FAQ

I am lucky to have a beautiful office in a beautiful home at 659 Cherry Street, Santa Rosa, CA. You walk into a shared waiting room, where I will welcome you into my office.

Yes, I offer telehealth services through my secure SimplePractice platform.

• Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of WI-Stout (2000)
• Master of Science in School Counseling from the University of WI-Stout (2002)
• Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Palo Alto University (2022)
• Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of California, #157696
• Certified Emotionally Focused Couples Therapist
• Certified Clinical Trauma Professional
• Certified Narcissistic Abuse Treatment Clinician
• Trained in EMDR and working toward full EMDRIA certification

• Individual Therapy: $175 for standard 50-minute sessions
• Individual Therapy: $190 for 60-minute sessions
• Couples Therapy: $200 for standard 60-minute sessions
• Couples Therapy: $250 for 90-minute sessions
• Group Therapy: When groups are offered, clients pay $50.00 per 60-minute group session.

Client payments will be processed roughly 1 to 12 hours after the service. Clients submit their credit card information through their secure SimplePractice portal. I do not have access to your credit card information, but I can submit payment through my portal after the session.

I want your therapy to be shaped by you, not by insurance company’s requirements. I chose a private-pay model so that we can make decisions about your care together, based on your needs, goals, relationships, experiences, and what is actually helping you.

My work is highly personalized and often goes beyond simply reducing symptoms. We may explore underlying patterns, attachment and relationship experiences, trauma, emotions, and the deeper reasons you may be feeling stuck. Private pay gives us greater freedom to determine the focus, pace, and length of therapy without having to structure your care around an insurance company’s definition of medical necessity.

Using insurance can make therapy more affordable, and it may be the right choice for you. However, some clients choose to pay privately for therapy for greater privacy, flexibility, and control over their care.

When insurance is used, the therapist generally must provide a mental health diagnosis and share certain information with the insurance company to establish medical necessity. While privacy laws protect this information, some clients prefer to keep their therapy completely outside the insurance system.

Private pay may also offer more flexibility around the focus, length, and frequency of therapy. Insurance plans have their own requirements about what services are covered and when treatment is considered medically necessary. Paying privately allows decisions about your therapy to be made primarily between you and your therapist based on your needs and goals.

Clients may choose private pay because they:

• Prefer greater privacy and do not want a mental health diagnosis submitted to an insurance company.
• Want more flexibility in choosing a therapist based on fit, specialization, or therapeutic approach rather than their insurance network.
• Are seeking support for relationships, life transitions, personal growth, or other concerns that may not meet their insurance plan’s criteria for medically necessary treatment.
• Want greater flexibility regarding the frequency, duration, or type of therapy they receive.
• Have a high deductible or limited out-of-network benefits and find that using insurance provides less financial benefit than expected.

There is no single right way to pay for therapy. My goal is to help you understand your options so you can choose what feels best for you.

You will receive a few documents that are standard for all clients, including:

• Consent for Telehealth Consultation
• Intake Questionnaire
• Notice of Privacy Practices
• Informed Consent for Psychotherapy
• Practice Policies
• Credit Card Authorization

If we are working together in conjoint therapy (couple or relationship therapy), you will also receive:

• Couple Therapy Policy: Limited Secrets Policy

I understand that life happens and sometimes plans need to change. If you need to cancel or reschedule, please provide at least 24 hours’ notice. Cancellations made with less than 24 hours’ notice will be charged 50% of the session fee.

Your appointment time is reserved specifically for you, and late cancellations can make it difficult to offer that time to another client. This policy helps me protect the time I’ve set aside for your care while still offering some flexibility when unexpected changes come up.

Somatic and Attachment-Focused EMDR is a trauma-informed approach that combines EMDR with attention to the body, nervous system, relationships, and attachment experiences. Rather than focusing only on what happened, it helps you gently explore how difficult experiences may still show up in your emotions, relationships, beliefs about yourself, and physical responses. The goal is to help your brain and body process experiences that still feel unresolved, so the past has less power over how you feel and respond in the present.

The term Narcissistic Abuse/Antagonistic Relational Stress refers to the interpersonally harmful, deceitful, and invalidating patterns, behaviors, and alternating disruptions of safety and trust observed in any relationship with a person who has a personality style characterized by antagonism (e.g., manipulation, arrogance, hostility, entitlement, variable empathy, exploitativeness).

Your privacy is an important part of creating a safe and trusting space for therapy. What you share in our sessions will remain confidential, and I won’t disclose information without your written permission. A few legal exceptions apply, as outlined below. We’ll discuss these limits at the beginning of therapy, and I’m always happy to answer questions about how I protect your information.

California therapists must report or disclose information in these specific instances:

• Child Abuse: Any known or suspected child abuse or neglect must be reported immediately by phone and followed up in writing.
• Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse: Suspected physical, financial, or emotional abuse of older adults (age 65+) or dependent adults must be reported.
• Danger to Others (Tarasoff Rule): If a client communicates a serious threat of physical violence against an identifiable victim, the therapist has a legal duty to warn the intended victim and the police.
• Danger to Self (Suicide): Therapists may break confidentiality and contact emergency services or family if a client is at imminent risk of severe self-harm or suicide and needs protection.
• Gravely Disabled Minors or Adults: If an individual is unable to provide for their basic personal needs due to a mental disorder, intervention may be required.

Woodsong reflects the feeling of being surrounded by nature: the quiet comfort of wind moving through the trees, birds calling, and the gentle sounds of the natural world. For me, the name evokes calm, connection, and room to breathe, the kind of space I hope you’ll experience in therapy.

The first step is a free consultation. You can call me at (707) 953-0790 or email esmith@woodsongtherapy.net, and we will find a time to talk about what brought you here and whether working together feels like a good fit. If meeting online is easier, sessions are available through my secure SimplePractice platform.