Creative Being Therapy

Counseling is a collaborative process where a trained therapist (or more specifically called a psychotherapist or counselor – same thing) helps people address psychological, personal, and relational issues, promote a greater sense of well-being, and achieve therapeutic goals set by the client.

The highest level of credential a therapist can obtain to practice is a license. Licensed therapists come from several professions, including clinical social workers, clinical psychologists, marriage and family therapists, and mental health counselors. Any of these professions can support individuals, families, relationships, and groups through counseling. Review the general differences for Michigan-based clinicians below:

• Psychologists (LP, LLP): Usually master’s or doctoral practitioners. Master ‘s-level psychologists must practice under doctorate-level psychologists. Psychologists’ training emphasizes research, teaching, assessment, and diagnosis.
• Social Workers (LMSW, LLMSW): Usually master’s level practitioners. Licensed social workers perform therapy and case management tasks, with a focus on the person-in-environment and connecting people to resources.
• Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT): Usually master’s level practitioners. Training emphasizes relationships and family systems.
• Counselors (LPC, LLC): Usually master’s level practitioners. Licensed Professional Counselors, along with LMFTs, generally receive the most training on counseling skills. Counselors often work with individuals, couples, families, and others, focusing on increasing well-being rather than just reducing problems.
• Other Mental Health Providers:
  • Psychiatrists (MD): Psychiatrists are medical doctors. They have a doctoral degree and often work in medical settings, like hospitals or clinics. They can prescribe medicine, but usually do not offer counseling.
  • Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners (PMHNP): Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners are advanced Registered Nurses who can prescribe medication and provide counseling. They usually work in medical settings, like hospitals or clinics.

I am a counselor, and my current license type is an LLC. I am trained in somatic (body-based) counseling and am a Certified Expressive Arts Therapist. My education and clinical work focus on trauma-informed and holistic approaches to support diverse individuals, relationships, and groups. My approach is collaborative, multiculturally affirming, strengths-based, and liberation-centered. To learn more about me, visit the About page, or to review my offerings, visit the Therapy page.

Each person I work with must first complete a free 15-minute consultation via video or phone. This is to help us get to know each other a little better and address any questions you have. If we decide to work together, we can schedule your first session while on the consultation call. I will then send you the intake paperwork to be completed at least 24 hours before our session. We will decide together what the pacing of our appointments is, such as weekly on a particular day and time.

Click the button below to fill out an interest form, and I will contact you for your consultation:

Once we have met for your free 15-minute consultation and determined that we want to work together, I can use a secure, online scheduling page to schedule our first appointment. You will be required to fill out some forms before we meet, which I will email to you. You’ll fill those out on a secure platform connected to your online client portal. Then, you will receive the meeting link for online therapy beforehand and instructions to find our in-person location at Create U in Detroit. During our first few sessions, we will continue to get to know each other while setting therapy goals and exploring how we want to approach our time together.

Telehealth sessions are confidential, and all information is stored on a HIPAA-compliant, secure platform called SimplePractice. You will receive a link to our online session beforehand. Telehealth requires you to have a secure internet connection and a quiet, private space where disturbances and distractions can be minimized. Telehealth clients must be physically located in Michigan at the time of our meeting. Because so much communication occurs through body language, it is highly recommended that you keep your camera on as much as possible. I will invite you to turn it off during certain activities, such as meditation or expressive movement, if it makes you feel more comfortable.

And YES, we can use expressive arts therapy and somatic counseling over telehealth! We will work with what you have – your body, your space – when constructing expressive arts activities. There is no need for you to purchase art supplies unless you wish to, though having some pen and paper nearby is often beneficial.

You can use both telehealth and in-person therapy as desired, such as when you are sick and want to stay home or when you would like to do some expressive arts work in our art studio. If you plan to have therapy both in person and online, we will need to determine in advance where we will meet for each session. In-person offices at Create U may already be booked, so last-minute changes from telehealth to in-person cannot be guaranteed.

In-person therapy takes place at an integrative wellness practice called Create U. Instead of a typical therapy office, Create U is a cozy, beautifully decorated yellow house near the Detroit River, with a garden where we can do therapy in nice weather. Learn more about the space on my Contact page.

You can use both telehealth and in-person therapy as desired, such as when you are sick and want to stay home or when you would like to do some expressive arts work in our art studio. If you plan to have therapy both in person and online, we will need to determine in advance where we will meet for each session. In-person offices at Create U may already be booked, so last-minute changes from telehealth to in-person cannot be guaranteed.

Standard sessions are 52 minutes long. The odd timeframe is thanks to how insurance is billed! I use the remaining hour to update my notes and your medical record. An intake session may be slightly longer, totaling about an hour together.

Depending on your availability and goals, we may start by meeting weekly. After some time, we can reassess your progress and decrease the number of sessions per month, for example, to every other week.

I accept insurance and private pay. A standard individual session costs $135 out of pocket, and a couples/relationship/family session is $185 total (not per person). I accept payments by card and in cash.

I do take insurance. See my Therapy page for an updated list of the insurance I take. Please call the number on the back of your insurance card to confirm your deductible, copay, and/or coinsurance for mental/behavioral healthcare, and to verify coverage specifically for virtual mental/behavioral health services. This is the best way to avoid unexpected expenses from denied insurance claims.

You can watch this video to learn more about health insurance.

I wish there were a straightforward answer to this! Especially when you’re feeling distressed, it can be hard to face the fact that healing takes time. In some cases, we are trying to unlearn ways of being that have been a daily part of life for decades. There are many variables that impact how quickly change can happen, including but not limited to genetics, environmental factors, relationships, lifestyle, pharmaceutical medicines, other complementary therapies, and your level of motivation.

The changes you set out to make through therapy could occur in as little as one session, six sessions, or over a few years. But, in therapy with me, you will determine how long you would like to participate in counseling. We will continually check in to see how you feel you are progressing and make any adjustments to our work based on your feedback. The length of therapy will be an ongoing discussion that will center on your needs, preferences, and goals.

If you are using insurance, we need to have a diagnosis from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (5th edition) on file. If you are not using insurance to pay for counseling, we can have a discussion about whether or not a diagnosis is necessary. For some, having a diagnosis can feel validating or help them advocate for accommodations at school or work. For others, it can feel pathologizing. We will discuss whether or not you meet diagnostic criteria and the pros and cons of a possible diagnosis.

No, only medical doctors or psychiatric nurse practitioners can write medication prescriptions. If we determine you may benefit from supplemental medicines for your mental health, I can refer you to our in-house psychiatric nurse practitioner and functional medicine provider, Marilyn Ngundam, who can meet with you to discuss medication options and write a script. You are also welcome to ask your primary care doctor or psychiatrist for a prescription. With your permission, I can collaborate with your doctors on your case.

We also have an in-house clinical herbalist, Carmine Frye, who can work with you to provide plant-based medicines.

Counseling can end for a variety of reasons, whether that is because therapeutic goals have reached completion, or there are changes in your availability, insurance coverage, or personal preferences.

Throughout our time together, we will consistently check in on how you feel you are progressing toward your goals and make adjustments to ensure our work is best supporting you. When therapy is nearing its end, we will collaborate to review the work we’ve done, what you’ve learned, and equip you with additional tools to help you going forward.

Often, the end of therapy can bring up feelings of grief or loss, especially with those who have histories of trauma or abandonment. We will work together to move through this time with care and intention.

Lastly, many people return to counseling numerous times across their lives, as needed. You can think of mental health care just like physical health care; at certain points, you might need to go to physical therapy for a few months to help an injury heal, and then a few years later, you might return for a different issue.

Do you need a parent’s permission to do therapy?

I work with people aged 14 and older in Michigan. If you are under the age of 18, you are considered a “minor” and not legally an adult yet. However, you do not need your parents’/guardians’ permission to attend counseling for the first 12 sessions or 4 months of therapy (whichever is shorter).

You will need to prove your age with an ID, passport, or birth certificate before we can begin counseling.

If we do therapy together and I do not have your legal guardian’s consent on file (on an official form I will give you), then, a few sessions before our 12th one, I will introduce the idea of getting their consent. Otherwise, without their consent, after the 12th session or 4th month of therapy, we will need to stop working together. In that case, I can refer you to other sources that could help you.

Please note that all of this applies to your legal guardian, which may or may not be your biological parent or the person you live with.

Will I tell your parent(s) about what we discuss in therapy?

I cannot tell your parent/guardian what we talk about or do in therapy, except in certain circumstances. What we discuss in therapy is confidential. Confidentiality is the ethical and legal obligation of therapists to protect their clients’ personal information and ensure that what is discussed in sessions remains private, except in specific situations where disclosure is required by law. Those exceptions – when I do legally have to tell your parents and possibly others about our therapy, include:

• When you tell me that you have a plan to and intend to hurt yourself or others very soon, including suicide and homicide.
• When you tell me about any cases of ongoing child (aged 0-17) or elder (aged 65+) abuse or neglect, whether you are being abused or know someone who is.
• When you tell me about any cases of ongoing sexual assault or rape of someone under the age of 18, whether about yourself or someone else.
  • Please note: If you are a minor, if you consent to have sex with someone aged 18 or older, the state still sees this as non-consensual sex. Please be aware of this before we work together.

If any of the above exceptions to confidentiality are met, I am legally required to inform you of my intent to tell your legal guardian. Preserving your sense of safety and control over your own life is of utmost concern to me, so I will collaborate with you to take the next steps together. I will not “go behind your back,” but will intentionally involve you in this process, discussing the pros and cons. I will also strive, within my legal and ethical boundaries, to avoid unnecessary involvement of law enforcement.

Your parental guardian(s) do not have any legal responsibility to pay for your counseling.

You can review your rights here, on the Michigan Legislature’s website.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

I counsel teenagers between the ages of 14 and 17. The Michigan state regulations describe special circumstances for minors attending counseling. Review the Michigan legislature outlining minor therapy recipient rights here.

Teenagers 14 or older can request and receive a limited amount of counseling without the permission of their legal guardian, which may or may not be their biological parent or who they live with. They may receive outpatient therapy (which is what I offer) without parental consent for only 12 sessions or 4 months of therapy, whichever is shorter. At the end of that time, I will have to end therapy or refer them to another provider. Before this, in many circumstances, I will encourage them to contact their legal guardian for consent to continue therapy with me. Consent will entail communicating the rights and responsibilities of legal guardians and obtaining a signed consent form.

Normally, I cannot inform the minor’s legal guardian that the minor is in therapy with me, nor can I discuss what we talk about or do in therapy without the minor’s consent. However, there are exceptions to this confidentiality, based on my determination that there is a compelling need for disclosure based on the imminent likelihood of harm to the minor or another person(s). In the state of Michigan, the limits of confidentiality for people of any age include:

• Admissions of current, ongoing abuse or neglect of a person under the age of 18 (minors) or over the age of 65 (elders).
• Admissions of an imminent plan to harm oneself or others, including suicide and homicide.

The state views sex between a person under 18 and a person over 18 as non-consensual, and this would constitute another limitation to confidentiality that would require I inform the minor client of my plan to disclose this information to their legal guardian.

When consent or disclosure is required between me and my minor client’s legal parental guardian(s):

• Guardians with joint legal custody: I highly prefer to inform both partners as appropriate, though only one signature is needed on the consent form. I will need to secure a legal custody agreement to confirm the relationship between guardians and minor clients.
• 50-50 legal custody: I will need the consent of both guardians. I will need to secure a legal custody agreement to confirm the relationship between guardians and minor clients.
• Sole legal custodian: I will need the consent of the sole legal custodian alone. I will need to secure a legal custody agreement to confirm the relationship between the guardian and minor clients.

The Michigan Mental Health Code also states: “Services provided to a minor under this section shall, to the extent possible, promote the minor’s relationship to the parent, guardian, or person in loco parentis, and shall not undermine the values that the parent, guardian, or person in loco parentis has sought to instill in the minor.”

The full mental health code can be found here.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions!