FAQ

Common Questions and Answers

Who do you work with?

I currently provide somatic IFS therapy for adults (ages 18+) of all genders, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and neurotypes (i.e., including those who identify as ADD, ADHD, autistic, etc...) who are Self motivated for treatment. While I have worked with teens who were brought by their parents to therapy, I have found that the best outcomes are with people who seek therapy for themselves. If you are seeking therapy for your child, friend, partner, spouse, or family member, I would first ask are you in therapy yourself? If not, I would encourage you to seek individual therapy for yourself, family therapy, or couples therapy first. When we ask others to be in therapy, but don't engage in our own therapy we are sending a subtle message that therapy is for people that are "sick" or "have something wrong with them." Therapy is about self care, self love, and learning to connect, understand, and heal every part of us so we can show up in the world as our authentic Self. I have my own therapist for this reason. If your therapist does not have their own therapist, I would view that as a huge red flag. It's important that we first know ourselves, love ourselves, and accept ourselves so that we can in turn know, love, and accept others.

What do you specialize in?

The majority of my experience has involved treating people who have survived trauma, addiction, depression, anxiety, interpersonal problems, low self esteem, perfectionism, dissociation, and a fear of failure. I do not believe in diagnoses, or pathologizing labels. Terms like borderline personality disorder, or bipolar disorder oversimplify and over-standardize the uniqueness of each human experience. They lead clinician's to believe they fully understand a person based on their symptoms, which can lead to a loss in curiosity, and an inability to be there for people in the way they need. Diagnoses are for insurance companies. I believe that everyone's internal system is doing the best it can to help them get through their unique set of life challenges. Your system has done a fantastic job helping you survive to this point. If you are interested in healing the parts of you that have been hurt through those challenges, getting to know your parts and why they do what they do, learning to speak for them instead of from them, and leading from your true Self, I will be here to help when you're ready.

I use the Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy model.

For more information about IFS, please click below:

https://ifs-institute.com

How do I schedule an appointment?

You can reach out to me at derek@dctherapy.org or by calling (571)206-1561 providing a brief summary of why you are seeking services, and your availability. I return all emails, and calls, Monday through Thursday, between 9:00am and 6:30pm. I am currently accepting new clients, but have limited availability.

Will my health insurance cover therapy?

In an effort to make my services available to more people in need, I now accept the following insurances "in-network":

UnitedHealthcare
Oxford Health Plans
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield
Aetna
UMR
Oscar
UHC Student Resources
AllSavers UHC
Harvard Pilgrim
Meritain
Nippon
United Healthcare Shared Services
Allied Benefit Systems - Aetna
Surest (Formerly Bind)
Health Plans Inc.
UnitedHealthcare Global
Christian Brothers Services - Aetna
Trustmark Health Benefits - Aetna
Trustmark Small Business Benefits - Aetna
Health Scope - Aetna

If you do not have one of the above insurance providers, I can provide you with a receipt at the end of each appointment with which you can file with your insurance company for a reimbursement as an "out of network provider." The amount of the reimbursement varies with each insurance company. Please contact your insurance company directly prior to beginning therapy to determine the amount of reimbursement you will receive. Some questions that might help you when talking with your insurance company include: What are my out of network, mental health insurance benefits? What is the coverage amount per therapy session? What will be my out of pocket cost including copay, co-insurance, and deductible?

How is consultation different from therapy?

While it can be similar, consultation generally is between myself, and another therapist who is seeking guidance in a difficult case they have encountered in their practice. This may involve providing insight into my approach, and/or helping therapists work with their own systems to free up space/energy for the therapeutic process to flow more naturally. Often our own parts can get in the way of the healing process with our clients. I help therapists work with their own systems in relation to their clients in order to get unstuck, and to show up in their lives with more Self leadership.

What does is cost?

My fee is $180 per 45 minutes for an individual therapy session, or consultation session. This fee is prior to any insurance coverage, and may not reflect your financial responsibility. Full session payment fee is due at the time of service.

What are my payment options?

I prefer payment to be made directly by credit card, Google Pay, or Apple Pay. I receive payments through Square, or Alma's payment system which are both HIPAA compliant. Payment options may be discussed prior to your appointment.