Our first (or “Intake”) session will last 80 minutes face-to-face (you won’t be lying on a couch!). During this time, we will explore what brings you in, how you view your issue, past medical and mental health history, family and social history, etc. One question I will ask is called the “miracle question”: “If a miracle were to happen tonight and you woke up tomorrow and all of your issues disappeared over night, what would be different? How would you you know this miracle occurred?” This is a key question to understand paths to recovery and your goals. We also explore whether medications and/or psychotherapy would be right, and how best to deliver these: medications only, medicines and therapy with me, medicines with me and therapy with someone else, etc.
NEW PATIENT INTAKE QUESTIONNAIRE and ADMINISTRATIVE FORMS
After you’ve downloaded the forms, please print them and fill them out completely. Bring the completed questionnaire and administrative forms with you on your first appointment.
If you’d rather send a confidential e-mail directly to me, please complete and submit the form below. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
DOWNLOAD PATIENT INTAKE FORMS HERE
Follow up sessions are 25 or 50 minutes long. In general, we spend the first part of the session getting a general update. Then we see how medicines are working. We then do some Solution Focus work, or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Frequency of visits vary widely – I see some folks once a week, and others who are stable on medicines may come in every 3 months or so.
I believe in seeking full understanding and communication with my patients. To avoid any misunderstandings, at the end of each session, I will give you a “Patient Instruction Sheet” (see below) I will fill this out, hand this to you, and make sure that we are in agreement concerning what you will do after you leave the session.
“ I promise to listen to you!”
The Patient Instruction Sheet
A basic but important tool I use is a simple piece of paper that I fill out for you at the end of most every session. This magical tool is an instruction sheet. I hand it to you for your review and approval at the end of the session. It makes certain that we agree on the treatment plan, and that you have a written record of your job in between sessions. It may direct you to consult websites, do homework, exercise, take certain medicines on a certain schedule, etc. (note: it is important that if you are being treated with meds that you check the strength of your pills, since they come in different strengths, If we have been adjusting doses, you may have bottles of medications at home of different strengths- so please pay attention to this fact.)
