Frequently Asked Questions

  • Our first session is a chance for us to get to know each other. I’ll ask you to fill out a questionnaire before we meet to tell me the basics of your current state, your background, and your tentative goals. We’ll expand upon these things when we meet, but our focus will be to establish a connection, human to human. Studies have shown that a solid connection between counselor and client is the strongest predictor of effective therapy, and I want that for you.

    Usually in our first session I’ll ask how you’ll know if therapy has worked for you. How will you and your life be different? Even if your goals change along the way, your answer will be a good guiding star for the duration of our time together.

  • The length of therapy depends on your needs and goals. If you’re looking to learn practical skills for managing things like anxiety, depression, ADHD, etc., a few months may be plenty. If you’re looking to unpack childhood trauma, deconstruct your faith or belief systems, or otherwise explore your sense of self, that takes time. A typical session lasts 50 minutes, though we can have longer sessions if that works better for you.

    Once you’ve met your initial goals for therapy, first, we’ll celebrate that! Then we’ll talk about whether you have new goals you’d like to work toward, if you’re ready to transition to less frequent sessions, or to end our time together.

  • Again, it depends on your needs and goals. For deeper work, weekly is ideal. Meeting more frequently allows us to establish connection and get at the root of things more quickly. But sometimes meeting weekly just isn’t feasible, and that’s OK. We can still do great work together. I see most of my clients either weekly or bi-weekly, with others I see only once a month. We can figure out together what rhythm works best for you and your life.

  • The best indicator of whether a therapist is a good match is your connection with them (or lack thereof). Trust your gut. If you don’t feel safe or comfortable with a therapist, you’re not going to feel safe or comfortable enough to do the work.

    You also want to find someone whose therapy style clicks with you. Maybe you need a gentler approach, or perhaps you appreciate someone who’s direct and blunt. No matter your personal style, if you want to feel differently you need a therapist who will hold you accountable to yourself. You should feel comfortable enough with them to endure the sometimes uncomfortable space between self-acceptance and change.

  • Honestly, not much. I and most other mental health professionals use these words interchangeably to describe the work we do. My background is in counseling, which is rooted in humanistic, person-centered practices. To me this means that the therapeutic relationship — a human-to-human connection — comes first. Everything else flows from there, including treatment planning, selection of evidence-based practices, and diagnosis if needed.

  • I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate (LPCA) with an Education Specialist (Ed.S.) degree. This means I’ve earned a graduate degree in counseling with additional coursework beyond a typical master’s degree, and I’ve obtained licensure from the Kentucky Board of Licensed Professional Counselors.

    My Ed.S. program required 280 hours of direct experience with clients. By the time I graduated in May of 2023, I had nearly 500 client hours. As a recent graduate in the early years of my career (an LPCA), I’m able to work independently with clients under the supervision of a more experienced, fully licensed counselor (LPCC-S) approved by the Board. This means I meet at least weekly with my supervisor to discuss cases, client issues, ethics, and professional and personal development.

    I’m also an EMDR-trained therapist. This means I’ve trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) with EMDR Consulting, an EMDRIA-approved training provider. This included a five-day, in-person intensive in May of 2022, followed by 10 hours of consultation and continuing education over the following year.

    For tarot, there are no formal licensing boards to regulate practice or qualifications. I’ve been working with tarot since 2018. It began as a tool for self-reflection and self-exploration, but I now lean heavily on my training as a counselor to inform my tarot work with myself and others.

  • As a newer clinician, I’m working toward specialization though my experience and training with the following groups:

    • Survivors of domestic abuse (physical and emotional), sexual abuse, childhood trauma, and religious trauma

    • People navigating major life transitions, grief, and identity crises (sexual and gender identity as well as others)

    • Neurodivergent people struggling with things including but not limited to anxiety, depression, ADHD, OCD, and bipolar disorder.

    My foundation is in existential therapy (see Q&A below). One of my favorite things about existentialism is that it leaves room to incorporate other approaches and techniques to suit each client’s needs.

    I’m continuing my learning in EMDR and other trauma-informed, holistically minded therapies under the supervision of LPCC-S Tiara Holt of Healing Essence in Louisville, KY.

  • Existential therapy encourages us to face the possibilities and limitations inherent in existence, and to make meaning of our human experience. It’s based on a fundamental belief that there is no one right way to live or be, and that it’s up to each of us to figure out what makes life worth living and how we want to live it. It sounds heavy, I know, but I promise to balance the heavy with the light. Both have their time and place. That’s what inspired the name for my practice.

    The way I see it, my work is to help you survey the terrain of your life so that you can find or forge a path that feels right for you. We’ll discern external obstacles from internal defenses, and we’ll approach those things differently. There are some obstacles we all face (life & death, freedom & responsibility, isolation & connection, meaninglessness & meaning making), though they show up differently for each of us. Together we’ll practice seeing yourself and surroundings as they really are, so you can decide what meaning you make of it all.

    Within the existential journey there’s space for all kinds of worlds, travelers, obstacles, treasures, and paths. I could ramble on about existentialism for ages, but I’m going to stop here.

  • As an LPCA working independently (not directly under someone else’s license in a group practice or agency), I am not yet able to directly bill insurance. However, I can accept payment using Health Spending/Savings Account (HSA) cards, and you may be able to seek reimbursement from your insurance for sessions with me as an out-of-network provider.

  • You can pay for your sessions using cash or card (debit, credit, HSA). I use Simple Practice (a HIPAA-compliant Electronic Health Records (EHR) system) for record-keeping, scheduling, and payment processing. With your consent, keep your payment of choice on file in Simple Practice and process payment following each session. If you ever need to use a different card or set up alternative payment arrangements, just let me know.

  • I’m typically available from 9am to 6pm central every weekday but Wednesday. I offer therapy sessions in-person at my office near downtown Paducah, and online for Kentucky residents. I’m able to offer online tarot sessions to anyone with an internet connection (not limited to Kentucky).

  • YES. In Kentucky, the only exceptions are when what you share in therapy gives me reason to believe:

    1. You’re an imminent threat to yourself or someone else.

    2. A child or dependent adult is being abused or neglected.

    Even in those circumstances I’ll do my best to discuss next steps with you first, and I will share with proper providers/authorities only information that is absolutely necessary to secure safety.

    As part of supervision (required by state law), I may share relevant details about your case with my supervisor. Supervision is meant to support me in providing the best possible therapy for you, and my supervisor is bound by the same laws of confidentiality as I am.

  • Reach out! Whether you have more questions for me, or you’re ready to schedule a consultation or first session, you can:

    If you call and I’m unable to answer (I’m often in session or otherwise unavailable), leave a short voicemail and I’ll do my best to return your call within one business day.