Getting Started

Making an appointment 

Making an appointment involves a phone call (571-423-6818) or an e-mail (ewerfel@personcenteredhealing.com). If you don’t reach me on the phone immediately, I’ll call you back within 24 hours or one business day. When we speak or correspond, I’ll ask your name and date of birth, your insurance information, and a brief description of what is leading you to call. We’ll set up an appointment time for an initial assessment, where we can get to know each other better and start working together.

First Appointment

The first appointment is an opportunity for you and I to get to know each other. I will typically ask you questions, so that I can better understand your history and situation. You will have the chance to talk about what brings you to therapy, to get your feelings off your chest, and to clarify your needs and goals. You are welcome to ask me questions as well, to better understand my training and experience, and how we might work together to make changes.

There will be a small amount of paperwork, which you can do in advance or upon arrival. I am happy to talk with you about anything on the forms, if you have questions. If you would like to fill the forms out in advance, I can e-mail them to you or send them in the mail.

First Appointment for Children

If we are starting therapy for a preschool or grade school child, I ask that the first session involves just the adults, unless your experience with your child suggests that he or she would need to be involved from the first appointment. After the first appointment, I would be meeting alone with your child for 3-4 sessions for a complete diagnostic assessment, and would plan to meet with you alone after those sessions so as to discuss my observations, your knowledge, and the direction of treatment.