Clinical Practice
We provide an atmosphere of privacy, safety, and acceptance. You will be free to say whatever is on your mind in any order. We will listen and follow you, occasionally asking for clarification and commenting on your feelings and perceptions. The task is to provide a good psychological holding environment for your use, and to build trust in the therapeutic relationship.
Gradually you will be able to say things that you had hidden even from yourself. You’ll learn to make links between your thoughts, feelings, and experiences now and in the past, decode your dreams, recognize your ways of protecting yourself and acknowledge how they have held you back, and challenge your assumptions. Gradually you learn to face your anxieties more directly and find alternative ways of dealing with them, which frees your energy for creative work and pleasure in intimacy.
Each patient’s therapeutic relationship is unique, fashioned from the interaction of the personalities of patient and doctor, and a valuable object of study in itself. It’s like a laboratory in which experiments occur, results are analyzed, and new solutions are proposed and tested. The more you learn about yourself and your impact on your therapist, the better prepared you are to build satisfying relationships with the family members you love and the people you socialize and work with.
Therapy During COVID-19
Safety is our priority.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, we are conducting sessions remotely. This is a common method that is used when face to face meetings aren’t possible. Until it is safe to meet in person, we are offering teleanalysis and teletherapy appointments only.
Arrangements
Consultation
First we will meet to discuss your situation, assess your needs for treatment, and see whether you have found the right therapist here. If you decide to have psychotherapy or psychoanalysis and you and your doctor feel that the fit is good, you will be given times for the next week, and a regular time that is yours will be worked out soon. If it is impossible to come to the doctor’s office, teleanalysis and teletherapy may be offered with your informed consent. If you prefer a different approach, we will provide a referral.
Number of sessions
Psychoanalysis is intensive treatment, calling for 3-5 sessions, each 45 minutes a week, usually lying on the couch, unless the patient is a child. Children usually play as part of their treatment.
Psychotherapy means 1–2 sessions per week, each 45 minutes, usually sitting in the chair (or at play). Longer sessions can be arranged.
Medication
Your doctor may prescribe medication if it is found necessary after thorough assessment, or we may refer you for complex medication adjustment to our consulting psycho-pharmacologist while you continue here in therapy.
Confidentiality
What you tell your doctor is held in confidence unless there is a duty to report your intention to harm yourself or someone else. Double doors and soundproofing ensure your privacy. Telephones are deactivated to ensure that no session will be interrupted. When teletherapy is preferred (or recommended during a pandemic) you may ask for sessions on the telephone or in our secure Zoom rooms, which are HIPAA compliant versions.
An investment in yourself
Patients sometimes ask if psychoanalytic treatment will be worth the considerable expense. Like all professionally trained analysts, we have completed years as patients in analysis ourselves. From personal experience we believe that psychoanalysis and its application in psychotherapy is an investment with a huge return for yourself, your loved ones, and the next generation. If you are a therapist, counselor, teacher, or physician, what you learn in psychoanalysis is directly relevant to your work. From artist to lawyer to salesman, many patients find their work enhanced by the emotional freedom they find in psychoanalysis or psychotherapy.
Coverage
When we are to be out of the office, we let you know as soon as possible. If you have an emergency while we are away, call our voice message to find out who is covering or go to the nearest hospital emergency room and ask for the psychiatry resident on call. If you need to reach us after hours, please leave a message to be returned that evening or on the next business day.
The treatment contract
When you make a commitment to psychotherapy or psychoanalysis, a regular time is reserved for you and you are then responsible for paying for it. If you can’t attend for any reason, your doctor will make every effort to reschedule an alternative appointment for you within the week, or may be able to fill your time with a consultation appointment. If that’s not possible, it’s still your time and you will be expected to pay for it. This obligation is waived when the metropolitan area is in a state of emergency, such as when Federal buildings are closed. Necessary modifications to this policy can be requested and discussed beforehand.
Payment
Your fee is individually designed, taking into account frequency of visits and length of session in relation to your income. Bills are due when rendered at the end of the month, and we expect payment by the 15th. If you need a payment plan, please ask. If you agree to a small surcharge, you may also pay by credit card.
If you’re ready to talk, please contact us