How a session works
Starting counseling is easier when you know what is coming. This page walks you through the whole first session. If you get to the bottom of this page and any of your questions have gone unanswered or new questions have arisen, the free consultation exists exactly for that purpose.
The paperwork comes to you
The moment you schedule your first session, the intake paperwork is sent through my secure client portal. It’s easier than it sounds: you read, you sign electronically, and signing submits it on its own. Completing the paperwork takes about 20 minutes. There are no buttons to push and nothing to print, and the forms read more like a medical history than homework. Once it is signed, it lives in your portal where you can see it anytime.
Completing the paperwork before you arrive matters because we cannot begin until everything is completed. I’d prefer to spend our first hour getting to know you and determining if this is a good fit. Contact me if you get stuck at any point.
Your first session, step by step
Every first session follows the same path, so you’re never guessing what comes next.
We start with confidentiality. What you share with me stays with me, and I will explain the few exceptions the law requires, which involve the abuse of a child or elder, or an intention to harm yourself or someone else.
Then we cover the practical things: fees, what happens if either of us needs to cancel, and how you found your way here. I will also tell you about a practice of mine: if we ever cross paths in public, I will not approach you or start a conversation. Your privacy is yours. You are always welcome to speak to me first about anything except counseling.
From there, the session is about you. You can ask me anything you want to know about me or how I work. I will share my perspective on counseling. We will talk about what led you to therapy, how you hope it will help, and why now.
And then I will ask the question I ask in every session: What do you most want for yourself from our time together today?
You already know more than you think
You know your interior world in ways no one else can. My role is to walk with you, explore your inner world with you, and uncover the roots of what is getting in the way of what you most want for yourself. Usually those roots are strategies you learned early, ones that made sense at the time and have quietly kept running ever since.
I will go wherever you want to go and talk about whatever you want to talk about. Along the way I will ask what you are noticing: thoughts, feelings, or sensations in your body. I will tell you what I notice in myself and what I notice in you.
One important item to note: I do not give advice. You have already tried the obvious options, and you are the expert on your own life, so you already know what you are willing to do and what you are not. What I want for you is the freedom to decide how you respond to what you are facing.
As those roots come into view, you have more space to respond differently to what happens in your life and to what happens in you.
The approach behind it
The roots of who you are
Imagine you are hiking through the mountains. Because being out in nature can be dangerous, you learned how to stay safe. Maybe you learned to scan for every possible danger. Maybe you carry a heavier load to protect the people around you. Maybe you stopped trusting your own sense of direction. Now you are beginning to realize how much of the beauty and aliveness of the hike you have been missing.
Those ways of hiking deserve respect. They kept you safe. My work is walking alongside you, learning the strategies you have used, and gaining insight into how some of those habits now stand between you and the beauty of nature around you and within you. Over time, hiking becomes less about staying safe and more about knowing why you do what you do, connecting to yourself, and living an authentic life.
The name for this approach is the NeuroAffective Relational Model, NARM® for short. It was developed for healing complex trauma, the kind that builds over years rather than arriving in a single event. Rather than digging endlessly through the past, we pay gentle, curious attention to what is happening in you right now. The strategies that shaped you from years ago are still running today. And today is when they can change.
We are unique individuals. My aim is to slow down and engage you with curiosity and kindness. There are no quick fixes here because personal growth takes time. We are addressing the roots of who you are as a person.
I am a Certified NARM® Master Therapist and this is the heart of my practice.
The practical details
My license is with the state of Alabama, so I work with Alabama residents.
Sessions are 50 minutes. I see clients in person at my office in Hoover and by telehealth. I prefer in person when it is possible for you.
My office is upstairs and the parking lot is small with signage that can be easily missed. Give yourself a few extra minutes on your first visit. My hours are Monday through Thursday, 7am to 6pm, and Friday, 7am to 1pm.
FEES AND INSURANCE
Sessions are $140 for 50 minutes.
Payment runs through my secure client portal. You enter a card when you schedule and it is charged overnight after each session. I never see more than the last four digits of your card number.
I am credentialed with Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Healthcare, and VIVA Health. If you carry one of these plans, the portal handles the billing.
If I am not credentialed with your insurance, I will provide a superbill, an itemized receipt you can submit to your insurance company for possible reimbursement. Many plans return a portion of the session fee this way, so coverage I do not take directly may still work for you.
Contact your insurance carrier to determine if this is an option.
If the session fee is a barrier hindering you from getting help, ask me about a reduced rate. I am open to that conversation and a simple agreement sets the terms.
Cancellation Policy: If you cancel late or miss a session the fee is $140. Insurance cannot be billed for a missed session and the time was held for you when someone else may have needed it. This works both ways. If I ever have to cancel on you with short notice, your next session is free.
Ready to take the next step?
This button opens my secure client portal. From there you can schedule a free consultation or a first session at a time that works for you.