Grover Family Therapy

My standard cost of services for therapy is an hourly fee paid at the end of each therapy session. However, I do not charge everyone the same amount. I do this because I want to balance the need to value my own time with my desire to see and help as many people as possible. My fee is $100 per hour, however, for those experiencing financial difficulty I do offer a sliding scale payment option that can vary based on your ability to pay. While I appreciate being paid well, I am equally concerned with your ability to maintain treatment—if you end up needing to drop out because our visits become too expensive then I will not have served you well as a therapist. So I ask that you keep this in mind as well, and not committing to pay more than your are able. 

For payment, I accept cash, check or credit/debit cards. 

I also accept Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance

What's the point of therapy?

There are as many different answers to this question as there are therapists to provide answers. The best answer I can provide is that, while no one really understands specifically why or how therapy works, there is ample evidence to show that it does work. People who attend therapy for their mental health become better able to cope with stress, are able to resolve feelings of unhappiness or anger that they have not been able to deal with, and are generally happier and more satisfied with their lives. 

How does therapy work?

As before, every therapist will have their own answer to this question, and no one answer has ever been proven right. However, over the last 100 years since Freud first started laying people down on his couch in Austria, the profession has worked towards a better understanding. The most enduring principle of therapy has been the idea of Humanism, pioneered in therapeutic practice by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, among many others, throughout the 1960's and 1970's.

The core idea of humanism is that people, being basically good, will tend towards positive and healthy growth whenever they are provided a healthy environment in which to grow. Rogers shared the analogy of a flower, growing and blooming in the direction of the sun. Thus, therapists develop a therapeutic environment in which individuals feel safe to express themselves and where their opinions feel valued. 

A second idea, broadly accepted by modern therapy, is a concept called “therapeutic alliance”, which really just refers to the relationship that a client has with their counselor. Recent research into the “how's” of effective therapy have shown that the quality of the therapist and client's relationship is the single greatest indicator of whether or not therapy will have any positive benefit. In short, if you don't like your therapist, or you feel like your therapist doesn't like you, you're wasting your money! 

There are many other ideas that guide therapists in their practice, some are specific to each therapist and some have gained a more general acceptance. If you would like to read more about my personal approach to treatment you can click here. But generally speaking, therapy works because a client develops a safe, self-affirming relationship with someone who's only task is to help them grown and learn in healthy ways. 

What happens in a therapy session? 

We talk! That's really just about it. Mental health counseling has sometimes been called “the talking cure” and it really does work. As we talk I will ask questions to guide our discussion and help both you and I get a better understanding of who you are, why you are that way, and the ways in which you would like to change. Sometimes we may do breathing exercises, write or draw, play games, or interpretive pole dancing, but most of the time we'll just talk. I try hard to find ways to translate the personal insights we uncover and translate them into homework that will help you realize the change you are working towards, but that will not always be the case. 

Do I have to lay down on a couch and talk about my mother?

I dunno, do you like to lay down? Do you have issues with your mother? If so, you might benefit from that, but really, it's up to you. We will engage in whatever way seems best and makes you feel the most comfortable. We don't have to talk about anything you don't want to talk about or do anything that you don't want to do. It will be part of my job to ease you out of your comfort zone, but only as you are willing and able. Therapy will make you a little bit uncomfortable, but never more uncomfortable than you are ready to be.

How long does therapy last?

Therapy sessions usually last 50 minutes. I may do longer sessions from time to time, if there are issues of particular salience to discuss. But generally I stick to the 50 minute hour. As to how long you will stay in therapy, that is really up to you. Therapy tends to be most effective when it is carried out for a minimum of 8-16 weeks. Leaving treatment before that time makes it less likely that the changes gained throughout therapy will stick. After that time, it will be up to you and your therapist. The general rule I follow is to quit when we run out of goals to work towards. 3-6 months seems to be the norm for most clients I visit with. 

grovertherapy@gmail.com