FAQ

To schedule a complimentary 15-minute consultation, click here or fill out the contact form below.

Session fees are $140. For your first session, plan for up to 75 minutes so that I can gather all of the relevant information about what is holding you back and all of your questions and concerns will be addressed and answered. Sessions thereafter will last 60 minutes.

You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your mental health care will cost. Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the expected charges for medical services, including psychotherapy services. You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency healthcare services, including psychotherapy services. You can ask your health care provider, and any other provider you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule a service. If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill. Make sure to save a copy of your Good Faith Estimate. For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises.

Please let me know in advance if you plan to use insurance. This allows me time to complete prior authorizations and verify deductibles if applicable. I am in-network with KanCare Medicaid plans and some commercial plans. I will work with you to make sure you have all necessary paperwork if you choose to seek out-of-network reimbursement from your insurance company by filing your own claim.

Helpful questions to ask your insurance company:

• Do I have out-of-network benefits?
• Do I have a deductible?
• Do I have a copay or coinsurance?
• If I choose an out-of-network provider, will their fees count toward my deductible?
• Does my provider need to obtain prior authorization before I schedule an appointment?
• Are there any conditions (diagnoses) not covered by my plan?*
• How many sessions are allowed per calendar year?

In order to answer questions about fees, the representative may ask you which CPT code we will use for your service.  The following are our most commonly billed CPT codes:

• 90791 – intake assessment, this is always used for your first appointment and possibly for additional appointments
• 90837 – nonroutine psychotherapy 53+ minutes (commonly referred to as 60 minutes)
• 90834 – routine psychotherapy 36+ minutes (commonly referred to as 45 minutes)

*You have the right to refuse a diagnosis but doing so may prevent you from being able to access your insurance benefits. Please let me know if you have any questions about your benefits or call the phone number on the back of your insurance card.

To provide you quality care, therapists are backed by at least 6 years of higher education, specialized training, and continuing education. I invest a lot into being the best therapist for you by maintaining my licenses and credentials every year. But I realize there are a lot of unique needs and circumstances that may impact your budget and I want to do what I can to keep money from becoming a barrier to the mental health support you deserve. This is why I have partnered with the Open Path Collective to offer sliding scale rates to those who qualify. Go to the Open Path Collective to learn more. I am thrilled to help people in this manner!

During our work together, it’s important that we both commit to your scheduled sessions. These times are reserved especially for you. If you need to cancel an appointment, I require at least 24 hours’ notice. This allows me to offer that time to another client who may need it. If a session is cancelled with less notice, there is a fee of $60. This policy helps ensure that I can provide consistent care to you and all my clients.

I understand that sometimes emergencies happen, and we can discuss those situations individually. If you have any concerns or questions about this policy, please feel free to ask.

Adults of all gender identities, gender expression, sexual orientation, romantic orientation, race, and religion are welcome to schedule with me. I prioritize being a business with affirming and antiracist values.

If you are looking for therapy for a child under the age of 12, please note that I will strongly encourage frequent family therapy sessions in addition to individual skill building.

For teens, I often find that individual skill building is best supported with an open and nonjudgmental parent on board, so you may be asked to join in your child’s session from time to time.

I do not offer couples or marriage counseling at this time.

There may be times where you feel comfortable simply having a conversation about your experiences. Traditional forms of talk therapy have been used for years to offer a safe, nonjudgmental, and compassionate space to explore the things that aren’t allowing you to live your best life.

However, when words fail to fully communicate what you are going through or you feel incapable of speaking about what troubles you, I specialize in alternative methods to counseling that can help such as Art Therapy and EMDR.

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. Eye movements, line drawing, and other forms of bilateral stimulation activate the stress reduction and problem-solving processes in our brain while focusing on a specific problem or memory, and both its negative and positive emotions, sensations and beliefs.

Art Therapy involves drawing materials that you are already familiar with and some other materials that may seem new to you. I will provide the necessary information needed to understand any of the art materials but no skill is needed to benefit from Art Therapy.

For parents and their children/teens, I believe that building strong attachments are at the heart of creating lasting change for difficult behaviors, conflict, and recovery from trauma. While some sessions will be conducted individually with your child or teen, I find that lasting change is more successful with an active parent participant. We may also find that nonjudgmentally exploring your parenting techniques will prove valuable to your child’s growth.

Therapy can create many positive feelings and motivation, but I want this to keep building its momentum. When appropriate, you and I may find that specific assignments and exercises will enhance your ability to progress in therapy by working independently between sessions.

I have have spent a lifetime nurturing an interest in art, maybe even since I was old enough to hold crayons and sculpt playdoh without eating it.

Flash forward in time; I graduated from the accredited Avila University with two master’s degrees in counseling and Art Therapy. I am an active member of the Kansas Art Therapy Association and the American Art Therapy Association and attend workshops and conferences regularly to stay current on the most effective forms of therapy to best help you. I am also a member of the Queer Affirming Therapist Guild of Kansas City as well as the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

In my office, you will find Ohuhu markers and Prismacolor pencils. I also enjoy using Sakura Expressionist oil pastels. On occasion I will experiment with other brands, but these are my favorites.

No. The art you make during an Art Therapy session is protected by HIPAA, a privacy rule that protects your personal health information. If you leave your art with me between sessions, it stays locked in a file cabinet and is treated with the same protection as medical documents.

The art on the walls of my office was made by myself, other art therapists, and my interns.

No. There may be times where you feel comfortable simply having a conversation about your experiences. Traditional forms of talk therapy have been used for years to offer a safe, nonjudgmental, and compassionate space to explore the things that aren’t allowing you to live your best life.

However, when words fail to fully communicate what you are going through or you feel incapable of speaking about what troubles you, I specialize in alternative methods to counseling that can help such as Art Therapy and EMDR.

Yes. Art Therapy is not about making a masterpiece or beautiful work of art. Art Therapy is about using new tools to communicate your emotions and experiences.

Because the experiences that bring us to seek therapy are often uncomfortable and sometimes painful, this won’t look “pretty” unless you mask it – which is what you’ve probably already been doing for a while. While masking can provide short-term relief, it is not a sustainable solution for long-term well-being.

It is important that you are honest, even about the “ugly” parts of life. At Art of the Matter, I am confident that you will develop trust to be open here. You don’t need to keep these pieces of art if you don’t want to, and sometimes the disposal of these pieces can be an important part of the process for you, too.

No, but please be mindful of your personal hygiene. You will need to wear shoes while moving throughout the rest of the building.

I may recommend couples or marriage therapy when I believe that there are issues that you and your partner need to work out because they may hold back your individual progress. I believe very strongly in practicing within my individual scope of expertise, and I want my expertise to be you! Similarly, when use of alcohol or other substances becomes an interference to your progress in treatment, I will provide you with the contact information of people I trust, or support you in finding a therapist that will be a good fit to help you navigate a path toward recovery.

My focus is solely on helping you find the way to loving your life. You deserve my full attention!