FAQ's:
What Kinds of Patients Do I Work With?
I work with adults of all ages and adolescents and accept most major insurance carriers (Anthem, United, and Aetna) and Husky Medicaid as well those who prefer a “private pay” fee for service basis.
What Are My Qualifications and Professional Affiliations?
I have been practicing as a psychologist licensed in the State of Connecticut since 1986. I have been a member of the National Register of Health Service Psychologists since 1984 and am also a member of the American Association of University Professors and the Connecticut Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology. I participate with a local group, Wellness Professionals of Connecticut, and meet with a smaller professional consultation group every week. I have published papers in peer-reviewed journals on personality development, personality disorders, and personality assessment as well as pain management.
How Do I Work With Patients?
While there are many problems and issues held in common that I treat in my practice, every person and the problems they present is unique. My background and training in graduate school and postdoctoral education have offered me a broad base of clinical methods to choose from tailored to the kind of problem and person for whom I am providing services.
In my first session, after reviewing your personal and insurance information where relevant, informed consent and privacy guidelines, we will discuss the reasons you are seeking professional help. I will then review your personal history which might take one to three sessions altogether and from there we will establish treatment goals and the methods I will use to address them. In some instances I might request you sign an authorization for me to consult with other professionals who are currently or have provided services for you in the past. There are also instances when I believe a patient would be better served by a provider with a different specialty and provide an appropriate referral when I can.
Psychotherapy ordinarily is not conducted in a structured way so after a treatment plan and goals have been established each individual session is guided by what is most important to you while also providing continuity from our previous session. There are exceptions where certain methods have a structure and protocol to follow such as anxiety management, desensitization, and cognitive-behavior therapy and I might assign “homework” to do between sessions. But by and large psychotherapy is guided by your emotions and thoughts that emerge as well as events that have transpired since the previous session, especially for those who are working on personal growth, relationship, and existential issues in life. That said, I always return with my patients to an appraisal about where they are emotionally, whether they feel they are making progress, and a discussion about how to address problems and difficulties reaching their goals in therapy.
How Frequently Should You See a Therapist?
This depends on different factors such as how urgent your problem is, the degree of distress you are experiencing, how often the demands of your life on your time allow you to devote to therapy, and how affordable it is depending on your budget and, if you are using insurance coverage, your benefits plan. Sessions usually begin on a weekly or biweekly basis. For patients who are working on personal growth or who need this level of ongoing support this frequency may continue for an extended period of time. For short-term therapy, the frequency usually tapers over time to monthly or once every several months.
How Do You Decide When to Discontinue Therapy?
Ideally therapy ends when you have benefitted sufficiently from my services such that you no longer need them anymore. For some people, this event is very clear, they see me for a particular problem or set of problems and acquire the tools or insights that enable them to feel better and to have resolved them such that they no longer need to continue. For others, this decision is more ambiguous as not all problems and issues are easily resolved or even completely resolvable. Those in long-term therapy find it helpful to have the ongoing support and guidance to deal the challenges of life and the adjustments that transitions in life present. If in the course of therapy it becomes apparent that a patient is not feeling or functioning better this observation is discussed with the patient to determine whether adjustments in our work can be made, consultation with a professional colleague is advised, ancillary services might be helpful, or a referral to a different provider would be recommended. And there are many instances when even after a problem has been resolved and services are terminated a patient will resume therapy months or years later to work on a different problem that has ensued in their life.
Where Am I Located?
While my office where I see patients has been located in the town of West Hartford for many years, since COVID19 I have been conducting my practice through telehealth as most providers are during this pandemic. When I return to a physical office space I will also continue to provide telehealth services to those patients who prefer this modality. With telehealth it is feasible for me to serve patients who live anywhere throughout the State of Connecticut regardless of location.
How to Contact Me:
If you would like to schedule an appointment or have questions about my practice, please call my office at (860) 236-2131 and leave a message with your name, phone number, and best times I may reach you. You may also contact me by email at [email protected]. Finally, on my website Contact page you may complete the template and click submit with your basic and insurance information.
What Kinds of Patients Do I Work With?
I work with adults of all ages and adolescents and accept most major insurance carriers (Anthem, United, and Aetna) and Husky Medicaid as well those who prefer a “private pay” fee for service basis.
What Are My Qualifications and Professional Affiliations?
I have been practicing as a psychologist licensed in the State of Connecticut since 1986. I have been a member of the National Register of Health Service Psychologists since 1984 and am also a member of the American Association of University Professors and the Connecticut Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology. I participate with a local group, Wellness Professionals of Connecticut, and meet with a smaller professional consultation group every week. I have published papers in peer-reviewed journals on personality development, personality disorders, and personality assessment as well as pain management.
How Do I Work With Patients?
While there are many problems and issues held in common that I treat in my practice, every person and the problems they present is unique. My background and training in graduate school and postdoctoral education have offered me a broad base of clinical methods to choose from tailored to the kind of problem and person for whom I am providing services.
In my first session, after reviewing your personal and insurance information where relevant, informed consent and privacy guidelines, we will discuss the reasons you are seeking professional help. I will then review your personal history which might take one to three sessions altogether and from there we will establish treatment goals and the methods I will use to address them. In some instances I might request you sign an authorization for me to consult with other professionals who are currently or have provided services for you in the past. There are also instances when I believe a patient would be better served by a provider with a different specialty and provide an appropriate referral when I can.
Psychotherapy ordinarily is not conducted in a structured way so after a treatment plan and goals have been established each individual session is guided by what is most important to you while also providing continuity from our previous session. There are exceptions where certain methods have a structure and protocol to follow such as anxiety management, desensitization, and cognitive-behavior therapy and I might assign “homework” to do between sessions. But by and large psychotherapy is guided by your emotions and thoughts that emerge as well as events that have transpired since the previous session, especially for those who are working on personal growth, relationship, and existential issues in life. That said, I always return with my patients to an appraisal about where they are emotionally, whether they feel they are making progress, and a discussion about how to address problems and difficulties reaching their goals in therapy.
How Frequently Should You See a Therapist?
This depends on different factors such as how urgent your problem is, the degree of distress you are experiencing, how often the demands of your life on your time allow you to devote to therapy, and how affordable it is depending on your budget and, if you are using insurance coverage, your benefits plan. Sessions usually begin on a weekly or biweekly basis. For patients who are working on personal growth or who need this level of ongoing support this frequency may continue for an extended period of time. For short-term therapy, the frequency usually tapers over time to monthly or once every several months.
How Do You Decide When to Discontinue Therapy?
Ideally therapy ends when you have benefitted sufficiently from my services such that you no longer need them anymore. For some people, this event is very clear, they see me for a particular problem or set of problems and acquire the tools or insights that enable them to feel better and to have resolved them such that they no longer need to continue. For others, this decision is more ambiguous as not all problems and issues are easily resolved or even completely resolvable. Those in long-term therapy find it helpful to have the ongoing support and guidance to deal the challenges of life and the adjustments that transitions in life present. If in the course of therapy it becomes apparent that a patient is not feeling or functioning better this observation is discussed with the patient to determine whether adjustments in our work can be made, consultation with a professional colleague is advised, ancillary services might be helpful, or a referral to a different provider would be recommended. And there are many instances when even after a problem has been resolved and services are terminated a patient will resume therapy months or years later to work on a different problem that has ensued in their life.
Where Am I Located?
While my office where I see patients has been located in the town of West Hartford for many years, since COVID19 I have been conducting my practice through telehealth as most providers are during this pandemic. When I return to a physical office space I will also continue to provide telehealth services to those patients who prefer this modality. With telehealth it is feasible for me to serve patients who live anywhere throughout the State of Connecticut regardless of location.
How to Contact Me:
If you would like to schedule an appointment or have questions about my practice, please call my office at (860) 236-2131 and leave a message with your name, phone number, and best times I may reach you. You may also contact me by email at [email protected]. Finally, on my website Contact page you may complete the template and click submit with your basic and insurance information.