Unlike psychiatrists, whose training focuses on medical treatment, including the prescription of medications, our training focuses on assessment and therapy. It is simply a different area of expertise. We are not licensed in Virginia to administer medications of any kind. If we believe that you would benefit from medications, we sometimes refer our clients to prescribing providers in the area. Medication is not recommended by researchers as the first line of treatment for most disorders.

Yes.  Virginia law and the rules of our professions prohibit us from revealing any information about you or what we discuss. Anything you say to us is completely confidential and will never be shared with anyone.  The only exception is if you give us written permission to do so, or to prevent serious danger to yourself or others, although we will not break confidentiality if you are an adult who is currently being abused.  Information is not shared with spouses or other family members without written consent from you. Click here to learn more about your privacy.

We accept Aetna, Anthem and other Blue Cross Blue Shield non-medicaid plans, and Tricare. We do not accept Aetna or BCBS Medicaid or Medicare Supplemental plans. In other words, if you have Medicare and Anthem or Aetna, they will not cover your sessions with us. Visit our Insurance and Fees page for more information.

This depends on the nature of your concerns and a number of other factors.  Marriage counseling and treatment of problems related to sexuality can range widely in duration as some couples problems are very minor, while others are experiencing very severe, long-standing problems such as those involving repeated infidelity.

Therapy for anxiety commonly lasts between 8 and 20 sessions, but can be slightly shorter or can last considerably longer for very complex problems.  However, some problems appear to be more complex than they are, so you should never assume that therapy will go on for too long.  For example, people who suffer from panic attacks frequently believe that the attacks will never end.  But panic attacks are actually one of the most treatable problems that psychologists work with, and they can often be cured in as little as 6-12 sessions.

You can read more about our approaches by exploring the menu bar at the top of this website.

We are always searching for ways to improve our level of service.  If you have a question that is not addressed on this page, please help us out and send questions or comments through our contact form so that we can address them on this FAQ page.