Common Questions
Beginning psychotherapy often brings questions — about readiness, process, and what kind of support is being offered. The answers below are intended to provide clarity and transparency, so you can move forward with a clearer sense of whether Root-based Healing aligns with what you’re seeking.
How do I know if Root-based Healing is the right fit for me?
If you’re seeking depth-oriented psychotherapy that moves at a steady, nervous-system-informed pace rather than quick symptom management, this approach may be a good fit.
How do I know if what I’ve experienced is “trauma”?
Trauma is not defined solely by what happened, but by how an experience overwhelmed your nervous system and shaped your sense of safety, connection, and emotional well-being over time. It can result from a single event, ongoing relational experiences, or unmet emotional needs during childhood — especially when support, protection, or understanding were absent.
You don’t need to be 100% sure that what you’ve experienced is considered “trauma” in order to begin care. Trauma is not determined by a checklist of events, but by how experiences have impacted your nervous system, emotional world, and ability to feel safe within yourself and in relationship with others.
Many people begin psychotherapy unsure how to name what they’ve lived through — and that uncertainty is welcome here. Together, we can gently explore your experiences with care and context, allowing clarity to emerge at a pace that feels safe and supportive.
What’s the difference between recovery and healing?
While the words are often used interchangeably, they point to different experiences.
Recovery often focuses on reducing symptoms and restoring functioning — helping someone return to a previous level of stability or manage distress more effectively.
Healing goes deeper. It involves understanding and transforming the patterns beneath symptoms, restoring a sense of internal safety, and integrating experiences in a way that allows for deep healing and lasting transformation. Healing is not about “getting back to who you were,” but about becoming more whole, grounded, and self-directed.
Root-based Healing is oriented toward healing rather than symptom management alone, while honoring that recovery and stabilization are often important parts of the process.
How does Root-based Healing approach stabilization within trauma work?
Root-based Healing is oriented toward trauma healing rather than ongoing stabilization or skills-based care alone. Readiness for this depth of work is thoughtfully assessed during the consultation and intake process.
Even when readiness is present, there may be moments when the nervous system signals a need to slow down. In those periods, psychotherapy may temporarily shift toward grounding and stabilization — not as a change in focus, but as a way to support the system so trauma work can continue safely and effectively.
Once steadiness is restored, the work returns to healing at the root. This allows care to remain both intentional and responsive, without losing its depth or direction.
What is a typical psychotherapy session with Iris like?
A session with Iris is calm, collaborative, and paced with care. The focus is on helping you develop greater awareness of your internal experience — thoughts, emotions, and bodily cues — in a way that supports regulation and insight.
Rather than following a rigid agenda, Iris responds to what is most alive and relevant for you in the moment, while remaining grounded in the larger arc of your healing work. Over time, this process often leads to increased steadiness, clearer emotional understanding, and a stronger sense of internal trust.
Is this short-term or long-term psychotherapy?
Root-based Healing is not structured as time-limited or protocol-driven care. The length of psychotherapy is shaped by the nature of what is being healed and the pace at which recovery unfolds.
Some individuals engage in psychotherapy for a focused period of time, while others work more gradually over a longer arc. Duration is not assumed at the outset and is revisited thoughtfully as recovery stabilizes and healing consolidates, ensuring the work remains intentional, responsive, and clinically appropriate.
What if I’ve tried psychotherapy or counseling in the past and it didn’t help?
Many people who seek care at Root-based Healing have engaged in psychotherapy in the past. Previous experiences — including those that felt unhelpful, incomplete, or misaligned — are important information, not a failure.
Psychotherapy is most effective when the approach, timing, and depth of work align with a person’s readiness and needs. Part of the early work here involves understanding what has been tried before and how those experiences shaped expectations, so care can move forward with clarity and intention.
Do you offer Telehealth or in-person psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy is primarily offered via secure Telehealth. Limited in-person psychotherapy may be available on a case-by-case basis when clinically appropriate and when it supports the work.
If in-person care is being considered, it is discussed during the Patient Consultation or the Intake & Assessment to ensure the format aligns with clinical needs, availability, and the level of care being provided at that time.
Do you work with couples and families?
Root-based Healing is a specialty psychotherapy practice focused primarily on individual adults engaged in trauma recovery. In some circumstances, couples or family psychotherapy may be incorporated when it directly supports the recovery work of an established patient.
These decisions are made thoughtfully and are guided by clinical appropriateness, scope of care, and the specific needs of the individual in treatment. Root-based Healing is not a general couples or family psychotherapy practice.
Do you accept insurance, what are your fees and accepted forms of payment?
Root-based Healing is an out-of-network psychotherapy practice. Payment is due at the time of service. Monthly superbills are provided for possible out-of-network reimbursement, depending on your insurance plan.
Current fees are as follows:
• Patient Consultation (30 min): $125
• Psychotherapy Intake & Assessment (60 min): $225
• Individual Psychotherapy (50 min): $190
• Individual Brief Psychotherapy (30 min): $150
• Couples/Family Psychotherapy (60 min): $210
Fees reflect the specialty, depth, and clinical focus of the work. Additional details regarding payment processing, cancellations, and policies are reviewed prior to beginning care. All major credit cards, HSA accounts, and FSA accounts are accepted.
Do you offer sliding scale or reduced-fee psychotherapy?
Root-based Healing offers a limited number of reduced-fee slots each year. Availability and appropriateness are discussed during the Psychotherapy Intake & Assessment, as reduced-fee care must remain clinically appropriate and sustainable for the practice.
If a reduced rate is offered, ongoing sessions are billed at an agreed-upon rate that balances financial accessibility with the depth and consistency of care provided.
If a reduced-fee option is not available or remains financially inaccessible, you will be offered referrals to community clinics, group practices, or providers who specialize in reduced-fee or insurance-based psychotherapy. This helps ensure access to care that is both clinically appropriate and financially sustainable.
Do you provide crisis or emergency care?
Root-based Healing does not provide crisis or emergency services. Psychotherapy offered through this practice is not a substitute for immediate or emergency care. Click here for crisis support resources.