Therapy is a deep dive into your life (often exploring the past) in an effort to work toward healing. Therapy supports your journey in recognizing your core causes of discomfort and digs deeper into the detailed reasons you might be dealing with certain concerns. Coaching, on the other hand, assumes at least some of that work has already been done and that the client is operating from a comfortable emotional baseline. In this space, creating forward-looking actions and strategies, coaching works with you to set and achieve goals. 

For more on the difference between coaching and therapy, check out this short article in The Washington Post.

Coaching is a client-driven process in which the coach assists the client in how best to achieve their chosen goals. This can include identifying what steps or shifts in thinking might need to be taken to reach the client's desired result. It's up to the client to determine what measurable milestones will demonstrate that the partnership is producing desired results.

The cost of therapy is always an important consideration. We participate with some insurance (see client portal page). Unfortunately, coaching is not covered by any insurance companies at this time. We can discuss fees prior to our first billed session.

If you are feeling depressed, anxious, angry, irritable, stuck or confused and if your relationships, social life, parenting abilities or work are suffering because you can’t seem to motivate or function properly, it is always a good idea to discuss these concerns with a professional. We think it is worthwhile to deal with problems as early in their development as possible. Individual psychotherapy can be the best way to deal with painful or confusing emotions.

We will not disclose any information about you or any session content unless you give me specific written authorization to do so (Hipaa). Please look at the Summary of the HIPAA Privacy Rule for a full explanation.

The law protects the relationship between a client and a psychotherapist, and information cannot be disclosed without written permission.
Exceptions include:

Suspected child abuse or dependant adult or elder abuse, for which we are required by law to report this to the appropriate authorities immediately.

If a client is threatening serious bodily harm to another person/s, we must notify the police and inform the intended victim.

If a client intends to harm himself or herself, we will make every effort to enlist their cooperation in ensuring their safety. If they do not cooperate, we will take further measures without their permission that are provided to us by law in order to ensure their safety.

Not at all! Because therapy and coaching use different modalities and concentrations, working with a therapist and coach at the same time can complement each other perfectly. 

If you are in or near Westchester County, New York, we have an office in Katonah. We can also arrange sessions in our NYC office as well. Otherwise, w’ve had great success at working through Zoom.

There is no single answer to that question since everyone is different, and everyone’s needs and processes vary. Length of treatment depends on many factors including the type of issue, the complexity of your situation, and what you are looking to accomplish. Sometimes brief solution focused interventions are very helpful. In other cases, people may engage in a treatment that will explore the root causes of psychological problems as a pathway towards lasting change. The choice is yours and it can always be discussed at your initial consultation.

Coaching however, is inherently a discovery and implementation process and we need time to discover and implement! That being said, we usually ask clients to commit to a minimum of 6 sessions (twice a month for 3 months) upon starting.

No; However, as needed, Elle can sometimes refer clients to somatic or other types of hands-on bodyworkers when she feels it would benefit the client’s overall wellness and well-being.