Discernment Counseling is a specific and unique process and you might have questions about it. You can find the answers to the most commonly asked questions here.

Discernment Counseling is not couples or marriage counseling. It is a short term structured decision making process. You will not be working on any of your relationship problems in Discernment Counseling. You will only be deciding whether you want to work on your problems or not. We only commit to one session at a time because we only meet for as many sessions as it takes for you to gain clarity and confidence in your decision. We meet no more than 5 sessions because it’s important to stay focused on the goal of making a decision about your next steps. The structure of a maximum amount of sessions helps us stay committed to that goal specifically.

Since Discernment Counseling is for mixed-agenda couples where one person is considering ending the relationship and the other person wants to repair the relationship, we meet individually to allow for conversations that can meet each person where they are at in their own decision making process. The privacy of speaking about your own motivations and ambivalence without pressure is an important part of your decision making process.

I do not provide any recommendation whatsoever to either person about their decision. This process is designed for you to come up with your own sense of clarity and confidence in your decision. Generally, I always remain hopeful that with the right accountability and motivation, relationships can be repaired with the help of longer term couples therapy. However, couples come to Discernment Counseling with their own emotions, experience, and motivations. We will explore three different paths: maintain the status quo, separation/divorce, take divorce off the table and pursue 6 months of couples therapy and decide after that how you feel. I respect every person who participates in this process and will never pressure anyone into going in a certain direction with their decision. I am always only going to support your own decision making process about what is best for you.

The first session is 2 hours long and $350. Sessions 2-5 are 90 minutes long and $262.50.

Discernment Counseling is not billable to insurance. No individual will receive a diagnosis and no individual will receive a treatment plan or be working on resolving any of their symptoms. Superbills cannot be provided. All Discernment Counseling sessions will be paid for in full by the couple.

I meet in person with anyone in St Louis, MO. I am licensed in Missouri, Illinois, Florida, and Oregon and can provide Discernment Counseling virtually to anyone located in these states.

Discernment Counseling is a specialty of mine and a priority in my practice, therefore I keep room on my calendar for these sessions and can generally schedule our first session within a week or two of our phone consultations.

The first step is to discuss Discernment Counseling with your spouse/partner and ensure both people are on board. Be sure that both people read through the details on my website, where most of your questions can be answered.

Then, both partners should send me an individual email with their consent and desire to participate in Discernment Counseling. In that email, include your phone number and availability for a brief phone call.

Once I receive an email from each of you, I will schedule an individual phone call with each of you privately. Please plan for approximately 15 minutes.

During the phone call, I will review the process of Discernment Counseling, offer an opportunity for you to ask questions, and determine if Discernment Counseling is a good fit for your relationship at this time.

If we all determine that Discernment Counseling is a good next step, then I will send each of you your own link to the portal to complete your intake paperwork, which will need to be completed as soon as possible. I will also email you both with my availability for our first session, which is 2 hours long.