Payment and Insurance
In order to protect your privacy and confidentiality, I
have chosen NOT to accept insurance for my services. As a mental health practitioner, accepting insurance would require
me to give you a psychiatric diagnosis from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Ed. Any
such diagnosis (from myself, or any other mental health professional) becomes a permanent part of your medical record. Sadly,
most practitioners do not disclose this to their clients.
A Further Look at the DSM-IV
Through my years of practice, I have increasingly moved
away from the medical model of psychotherapy toward a more wholistic approach. My work is based on promoting health, not
treating pathology. Giving a psychiatric diagnosis of a mental disorder to someone who is attempting to improve themselves
and their life is not something I am comfortable doing. It goes against my beliefs about this process and the trust and confidence
I have in my clients' desire to change and grow. As such, I only accept private pay clients. This allows people to have
total trust in the confidentiality of this process, which in turn paves the way for the level of openness and honesty required
for a successful outcome.