Virtual Counseling, Yoga, & Supervision

I conduct all my sessions (therapy, yoga, and supervision) through HIPAA compliant Zoom with which I have signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA) that holds the platform responsible for protecting my clients’ PHI (Protected Health Information). About 24 hours before our scheduled session, I will email you a Zoom meeting link that I encourage you to log into around 5-10 minutes before the start of our session. It’s important that my clients feel comfortable during our sessions so please select a location that feels private and relaxed for our meetings. For yoga or somatic integration therapy sessions, please also make sure you have enough space to move around and lie down comfortably.

Almost everything discussed during a therapy session will be kept private and confidential with a few specific legal exceptions. Please note that I am required by law to report suspected abuse (child, elder, or vulnerable adult) and situations where a client poses an immediate danger to themselves or others. I may also be required to release therapy records or testimony even without my client’s consent if I receive a legal subpoena or court order to do so. As your therapist, it is my job to make sure that your privacy and protected health information remain as secure as possible; However, since all services at AVA Mind Body are conducted virtually, there may be some additional risks to confidentiality that are different from those associated with in-person therapy. These risks include factors outside of my control such as technology failure, computer viruses, damage or theft of devices, unsecured electronic files, and inadequate software. Also, please note that since we will not be sharing the same location, you will be responsible for protecting your own confidentiality during our sessions by assuring that you are in a secure, private location when we meet.

While the effectiveness of therapy depends on many contextual factors, studies have shown that virtual therapy can be just as effective as in-person therapy if the client and therapist are able to build a strong, trusting relationship and the client is actively engaged in the therapy process. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more clients have been opting to do virtual therapy over in-person therapy for convenience, comfort, and accessibility reasons. While virtual therapy has been shown to work well for clients coping mild to moderate conditions (such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, grief, stress, and relationship issues), it may not be suitable for clients with more severe issues, such as those in crisis or at high risk for suicide. Essentially, whether or not virtual therapy is right for you will depend on your personal preference, needs, and comfort level. If at any time, you decide that the virtual therapy format isn’t working for you I will be happy to provide you with a referral for therapists who offer in-person services near you.

Since I am a Texas-licensed therapist, I can only practice therapy within Texas state lines. This means that while my client and I both need to be physically located in Texas during the time of our virtual sessions, we do not necessarily need to be in the same city.

In individual or couple’s sessions, the structure resembles traditional talk therapy. These sessions are typically 60 minutes in length. Somatic Integrative Therapy sessions are a little longer (90 minutes in length) and include both traditional talk therapy as well as somatic movement (yoga, meditation, mindfulness, and breathwork). Yoga sessions, although they are designed to be trauma sensitive and can positively impact mental health, do not involve therapeutic discussion aside from identifying what kind of postures, meditations, or breathwork might best help you meet your wellness goals. Please note that if you decide to do only yoga sessions with me, my role will not be as your therapist but as your yoga teacher. However, since it is not uncommon for yoga to stir up some pretty strong and often unresolved emotions, I highly encourage you to connect with a mental health provider with whom you can discuss any thoughts, feelings, or issues that may arise during our yoga sessions.

Absolutely! Since emotions and past experiences are often held in the body which can impact how couples communicate and relate to each other, incorporating somatic elements into the counseling process, such as body-awareness, yoga postures, breathwork, and mindfulness, can be very beneficial in helping partners to break old habits and reconnect with one another. By learning to tune into and calm the physiological changes that are occurring in their bodies during moments of conflict (like increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, muscle tension, etc.) couples are often better able to listen to each other openly and communicate with one another more effectively.

I currently do not accept insurance. However, I will be happy to provide you with any documentation you may need to submit a reimbursement request for out of network expenses to your insurance company. The amount of reimbursement you are eligible to receive will depend on the details of your specific policy. For any questions or concerns about out of network expense reimbursement, please contact your insurance company directly.

I recognize that it is not always possible or convenient to meet during normal business hours, so I offer flexible scheduling options including evening and weekend appointments to better fit with your busy schedule. Feel free to let me know in the contact form if there is a particular day or time that you would prefer to meet and I will do whatever I reasonably can to accommodate you.

Currently, I only see clients who are 18 years and older. This applies to yoga sessions as well as therapy sessions. However, I would be happy to provide you with a referral if you are seeking therapy services for a child or teenager under the age of 18.

The cost of your session will depend upon the type of service you request. The services offered at AVA Mind Body are as follows:

· Individual Therapy (60 min) - $160

· Relationship Therapy (60 min) - $185

· Somatic Integrative Therapy (90 min) - $225

· Customized Yoga (45 minutes) - $75

· Clinical Supervision (60 min per week) - $125 per session ($500/per month)

Please note that payment will be due at the time of session.

How often we meet will be entirely up to you. While the majority of my clients choose to meet with me on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, there is no specific requirement when it comes to scheduling sessions. For clients just starting services with me, I might recommend meeting more frequently (once a week, every other week, or once a month) in order to best identify and process whatever it is that might have brought them into therapy. Clients who have already met their initial goals and developed the coping skills they need to maintain their progress may prefer to meet less frequently. Essentially, I will support whatever you decide will work best for you, whether that means meeting on a regular basis or simply contacting me as-needed. Keep in mind however that with therapy, just like with any new skill, the more you put into it, the more you tend to get out of it.

Absolutely you can! Some clients may prefer to start out with traditional talk therapy (Individual Therapy) to get a feel for the counseling process before giving Somatic Integrative Therapy a try. Additionally, clients who request customized yoga sessions with me might find that this process can sometimes stir up some painful or difficult emotions at which point they are welcome to request to add Individual or Somatic Integrative Therapy sessions to further discuss and explore these feelings in more detail. Couples who have requested Relationship Therapy services are also welcome at any time to request to expand their sessions to include somatic elements as well. Please note that the cost of sessions may change to reflect the type of services requested. The goal is to find and establish a treatment plan that you feel works best for you. This might mean sticking with one type of service or alternating between different types of services depending on your unique needs, goals, and situation. Clients in Individual Therapy who are also wanting to do Customized Yoga sessions with me might find it more beneficial to combine these services into one Somatic Integrative Therapy session to better nurture the mind-body connection; However, they are also welcome to keep these services separate if they prefer.

Definitely! Any clients already meeting with a therapist can still request to do yoga sessions with me since these sessions will focus primarily on physical/somatic practices to best suit your unique needs and wellness goals without the additional discussion of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. However, just as I strongly believe in the importance of the mind and body working together in harmony, I also believe in the importance of health and wellness providers working together to provide the best possible care for each client. While I will not require you to sign a release form with your therapist that will allow me to openly discuss your treatment and coordinate care with her/him/them, I highly encourage you to do so simply due to the highly influential nature of the mind/body connection and the potential benefits of approaching health and wellness from a holistic perspective.

Great question! While I am a licensed therapist qualified to teach yoga and a registered yoga teacher qualified to practice therapy, I am technically not a yoga therapist. The term “yoga therapist” is specifically reserved for yoga teachers who have received 800 hours of specialized training in the field of yoga therapy. Although yoga therapists can help with a lot of the same issues as mental health therapists, they are technically not qualified to diagnose or prescribe treatment for mental illness nor are they held to the same legal or ethical standards as a mental health professional with a state-issued license. As a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Registered Yoga Teacher, I have the privilege of being able to combine my extensive training in the field of mental health counseling with my training in the field of therapeutic yoga to address, treat, and help manage a wide range of emotional issues and mental health concerns by strengthening and nurturing the mind-body connection in a safe and supportive atmosphere.

The term “trauma-Informed” in this case simply means that the yoga practice will focus on building a safe, supportive, and nonjudgemental environment that encourages you to choose what feels right for your body. Whether or not you have experienced trauma, it can feel empowering to incorporate free choice, consent, and agency into your practice. Essentially, the yoga sessions at AVA Mind Body are designed specifically to meet your needs, even if those needs don’t necessarily involve healing from trauma.