Frequently Asked Questions

(1) My primary specialty is helping you discover how to deal with your thoughts, feelings and physical sensations to make sense of your self. If you want, we can go beyond that to the discovery of your deeper nature as Consciousness or Awareness.

People want to make sense of their thoughts and feelings but, often have not been taught how to do that. In addition, many want to awaken to their total potential as both finite and infinite and transform their entire lives.  This includes people already at a high level of material functioning, spiritual integration or awakening, who are having a difficult time integrating the spiritual and the material ‘worlds.’ For those not experienced in spirituality, this would mean a total integration of Consciousness, ego and the body, and living authentically within that integration, connected to the natural world and the Divine.

(2) I specialize in anxiety issues.

I specialize in the treatment of anxiety disorders and have helped many people live calmer, more present and focused lives.  I’ve worked with people suffering from OCD, panic disorders, PTSD and longer-term anxiety. I have two specific certifications in Trauma Treatment from well-known international trauma treatment specialists: Dr. Bruce Perry (whose book with Oprah Winfrey, What Happened to You has been on the bestseller lists recently), and Dr. Bessel van der Kolk.

(3) I specialize in men’s issues.

Men have a peculiarly difficult time accessing their feelings and being able to talk about the things that bother them.  I help that process along by asking probing questions and fostering a dialog which many men find helpful.

I offer individual and group sessions for mirroring, with an emphasis on the principles of total life transformation, spiritual Awakening and help with Shadow work on the enlightenment path.

Please note: I no longer do drug and/or alcohol evaluations, nor do I work with clients who are involved in the criminal court system or on probation. I no longer keep notes for use in filing long term Social Security Disability claims either; if you know that’s what you need, please find a more traditional therapist. Also, I don’t produce letters or documents for court, attorneys, or insurance companies.

• Attaining a better understanding of yourself as Love and Awareness, and your core values
• Determining what your current dreams are
• Developing your own idea of what’s meaningful to you
• Discovering your spiritual resources
• Learning new ways to cope with stress and anxiety
• Learning how to feel, communicate and make use of your emotions: anger, grief, depression, shame, and others
• Learning to distinguish between emotions resulting from real events, versus those that result from thought-based, false assumptions
• Using emotion from real events to move to insight and wisdom, and then to determine if action is also appropriate
• Letting emotion from thought-based, false assumptions dissipate and dissolve without paying further attention to it
• Improving communication and listening skills
• Changing old mental, emotional, psychological, behavioral and spiritual patterns to move towards overall flexibility to live a moment-to-moment authentic life
• Discovering new goals and ways to solve the problems in your business, relationships, family or marriage that keep you from attaining those goals.
• Improving your self-esteem and discovering what self-confidence is and what its origins are
• Finding balance between money and meaning.
• Reclaiming the role of Nature, community and viable culture in your life.
• Opening up to your nature as Awareness and to a spiritual path that gives your life direction

Everyone goes through challenging situations and times.  While you may have navigated through other difficulties you’ve faced, there’s nothing wrong with seeking support when you need it to reach important goals. My services are often used by successful people who have worked hard to achieve material success and have enough self-awareness to realize they need a helping hand.  Our relationship provides long-lasting benefits, regular support, and provides you with someone who holds you accountable to yourself.

Yes. Confidentiality is one of the most important components of our relationship.  These services require a high degree of trust with sensitive subject matter that is usually not discussed anywhere but in my office, unless YOU choose to disclose it elsewhere.  I have learned to be extremely discreet and secretive because it is what clients need, and what the laws of Pennsylvania and the United States demand.  I will give you a permission form if you want me to disclose confidential information to someone else of your choosing. By the ethical guidelines of my professions, I cannot release any information about our work without obtaining your written permission on that special form. The only exceptions to these confidentiality rules are: if you are or have been abusing a child, disabled person, or elder, or are in imminent danger of homicide or suicide.  This confidentiality holds in all situations except a direct court order by a judge (not just a subpoena), and even continues posthumously. In other words, the confidentiality agreement holds even if I should outlive you.

For those doing spiritual Liberation work, or transpersonal therapy clients with no insurance (or who don’t wish to use it for confidentiality’s sake) I maintain a simple sliding scale based on verifiable annual total family employment and/or investment income (the summary page of last year’s income tax return). I use the family income as a fee basis because the whole family benefits when you do your psychotherapy work or spiritual work. Fees below are for new clients as of 5/27/2024; scheduling links are also included below for your convenience.

• $60 per session for full-time students with limited income. 
• $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 to $249,999 per year.
• $250 per session with income of $250,000 to $299,999 per year.
• $300 per session with income of $300,000 to $349,999 per year.
• $350 per session with income of $350,000 to $399,999 per year.
• $400 per session with income of $400,000 to $449,999 per year.
• $450 per session with income of $450,000 to $499,999 per year.
• $500 per session with income of $500,000 per year up to $999,999 per year.
• If you are living below the poverty line and want to apply for a scholarship to work with me on spiritual Liberation with no fee at all, please write to me via j@simplyawake.com. Several weekly sessions are available.

If you make over $1 million per year and would like to contract for special support, e.g. the ability to contact me via email, text or phone with feedback arranged the same day, please write to me via j@simplyawake.com to arrange a retainer arrangement with me. That will include a certain number of set sessions per month, if the 55-minute-long sessions are possible for you, and rapid interaction within 6 hours of contacting me on any question or inquiry for which you need assistance. This arrangement starts at $2,500 per month.

• Booking and payments:  book on my website and pay the fees then. (Or pay me by cash or check if you’re coming to the office, at the time of the session.)
• Book here for individual psychotherapy sessions.
• Book here for individual liberation guidance sessions.
• Cancel with a minimum of 24 hours’ notice or pay the full fee for the missed session (unless seriously ill, or in an emergency).
• Please be honest and up-front about your income; if I have evidence that you’ve been hiding income, I may ask to see the front page of last year’s IRS Form 1040.
• I do accept some major insurance plans for psychotherapy including Aetna, Medicare, Meritain, and Trustmark; please see the information under the FAQ for Insurance.

I have left most insurance networks because they don’t pay very well. However, I have stayed in some networks because they enable employed, middle-class people, and retirees to be able to afford therapy. I maintain room in my practice for 1/3 to 1/2 of my clients to come from these insurances.

However, until I leave the networks, I will accept new clients with the following insurances. Please be advised, however, that it’s unlikely that I’ll accept these insurances after 12/31/24.

• Aetna
• Meritain Health (a subsidiary of Aetna)
• Trustmark (a subsidiary of Aetna)
• Medicare
• You pay your standard insurance-mandated copay by credit card when you book the session, or pay in cash at the time of the session. With insurance: you pay your deductible and then your copay, after the deductible is met. Aetna and its subsidiaries allow me $110.21/session, most of which is paid by them.

I do NOW accept Medicare Insurance or Medicare Supplemental Policies (like Aetna’s supplementals, etc.) as of 3/1/2024. 

It is your responsibility to know what your deductible and copay amounts are. At the beginning of the year, or plan year (if your plan renews at another time of year), you may have to pay the full insurance fee yourself, until you meet your deductible. I am just one person and can’t wait on hold with insurance companies to find out your co-pays; please handle that responsibility.

Aetna and its subsidiaries Meritain Health and Trustmark, allow me to bill $110.21/session. Medicare’s reimbursement rate is $115.98. When I accept your insurance, you must commit to working either weekly or bi-weekly for the first six months to one year. Monthly appointments are the least frequent allowed for those using insurance. I will have to discharge you from treatment if you don’t keep this commitment.

I am an “out-of-network” provider for all other insurance plans, and you will be subject to my sliding scale for your rates. The lowest sliding scale rate is $80 and the highest is $250.  See the question above this one for an explanation.

You can pay me the day you schedule your appointment via my website. Use any standard credit or debit cards.  The shopping “cart” will automatically add the fee for using the credit or debit card so you’ll see the total of fee, or copay plus credit card fee when you check out. If you can’t afford to pay for the session at the time you book or don’t want to use a credit card, please write to me and I’ll make special arrangements for you to pay the day of the session. In that case, please pay me in cash, or by check.

Monday through Thursday:  12 Noon to 8PM (last appointment is at 7pm).

Fridays: 12 Noon to 6PM (last appointment available is at 5pm). Fridays from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the office closes at 3pm.

No Saturday or Sunday appointments are available.

Please book appointments on the hour, only, not on the half-hour.

The office is in the Buckingham Green shopping complex on Route 202/263 in Buckingham Township. The address is actually 4936 York Road, Suite 1300 D, Holicong, PA 18928.. The phone number remains 267-454-8034 and email remains the same and you can contact me online here.

When you see Buckingham Green Center, drive straight back from the traffic light passing The Silverman Gallery on your right (and passing the row of stores attached to Silverman Gallery, that make up the shopping center). You will find a standalone building, Buckingham Green Two, at the back of the parking lot. There is a semi-private entrance at the right, back corner of that standalone building (as you face the building) and you should park there.  Once in the door, my office is the first one on the right, Office D. There are 6 parking spaces right by the door and more within easy walking distances (100 feet or so)! When you arrive, please have a seat in the waiting area and don’t knock on the door. I will come out to welcome you when it’s time for your session.

ONLINE SESSIONS

Secure, encrypted videoconference sessions are available anywhere in the world using the software that is designed for therapists. The service is called Doxy.me. The complete videoconference address will be given to any international client or any U.S. client living more than 40-minutes drive from my office. Online Group sessions will use Zoom for classes.