90% of my clients are amazed at the deep and fast transformation of emotional and psychological pain into profound undertstanding, relief, peace, and freedom. Please read “What is EMDR?” for more details.

What are your fees?   My fees are $150 per hour and will be due at the end of each session. Payments can be made with Venmo, cash or checks; credit cards are accepted but a nominal fee will be added to the balance due.  I do not file claims as an out-of-network provider but will give you the necessary paperwork to file for reimbursement from your insurance company. If you cannot afford my fee I will provide names of other agencies or professionals that might offer free or low-fee services

What are the risks of using my insurance benefits for counseling? I am required to disclose certain confidential information to your insurance carrier in order to process claims. However, I have no control or knowledge over what insurance companies do with the information or who has access to this information. You may be aware that submitting a mental health invoice for reimbursement carries a certain amount of risk to confidentiality, privacy, or to future eligibility to obtain health or life insurance. The risk stems from the fact that mental health information is entered into insurance companies’ computers and will also be reported to the National Medical Data Bank. Accessibility to companies’ computers or to the National Medical Data Bank database is always in question, as computers are inherently vulnerable to break-ins and unauthorized access. Medical data have been reported to have been sold, stolen, or accessed by enforcement agencies; therefore, you are in a vulnerable position. We both understand, however, that using insurance benefits may be the only affordable solution to receiving professional services. I will attempt to disclose only the minimal information necessary to process your claims.

What are your office hours?  Day and evening appointments from Monday through Friday are usually available.

How long are the sessions and how often will our meetings be scheduled?  I usually schedule 90 minutes for the initial session. Following this, we will meet once per week for a 45-60 minute session (or a 75–90 minute session for EMDR work). I prefer scheduling longer sessions because the healing work seems to flow more efficiently, however we can decide this together. Most of my clients appreciate and actually prefer longer sessions.

How do I schedule a first appointment? Please call me at 229-227-1295. I do not have a secretary and do not answer the phone when I am with clients. I do have secure confidential voicemail and am able to check for messages more often than e-mail. So if your need is urgent I strongly suggest we communicate via telephone.

PLEASE PRINT and READ THE FOLLOWING INTAKE FORMS. Please bring these completed and signed forms to our first meeting.

  1. Intake Form
  2. Informed Consent and Office Policies
  3. Cancellation Policy
  4. Notice of Privacy Practices
  5. Informed Consent for TeleMental Health Services
  6. Social Media Policy


I look forward to meeting you and working together to bring you
more relief, peace, confidence, understanding, and strength!