FAQ
Where is your office?
My office is on Route 202/263 (where they merge for a while) in Holicong, Pennsylvania, behind a group of stores and offices called Buckingham Green. The address is 4936 York Road, Suite 1300 D, Holicong, PA 18928. Geographically it’s about halfway between Doylestown and New Hope, Pennsylvania. I also do virtual sessions for people more than 40 minutes from my office.
Come into Buckingham Green at the Traffic light, and drive straight back past the row of stores. I’m not in the row of stores you see from the highway, I’m behind it.
If you do it correctly, coming straight back from the traffic light, Silverman Gallery will be on your right, and you’ll see a small building at the back of the back parking lot. (We like privacy, right?!) If you come to the back, right corner of that building and park, you’ll see a door with Simply Awake on it. Come in there and have a seat in the waiting area.
What are your hours?
How long are your sessions?
How much do you charge?
I have a sliding scale which starts at $80 per hour and rises to $250 per hour depending on the family employment and investment income for last year. If you have special mitigating circumstances that I should know about, please discuss them with me during our initial consultation (for instance two kids in college at the same time). However, $80 is the lowest rate per session. It doesn’t matter how frequently you come, the price is the same.
You pay:
$80 per session with income less than $34,999 per year.
$100 per session with income of $35,000 to $49,999 per year.
$125 per session with income of $50,000 to $74,999 per year.
$150 per session with income of $75,000 to $99,999 per year.
$175 per session with income of $100,000 to $149,999 per year.
$200 per session with income of $150,000 to $199,999 per year.
$225 per session with income of $200,000 and $249,999 per year.
$250 per session with income over $250,00 per year.
If you’d like to book a group of five or twelve sessions and pay for them all in advance, you can do that at a discounted rate, 10% discount for a series of 5 and 15% discount for series of 12. To determine your discount for other rates, just use your calculator or ask me if you’re arithmetic-challenged!
Do you take insurance or not?
As of 3/15/2024 I am accepting MEDICARE as the primary insurance coverage. I also currently accept three other insurance plans: Aetna, Meritain Health, and Trustmark. I continue to work with these four insurance because they allow middle-class, working people to afford mental health care.
Clients using these insurance policies must attend weekly for 4 weeks, and then by mutual agreement can attend every other week for another 4 sessions, and then continue at a mutually-determined pace (usually monthly), as long as needed. If you are not using insurance to pay for sessions, I’d ask you to attend 4 sessions within two months, and then we can move to whatever frequency you wish.
You must check with your insurance company (I have no staff) to see what your deductible is, if any, and what your session copay is. Some policies require you to pay the entire fee of $110.21 until you meet your deductible, then you can pay the smaller copay. Others don’t require any deductible. Since every person’s policy is different, as stated above, please call the company and ask them.
I bill electronically for the balance due after you’ve paid the copay or deductible. The most convenient way to pay the deductible or copay is at the time you book the appointment via my website. See the “Book Now” tab for details.
How do I set up an appointment?
Please call me at 267-454-8034 to have a brief chat on the phone.
Then you can go to this link to set up a therapy session: https://www.simplyawake.com/product/individual-therapy/
where you can choose the date and time of your first (and any future) appointment and pay the private pay fee or insurance co-pay to book that.
If you’re a spiritual mentoring client, use this link instead:
https://www.simplyawake.com/product/individual-spiritual-mentoring/
What is your cancellation policy?
Give me 24 hours’ notice to cancel or reschedule an appointment. Without that notice, you will be charged the full appointment fee (that means if you have insurance, what the total would be if insurance pays me plus what you pay me for the copay). If you are able to reschedule within the same week, I will waive any cancellation fee. Otherwise the policy stands.
There are three exceptions: you are suddenly ill and incapacitated, there is a family emergency, or there is a death in the family. Inclement weather issues can be settled by doing sessions online, otherwise the above cancellation fees apply.
What age ranges do you work with?
Do you work with women, men, or couples?
I work with men and women.
I only work with couples if I’m seeing both individuals separately for a while and can determine if relationship restoration is simple. If I think it’s too complex for my skill set, I will suggest you find a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with at least 20 years of experience. When it’s complex, one needs the wisdom of Solomon to sort things out, and I don’t pretend to be him!
What do you actually do in sessions with clients?
I ask a lot of questions, not just ‘How do you feel?’ I teach mindfulness, meditation, breathwork for relaxation, how to notice and talk about feelings, reframing history, challenging your thoughts, and many other things. There’s a lot of dialog, and I offer emotional and practical suggestions.
Do your clients receive assignments between sessions?
Just talking about your distress doesn’t change it, though it’s a relief to tell someone, finally. Whatever we talk about in a session is used to create some suggested action or practice at home.
What modalities do you use?
I use psychodynamic psychotherapy (looking at how your history has affected your current behavioral and emotional life), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy to help you learn to challenge untruthful thoughts and the distress they cause, some very basic Somatic Experiencing, mindfulness practice, and meditation.
I also use the therapeutic lens of Trauma Treatment, so I’ll be looking with you at “What happened to you?” instead of “What’s wrong with you?” This trauma lens moves everything from stigma and judgment to understanding and compassion.
What’s your professional training and experience?
Oh, gadzooks, go look at my ‘About’ page. I don’t want to repeat all of that here. I’m 68 years old, have 30 years of experience working directly in a healing capacity, and 23 years as a therapist.
What else does a client need to know to make the most out of working with you?
Although it might be scary to walk into my office for the first time, you’ll discover that it’s worth it. Your life will change for the better as much as you’re willing to work at it.
Also, I ask clients to make a commitment to themselves, to show up in the office or online regularly, to be respectful, to challenge me if I get you ‘wrong,’ and to keep going even when it’s emotionally tough.
I’m here to create a team of two with you to help you get through the tough times. I even offer emergency phone calls of up to 10 minutes for free if there’s a real crisis.
What does the office look like?
The office is large, has two sofas, two chairs, and lots of colorful sparkly Indian tapestries on the wall in case you get tired of looking at me!
Tea is always available in cool weather and cool water in warm weather.
What do I have to wear to therapy?
Wear comfortable clothing but not your pajamas and slippers. Keep those for home.
I’ll be dressed professionally but will be wearing sandals as soon as it’s warm enough. I hate shoes.
Do you have a therapy dog or cat?
What are your clients’ professions? Can you speak my language?
I work with entrepreneurs, real estate developers, PhDs, plumbers, carpenters, electricians, painters, scientists, computer geeks, nurses, doctors, other therapists, and almost any other profession you can think of. I’ve had no trouble relating to and helping anyone in any profession, and can adapt to the way you use language. That’s part of the fun of working with many different clients!