FAQs

Mental Health Therapy/Counseling

I’ve never talked to anyone. I’m used to handling things on my own. Aren’t people who go to therapy weak or severely mentally ill?

Putting on my sociologist hat, I have noticed that older generations have a stigma about therapy. I think this is because they were raised with more whole foods, in a time when things were more affordable, and they had more time outside than we do now. This automatically means they were healthier growing up. So in their younger years, mental illness was less common (statistics support this hypothesis). Only the extreme cases went to therapy, so I can see why they would have this negative association. This stigma has also been communicated to younger generations from parents and grandparents.

In a modern context, therapy can actually be beneficial for anyone. Whether you need help choosing a college major, navigating a career change, you're stressed out, or you actually have a mental illness (most of us do), therapy can help!

What’s the difference between talking to you or my best friend or family?

The main difference is training and experience. Your friends and family are great emotional resources, so make sure you are still connecting with them. But a therapist has specialized training and has helped hundreds or thousands of people. In my case, I have nutritional therapy and other training that even most therapists don't have. 

A therapist can offer a more neutral (less-biased) perspective on things.

Professional counseling is completely confidential which isn’t always the case for talking with loved ones.

Why shouldn’t I just take medication?

It's an old belief that mental illness is caused by chemical imbalances and that drugs correct them. Yes, a mentally ill person has imbalanced chemistry, but rather than artificially correcting it, it’s more important to consider why there’s an imbalance in the first place. It’s not just a stroke of bad luck, but often unintentional effects of lifestyle choices. Brain chemicals are dynamically changing and influenced by more than just medications. Diet, sleep, lifestyle, and environment change brain chemistry, too! On a more conventional level, even changing your thoughts (like with mindfulness) can change your brain.

Food should be your medicine first, followed by lifestyle and environment. This is because a healthy diet, lifestyle, and environment have almost no negative side effects and can improve many facets of health at the same time. This approach is both a treatment and a prevention.

On the other hand, medications usually trade one problem for another, such as improving mood but causing hormone imbalances. Medication tends to be much stronger than nature intended (and in isolated or even synthetic states). This creates a balance in one place, but causes an imbalance elsewhere. It’s also unnecessarily expensive.

Sometimes, it's necessary to take prescribed drugs, so if you are on medication, I won't judge, and I will work with you to potentially need a lower dosage or not need it at all anymore, if that's what you want. Keep in mind that I'm not a prescriber, so you'd have to talk with your doctor to get your medications adjusted as we work together.

How does it work? What do I have to do in sessions?

Because each person has different issues and goals for counseling, it will be different depending on the individual. I tailor my therapeutic approach to your specific needs. What we do in sessions depends on the type of therapy we are engaging in. How much you choose to open up is entirely up to you, but most people who hold back tend to not progress in therapy as much. At the other extreme, those who come to therapy just to "vent" also tend to waste a lot of time and money. Find your "happy medium" that feels right to you.

How long will it take?

Unfortunately, this is not possible to say in a general FAQs page. Everyone’s circumstances are unique to them and the length of time counseling can take to allow you to accomplish your goals depends on your desire for personal development, your commitment, and the factors that are driving you to seek counseling in the first place.

Whats the difference between counseling and therapy?

Honestly, there is a slight difference that's really only acknowledged on clinical licensure exams for therapists. Most of us, however, use these terms interchangeably. I am a "counselor" based on what my license says, but a "therapist" or "psychotherapist" is anyone who is licensed to practice mental health in a clinical setting. 

Besides counselors, other therapists are psychologists, master's level social workers, and marriage and family therapists. We all have different degrees and licenses, but we do the same kind of work, so it ultimately doesn't matter which license your therapist has and whether they are doing "counseling" or "therapy." What matters more is how much you are connecting with them and how much they are helping you.

I want to get the most out of therapy. What can I do to help?

I am so glad you are dedicated to getting the most out of your sessions. Your active participation and dedication will be crucial to your success. Those who are willing to learn and do the homework tend to progress the most quickly. Those who spend the whole session complaining or venting, or not talking much, are the ones who don't seem to get anywhere. My approach does require homework because lifestyle changes are key to improvement.

Why Don't you Take Insurance?

Many healthcare providers are moving to a cash-pay model now because insurance companies notoriously dictate the way we can serve our patients. They control whether or not we get paid. They even control how you are diagnosed. Essentially, insurance compromises our ability to serve you in the best way possible. 

For patients, many people have high premiums and very high deductibles that are rarely met within the year. This is especially true for those who prefer natural health and don't see doctors very much. If you don't meet your deductible, you'd be paying the full cash rate, or close to it, for most or all of the year anyway.

There's also sometimes confusion with what insurance will cover. They tend to change their minds. A lot of patients have ended up with unexpected bills over this.

So in the best interest of both clinician and patient, it seems most ethical not to accept insurance at this time. I know therapy can be expensive, which is why I offer a sliding scale and discounted monthly rates for those who want or need to save some money. By paying cash, you will have consistent rates (no surprises) and will understand what you'll need to pay. You will be notified of any rate changes.

Nutritional Therapy

Do I need Nutritional Therapy?

The word "diet" comes from the ancient Greek and literally just means "a manner of living." This implies that diet is not only about food, although our culture has, unfortunately, skewed it so much to hyper-focus on weight-loss, body image, and other superficial goals. 

Nutritional therapy is about epigenetics. This is a scientific term referring to the culmination of how nutrition, environment, and lifestyle affect our health. Food is far more than the sum of its calories. Food is not merely fuel, but it is nourishment. I purposely diverge from the conventional perspective of a dietitian because I recognize the importance of quality over quantity. Higher-quality, nutrient-dense food means better health. It's that simple. Dietitians, while I commend them for their degree of training, seem to typically focus on calories and macronutrients (especially a low-fat, high-carb diet) with little regard to bioindividuality and bioavailability.

It's important to recognize the tiny details, because they can make all the difference! Our diet impacts how we look, how we think, how we move, how we sleep, and how we function. If you feel like your health could be better in any way, then nutritional therapy could be for you!

What is Nutritional Therapy?

Nutritional therapy is not technically "treatment" for specific diagnoses but a protocol for supporting overall health. Think of it as treatment for the person rather than for the symptom or diagnosis. This is actually the main difference between holistic health and conventional medicine (which focuses on the symptoms or diagnosis rather than the person). While not a guarantee, many nutritional therapy clients/patients report no longer having certain chronic diseases after several months of nutritional therapy. It is hard work, but it's worth it for better health! 

Nutritional therapy is an evidence-based approach to supporting overall health through an individually tailored nutrition and lifestyle plan. It begins with an assessment, and then a tailored nutritional plan is prescribed. We will make adjustments as we move through our sessions to support your needs.

Since we all have to buy groceries anyway, we might as well make an effort to make our food nourishing! This is where you'll learn to do it.

What is the difference between a Registered Dietitian and a nutritional therapist?

To put it simply, the main difference is in credentials put after a name. A Registered Dietitian (RD) may have a license issued by their respective state. But not all states regulate this. Arizona, for instance, doesn't even issue licenses to dietitians.

"Nutritionist" is a generic term for anyone practicing nutrition. This term gets a lot of scrutiny, mostly from RDs who are upset at the competition, but also because anybody could use this title in most states because it's unregulated. It's a tricky one because you don't really know the extent of a person's training just by seeing this title. They could have very sound, scientific training meeting or exceeding an RD, or they could have done a two-hour webinar one afternoon.

A Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (NTP), which is what I am, is a person who has undergone rigorous training in the biochemical sciences and has had supervised, clinical experience. The training involves live, interactive lectures, written assignments, a comprehensive exam, a practicum, and capstone project. This is a certification since the school isn't accredited and can't offer actual "degrees." Although from my experience and comparing to the multiple universities I've attended, the NTP training is higher quality than most university offerings in terms of critical thinking, rigor, and utilizing unbiased science as a framework for understanding.

If you'd like to read more about this, I've written a blog post that you can find here.

What can I expect from my first visit?

Your first visit will begin with reviewing your completed medical forms, current food intake, health concerns, medical history, dietary supplement use, and talking about what your desired outcomes are.

We will work together to create a nutritional plan and follow-up appointments will track your progress from a physical and emotional perspective to ensure that the individually-tailored nutritional plan is working properly for you, and adjusting as needed.

Unfortunately, we can't bill insurance for nutritional therapy because it's not considered "medically necessary." However, you may be able to use an HSA card to pay for services.

Do you coordinate with other healthcare providers I am seeing?

Yes! Depending on your needs, I can have you sign a release of information form and collaborate with other providers.

Isn't holistic or natural health quackery?

I had to throw this in here because I live in a community that doesn't seem to appreciate wholesome approaches to health. "Quackery" is a term used by some to delegitimize the competition. Other common ones, especially since the recent pandemic, are "pseudoscience" and "misinformation." I've seen these used by RDs, MDs, RNs, therapists, and laypersons. We've seen a lot of reactive name-calling like this in recent years as political and social issues become more heated. As a therapist with a background in sociology, I find it interesting how backwards it all is. Really, this negative labeling is based on fear and misunderstandings. Natural health is legitimate and science-based as a whole, but I agree that there are some methods people are using that may very well be "quackery." But let's be honest: you could say the same for mainstream medicine.