What Should I Expect When I Make the First Call?
You may experience various emotions and thoughts as you encounter this very important step. The first call to a psychotherapist can sometimes be difficult, and you may feel some discomfort.
If you are experiencing ambivalence and are having a difficult time taking action, it may be helpful to make a mental or written list to bring into your awareness the reasons for which you are seeking help, your options, and decide if the potential positive outcomes outweigh the temporary discomfort.
I provide brief initial consultations (20-30mins) to assess whether we are a “good therapeutic fit”. At this time, we will discuss any questions you may have about my approach to working with clients, and/or other professional background and experiences. I will also ask you your reasons for seeking therapy, and if we both determine that we are “a good fit”, the next step is to make the initial intake appointment.
Note on Availability: Due to the nature of the work, I am often not immediately available by telephone. You may leave a voicemail message at my confidential line (617) 249-4910 ; please your name, phone number, best days and times to reach you, and your reason for calling.
I check my messages regularly on business days and I will return your call as soon as possible except for weekends and holidays. You may email me, but please keep in mind that email should not be used for communication of sensitive information as email may not be secure (it is possible that the confidentiality of such communication may be reached by a third party).
What Should I Expect on My First Visit?
On your first visit, I will want to get to know you and learn more about the reasons for which you are seeking help, including what you think precipitated and maintains the presenting problem(s), symptom(s), and situation(s). I would want to get to know more about your life, including your strengths, coping skills and support system. This information will help me assess your situation and will also help you and I develop an active treatment plan.
Counseling is an intimate process and as such, working on progressively building trust and comfort with your therapist is essential for the success of your treatment. If you do not feel comfortable or not sure about the “fit” after several visits it is important that we discuss and work to find ways to work through this, by working through it together in therapy or me recommending other resources.
What Happens in Therapy?
We will decide together what you want to accomplish, create an active treatment plan, and decide on benchmarks to assess if we are successful. Therapy will include talking and completing tasks and activities in and outside of sessions.
How Long Does a Therapy Session Last?
Typically, therapy appointments are 45 minutes long. Assessment/evaluation appointments vary in length, depending on the nature of the assessment or evaluation. Clients are typically seen for weekly therapy sessions and sometimes more than once a week. Sometimes if you are going through a crisis, a session can be longer, usually 60 minutes. As treatment progresses, and clients’ symptoms improve and treatment goals are met, we may agree to reduce session frequency to biweekly or monthly (this will be discussed beforehand).
How Long Will Therapy Take?
This varies across clients, situations, and therapy goals. We will define and set to meet your identified goals and work towards meeting them; if we accomplish our treatment goals, our work is finished. If we have more work to do, we can agree to another time frame.
The decision to end therapy may be initiated by you, by me, or by a mutual agreement that your goals in therapy have been accomplished. My goal is to make this process as mutual as possible. The ending of a psychotherapeutic relationship is as important as any other phase of treatment. The usual termination for an ongoing treatment process is three sessions but a satisfying termination may take much longer. Please be aware that I may end treatment if a pattern of frequent cancellations and nonpayment should develop and there is no agreed upon or sustained plan to address these issues, or if some problem arises that is not within the scope of my competence at which time I would assist you with connecting to appropriate referrals.
Is there a Risk to Psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy can be an emotional process, as you examine uncomfortable emotions, thoughts, behaviors, and experiences. You may experience feelings like, but not limited to, sadness, guilt, anger, frustration, loneliness, and helplessness. However, although each experience is unique and personal, psychotherapy has been shown to have many benefits, and it can lead to improved overall wellness, interpersonal relationships, solutions to specific problems, and significant reductions in symptoms and feelings of distress.
Will the Things I Discuss in Therapy be Kept Private?
YES. I understand that to feel comfortable talking about private and sensititive information, you need a safe place to talk. When you engage in psychotherapy, two individuals know what happens in session: you and your therapist. I take your privacy very seriously, what we discuss is strictly confidential. Information is not disclosed to anyone without your written permission, except for the specific circumstances described in the paragraph below.
There are laws in place to protect your privacy. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) contains a privacy rule that creates standards to protect medical records and personal health information, including information about psychotherapy and mental health. The law protects the confidentiality of all communications between a client and a psychotherapist. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, where the law requires psychotherapists to disclose information without consent to protect the client or the public from serious harm — if, for example, a client discusses plans to attempt suicide or harm another person. If there is violence, abuse, or neglect of children, elderly, or people with disabilities. The disclosure happens with the goal of protecting you and others from serious harm and often includes us working together to locate necessary resources.
For more information see: Section 1.07 c of the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers states, “Social workers should protect the confidentiality of all information obtained in the course of professional service, except for compelling professional reasons. The general expectation that social workers will keep information confidential does not apply when disclosure is necessary to prevent serious, foreseeable, and imminent harm to a client or other identifiable person. In all instances, social workers should disclose the least amount of confidential information necessary to achieve the desired purpose; only information that is directly relevant to the purpose for which the disclosure is made should be revealed.”
Why Do You Call Yourself “Wellness Therapist”?
I believe that optimal wellbeing includes the ability to function over the physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, social, and environmental domains of health. My approach is holistic and I may incorporate alternative practices with more traditional psychological approaches to assessment and therapy.
What Makes You Different From Other Therapists?
Each therapist is unique, just as every client is. I am warm, compassionate, curious, passionate, and have a straight-forward style. My personal identity as a Latinx, bicultural and bilingual immigrant who lived a wide range of personal and professional experiences within various socio-economic, racial, and cultural groups informs my comprehensive and broader perspective. Please see About for more details.
How Can You Help Me?
There is no perfect recipe to help; I believe and embody the “NOT one size fits all” approach, instead my job is to support you in your process and help you learn and practice skills known to help manage the problems and situations you may be facing.
Can You Prescribe Medications?
No. If you and I think that medications could help, I will support you in finding a psychiatrist for a medication evaluation.
Why Can’t I Just Go See My Doctor About My Mental Health?
You may, however, doctors are for medical issues and psychotherapists are for behavioral health concerns. A medical doctor usually focuses on physical symptoms whereas in therapy we will work to identify core emotional issues and work through the difficulties you are facing.
What Should I Bring to the First Appointment?
Typically, before our first session I will send you forms to review and fill out. It would be helpful if you bring in the completed paperwork with you as this will help us complete the initial assessment and treatment plan more readily.
Do you Take Insurance?
Yes, I currently take Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBS-MA).
If I Use my BCBS insurance, What are Some Questions Should I Consider Asking my insurance carrier?
Whether you have mental health benefits
Need prior authorization/a referral from your primary care physician
Have a deductible, and if your deductible has been met
Will you have a copayment due for our sessions?
Number of sessions covered
Types of problems covered
If you have other insurance (not BCBS-MA) and have “Out of Network Benefits”, your insurance may reimburse you for our sessions. In such case, you will be responsible for making payments at the end of each session and asking your insurance for a reimbursement. I can provide you with a monthly “Superbill” (receipt of payment) with the pertinent information for you to submit to your insurance company. If you choose to do this, please see next questions below.
If I Choose to Use my Out of Network Benefits, What are Some Questions Should I Consider Asking my insurance carrier?
Whether you have mental health benefits
Need prior authorization/a referral from your primary care physician
Have a deductible, and if your deductible has been met
Number of sessions covered
Types of problems covered
At what rate will the insurance company reimburse you for our sessions (may reimburse in part, full, or none)
How much time do you have after the session to submit for reimbursements
Why Would Some People Choose to Pay "Out of Pocket" and Not Use Their Insurance?
Clients who choose to not use their insurance generally do so for various reasons, including but not limited to:
Take additional measures to protect their confidentiality
Meet for longer sessions than their health plan may allow
Meet more frequently than their health plan may allow
Do virtual or phone sessions that their plans may not allow
Is there a Cancellation Fee?
Yes. Your appointment time is set aside exclusively for you and I cannot fill that time slot without sufficient notice. If you must cancel an appointment, please ensure that you get in touch with me at least 48 hours in advance or you will be billed the full session fee (unless we both agree that the appointment was unable to be kept due to circumstances beyond your control). Please note that if you arrive late, you will be billed the full fee for your pre-determined schedule and your session will end on the previously agreed upon time.
Can I Share with Others about my Psychotherapy Treatment?
Privacy is your right and you are free to tell anyone that you’re seeing a psychotherapist. How much information you decide to share is up to you. I, on the other hand, am ethically and legally bound to protect your privacy regardless of what information you choose to share with others.