People have different attitudes and needs around therapy. Treatment lengths can be as short as one session, three months, or three years and increase in length from there. Some people view therapy as a permanent fixture in their life–not because they never “get better,” but because some find great value in having a constant, impartial support figure in their life.

The relationship you develop with your therapist is unique and special. As long as it does not become co-dependent, you may find that you want to maintain that relationship indefinitely. For most clients, a therapist’s goal is to work themselves out of a job, so progress and treatment length is periodically discussed to ensure that clients get the most appropriate care possible.

Session frequency has a lot to do with how long your treatment lasts. As a rule of thumb, the more often you come to therapy, the faster things move because intensity increases with frequency. However, there may be financial and energetic constraints on how often a person can see their therapist. Most people start out at one session per week. It is advisable to discuss this with your therapist at the outset of treatment in order to collaborate on a recommendation for session frequency depending on your needs and goals.

One thing that clients consistently report is that the process of change is much more subtle and takes much longer than expected. Progress depends on many factors, such as client readiness, physical wellness, environmental stressors, frequency of sessions, and client-therapist match.

At the outset of your therapeutic experience, clients and therapists will work collaboratively to establish goals and indicators that goals are being achieved. One question to help define those benchmarks is, “How will we know when you have been able to successfully _________?” FPT therapists make it imperative to check in quarterly about goals and progress so that the process of therapy can grow and change along with you.

Overall, it can be hard to pinpoint whether therapy is “working” or not, but there are indicators of change we can observe. We look for instances when clients respond to old situations in new ways, when they are able to see things from a wider angle and know themselves in a way they didn’t before, and for symptom relief or a general sense of “feeling better.” We also look for improvements in performance at work or school, stronger, more intimate and healthier relationships, greater physical wellness, and achievement of developmental and individual life goals.

There are slight differences between both sets of terms and much variety around how the terms are used colloquially and academically. In mental health, “therapy” is the more traditional referent for any psychological treatment and is an umbrella term that encompasses a variety of approaches, including counseling, psychology, and psychiatry. Counseling is a specific kind of approach that tends to be rooted in a wellness-focused treatment model rather than a pathologizing one. Licensed counselors can diagnose, do research, and provide mental health treatment.

Psychiatry and psychology again are similar in that they both pertain to the treatment of the mind, but psychology is an umbrella term that encompasses many disciplines such as neuropsychology, clinical, social, and developmental psychology. Those licensed as psychologists can specialize in testing and assessment, research, or clinical treatment. Psychiatry is organized around the medical model and uses psychotropic medications as the primary intervention strategy. Psychiatrists are medical professionals who have completed medical school and have a license to prescribe medication.

FPT does not accept insurance. We do help our clients submit for out-of-network provider benefits, which often eases the financial burden of therapy significantly. Most insurers cover 30-60% of out-of-network provider costs once the out-of-network deductible has been met. We are happy to help you get reimbursement set up with your insurance company—just ask during your phone consultation.

FPT is private pay.  Unless otherwise agreed upon with your therapist, we bill on a monthly cycle. We send all our clients superbills which are submitted to insurance companies for out-of-network reimbursement. Because working with insurance carriers can be daunting and exasperating, our therapists and staff are more than happy to support our clients by either joining our clients on calls to insurance companies or may call carriers on our client’s behalf to obtain preliminary information about out-of-network benefits  regarding deductibles, percentages covered, maximums, and total out-of-pocket cost calculations. 

1.   Pick a therapist whose skills and areas of expertise align with your therapy goals. 
2.   Schedule a consultation. Read more here about what to expect in a consultation call.
3.   If it seems like a good fit, schedule your first session. Click to email us at info@frogpointtherapy.com.
4.   Assess how you feel about the fit and either decide to move forward with a standing appointment or interview another therapist. Don’t feel
    obligated to keep meeting with someone that doesn’t seem like the right match for you—if it doesn’t feel like a good fit, you’re missing a   crucial component for success in therapy. 

Sometimes, things just don’t gel. If you feel like your therapist and you just aren’t ‘vibe-ing,’ it is best to bring this up for discussion with him or her. The reason for this is not so you can work out your differences and keep going (although that can be important and transformative in and of itself), but to perhaps illuminate something deeper that is being triggered in your relational dynamic that can lead to insight about your relational style.

If you decide it’s just not the right fit, you should let your therapist know as directly as possible. A good therapist will not be offended and instead will hold that truth with compassion, curiosity, and respect. If you decide it’s not for you, most therapists will offer a few hand-picked referrals for you. Your well-being is always the priority.

In railroad engineering, a frog rail is a v-shaped mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another at a railway junction. The pair of v-shaped rails are called “frog points.” These points can be moved to direct an oncoming train toward a diverging path. Watch a video of how a frog  point works here.

The frog point is an analogy for how we at Frog Point Therapy think about our role in the change process: as facilitators and conduits of transformation. We can’t do the work for you, but we do get involved in co-creating a structure within which your growth–in whatever form it takes–is scaffolded and catalyzed by the most modern and integrated knowledge in adult development. Like the frog point facilitates a track change for an oncoming train, we support our client’s forward progress into a new stage of development toward a fuller life. 

Nearly everyone struggles with mental health difficulties at some point in life, but not everyone has the means to go to therapy and even fewer have the resources to seek private healthcare. As mental health professionals, we believe that no one person’s difficulties are less important than another’s and understand that our economic system stratifies what treatments are available to whom. To make our services more accessible to an inclusive socio-economic market, every Frog Point Therapist reserves seats on their caseload for clients who need the financial barrier to high-quality mental health treatment lowered. A few times every year, we conduct community outreach in the District of Columbia: we go into various communities around the district and perform mental health screenings, connect citizens to affordable mental health treatment in their neighborhoods, offer resources on basic coping skills and psychoeducation on wellness, and just spend time being in human presence with our community in all of its diverse beauty.

Sustainability throughout all of our ecosystems (intrapersonal, interpersonal, social, environmental) is the new gold standard and Frog Point seeks to be a leader in private healthcare in this sense as well in the more technical aspects of human development. Deeper integration of the self and deeper integration in community are the new frontier for wellness: healthy self, healthy society. Healthy society, healthy self.

Yes, anyone who is looking for online therapy can work with the therapists at Frog Point Therapy.  We provide virtual therapy for those clients who either prefer to, or need to meet online. 

For those looking to improve their overall quality of life, make the next big developmental shift in their life, take their career to the next level, cultivate a relationship with the self, find a deeper sense of presence in life and intimacy in relationships, Frog Point Therapy is the place for you. We currently do not have resources to treat serious mental illness or substance abuse but are happy to provide referrals to other treatment centers or providers in the community.

FPT reviews applications to the Junior Associate program on a rolling basis. There are three seats that rotate approximately every year. Please send an email stating your interest in the program directly to Dr. Barimany by clicking here. You will receive an email response to set up an initial phone call to talk about the program and be invited to apply if there is an open position available in the near future.

Dr. Barimany is licensed in the District of Columbia and the state of Utah. If you’re engaging clinical supervision services for the purpose of obtaining your license, please check the supervision and residency requirements of the state in which you seek licensure.

As a clinician, I tend towards formulating cases in a psychodynamic manner and use the interpersonal process to deliver interventions. My work is deeply infused with eastern wisdom (meditation and contemplative practice). These are technical skills and training I can offer from my expertise, however, I encourage you to bring your theoretical preferences, at whichever stage of development they may be, into our work together. As a supervisor, alongside helping you care responsibly for your clients, my goal is to encourage your development as a clinician. I appreciate collaboration and as you will learn from me, I hope to learn from and with you.

A 50-minute individual supervision session will consistently occur on the day and time of our choosing. Supervision is structured by an agenda that we negotiate at the outset of our time together, case presentations and consultations, and review of recordings. It is an ethical and professional obligation to abide by the ACA Code of Ethics and I welcome you to ask for guidance if you are uncertain about anything pertaining to either at any time.

As helping professionals, it is an ethical obligation to make sure that we are emotionally and physically healthy in order to serve our clients well. At times, personal issues will bleed into the work we do as counselors. When appropriate, these issues can be processed in supervision. However, there are clear boundaries between supervision and personal therapy and some things that come up in supervision need the space and attention of individual therapy. In either case, I encourage all clinicians to be in their own therapy no matter how expert and seasoned they may be. I am happy to help supervisees and mentees find a mental health professional that meets their financial, emotional, and practical needs.