FAQ’s

Trauma therapy addresses the root cause of your symptoms, allowing you to heal from difficult experiences that have had a weighty impact on your emotions and psychological wellbeing. By its nature, it is medium to long-term, for safety must be established before clients can lean into the residual emotions that correspond to traumatic experiences. Regular therapy does not go as deep, rather it focuses on short-term alleviation of symptoms and is more cognitive.

Technically, I offer psychotherapy rather than therapy, for I am concerned with long-term, transformational change instead of short-term counseling.

It is a matter of personal preference: some people prefer to meet in-person while others favor telehealth sessions. Some studies show that online therapy is equally effective as in-person therapy. 🔗 My preferred treatment modality, Brainspotting, works 🔗 very well online.

Benefits to online therapy include added comfort and privacy; time saved not having to commute; and convenience. In some cases, online therapy is the only option, for example for those in rural areas; people with physical limitations; and parents who need to do couples therapy while their children are asleep (rather than meeting at an office and arranging childcare).

My current working hours are Sunday to Thursday, 6.30-10pm Pacific Time. Click to access my live booking calendar. Please contact me if you are interested in early morning appointments.

I charge $150 per 50-minute session for individuals and $165 per 50-minute session for couples and families. I operate a “sliding scale”, meaning that I reserve several spots for which I charge a reduced rate depending upon clients’ economic circumstances.

I require 24 hours’ notice to cancel appointments without penalty. If less than 24 hours’ notice is given, clients are charged the full amount of their session.

I accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Health Savings Account (HSA) cards and payment is taken upon completion of sessions. Payment via Venmo, Paypal, Zelle, and bank transfer is also accepted and must be made in advance.

“Soma” is a Latin word meaning “body”. Somatic therapy is the subtle process of utilizing the body for healing. Our bodies are healing machines, especially when we give them the right circumstances. And so is the mind, which is intrinsically connected to the body. Unlike traditional talk therapy, somatic therapy involves slowing down, noticing sensations in your body and reconnecting with your intuition. Think back to some of the most difficult experiences in your life: was there a moment when you knew you were making the wrong decision? That was your intuition, or gut feeling. For whatever reason, you heard it and did not listen to it.

Before they can communicate verbally, babies and young children are remarkably in touch with their intuition and sensations in their body. It is possible to rediscover this in adulthood and to listen to our intuition. Indeed, we have everything we need to heal within us. Our bodies are amazing. They have in-built alarm clocks, calorie counters, and safety alarms (intuition). We just have to slow down and listen to what they are telling us.

Please see Brainspotting.

It isn’t so important to identify as an addict or not, rather it is about determining whether the behaviors you’re engaging in are out-of-control, and what negative consequences you may be facing. It is about manageability. For sex addiction you may take a free, short online assessment. 🔗

Please see Benefits of Therapy.

This is entirely up to you. Many clients come to therapy looking to get rid of something e.g. anxiety and they stay because they want to gain more of something e.g. joy. Other clients leave therapy after achieving their original goals. I pride myself on the deep, transformative attachment work that I do with clients, which by nature is long-term (years, rather than months). That certainly doesn’t mean that it takes years to see progress, or even transformation. I believe that healing is a lifelong process and that the pursuit of greater self-mastery is a never-ending process.

Beyond my 24-hour cancelation policy, there are no obligations – clients attend therapy because they want to. If you have had at least 10 sessions with me, I request that you have a closing session rather than simply canceling via email. This will give me the opportunity to refer you to other practitioners and to be very intentional and relational about our closing.

Depending on your preference, we can do this at the start/end of your sessions, or you can do it yourself on my Client Portal 🔗 or via email.

Intensives are sessions lasting two or more hours that usually involve Brainspotting. They are designed to allow clients to go deeper in processing experiences, events, relationships, and connections. For some, this may mean looking at concerning relationship patterns. For others, this could mean connecting with the spirit of an ancestor.

Yes. Please contact me for the latest availability.

We will arrange a free consultation via Zoom. The purpose of this consultation is for you to become acquainted with me, to allow you the opportunity to ask any questions you may have, and to determine if we are a good fit.

Should you choose to schedule a session, you will be sent a comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment form to complete online. This will allow us to hit the ground running, rather than spend endless sessions in intake mode.

I am passionate about supporting my clients through their healing journeys. To do this to the best of my ability, I prioritize a healthy work/life balance and recognize that there is a finite number of hours per week I can spend working. I choose to spend these hours in session with clients and planning treatment rather than liaising with insurance companies.

Further, working with insurance companies would mean giving them access to clients’ confidential information, including session notes. Given that I treat challenges such as sex and love addiction, we believe that full confidentiality is necessary and only breach it if there is a legal imperative.

For those with out-of-network benefits, I can provide superbills, which in some cases may allow for reimbursement. Please consult your provider to determine eligibility.

I adhere to the highest levels of confidentiality: you have a right to feel safe and confident that information you share in session will not be disclosed to anybody else. The only exceptions to this rule are my legal obligations: as a licensed therapist, I am a mandated reporter and follow the requirements laid out in WA and TN state laws. This means I must report to the relevant authorities if I feel that you or another person is in imminent risk of harm. If you make a disclosure relating to child or elder abuse, I may be obligated to report this. In such cases, to ensure transparency, I would communicate this to you. Any disclosure you make about a past crime, provided that nobody is in imminent harm, will be kept confidential.

Your information is securely stored according to HIPAA guidelines. Our video sessions take place on a HIPAA-compliant Zoom platform, and my email is HIPAA compliant.

Healing WA PLLC, 123 2nd Ave S, Ste 230 #11, Edmonds, WA 98020.