One of the primary things that my long study of philosophy has taught me is that it is a rather difficult thing for a conversation to get its teeth into anything and manage to hold on to it for a period of time in a focused, honest, and productive way. More time, patience, and a gracious allowance for “dead ends” in getting there are needed than one is used to believing. Dialectical conversation (see note on this term in “Philosophy and Methods”), as much as psychodynamic therapy, is most effective through frequent and longer sessions, and the more time one is able to invest in such a conversation, the more that even the “dead ends” prove themselves both useful and important. To this end, I have several policies that are virtually entirely unique.
First, your initial session is free. I believe that anyone preparing to embark on this kind of counselling and self-examination needs at least an hour free from any financial factor to see if it will be an appropriate fit for them.
Second, I have a low rate (currently $100/hr) and do not “count minutes.” This is meant to encourage longer and more frequent sessions, as well as to compensate for the fact that I do not presently accept insurance coverage plans.
Third, there is virtually no limit as to how long a session can be. Moreover, you do not need to decide ahead of time precisely how long it should be. While I may decide to end a session when I perceive that a certain goal or limit has been reached, it will be up to you how long and to what extent we converse. Alternatively, if you feel more comfortable with a fixed and agreed-upon time, this is also perfectly fine. The reason I offer extended and more flexible session times is simply that there is no formula for how long anything we will attempt should or can take; moreover, knowing ahead of time that there is a fixed “cut off point” can oftentimes constrict the freedom of the session and capacity for discovery.
Ekstasis Counselling 