Frequently Asked Questions

Logistics

We offer walk-and-talk sessions along the James River, with Parke meeting at Robious Landing and Daniel and Devin at Pony Pasture. We also offer telehealth through SimplePractice, a HIPAA-compliant platform accessible from anywhere in Virginia. Phone sessions are available for clients who prefer to move while they talk.

Parke handles all initial consultations and matches you with the therapist who seems like the best fit based on what you’re working on, your schedule, and your preferred format. We’ve built a practice where men can work with down-to-earth therapists who feel easy to talk to and know what they’re doing clinically. Switching is always an option, but in practice it almost never comes up.

Schedule a free 10 to 15-minute consultation call directly through our website or by phone. We’ll talk through what’s going on, answer your questions, and figure out whether we’re the right fit. If we’re not, we’ll point you toward a therapist or resource that is.

Most of us spend too much time sitting, staring at screens, and stuck in our own heads. Walk-and-talk therapy builds movement, fresh air, and natural light into the session itself. Some people open up more naturally while walking, while others do better through telehealth or phone sessions. The format matters less than finding a setting where you can talk honestly, think clearly, and do the work.

You’ll meet your therapist at either the Pony Pasture or Robious Landing parking lot, depending on who you’re working with. Both routes cover roughly two to two and a quarter miles. Wear walking shoes and comfortable clothes if possible. If the weather isn’t suitable, we’ll shift to telehealth for that day.

Yes. Phone sessions are flexible, private, and ideal for busy schedules or people who think better while moving. Many clients walk their neighborhood or local trails while we talk. Phone sessions are available statewide, anywhere you can talk privately for fifty minutes.

We are based in Richmond, Virginia, and serve clients throughout the state via telehealth. Walk-and-talk sessions are available along the James River in the Richmond area. We work with clients in Richmond, Midlothian, Chesterfield, Henrico, and virtually everywhere in Virginia.

Most of our clients are high-functioning, driven men who get stuck in their heads, expect a lot of themselves, and don’t always know how to turn it off. Many are men in their 30s, 40s, and 50s juggling careers, relationships, parenting, and self-pressure. We also work with college-age men, men in their 20s, men in their 60s and 70s, and a smaller number of women who fit the same general profile.

Cost, Insurance, and Policies

Sessions are $250 for a 50-minute session. We are a private-pay practice, and we don’t work with insurance companies. We’re happy to provide a monthly superbill so you can submit it for potential out-of-network reimbursement. We do not manage that process, so we recommend contacting your insurance company ahead of time to ask about your out-of-network mental health benefits.

We require 48 hours’ notice to cancel or reschedule. Late cancellations and no-shows are charged the full $250 session fee. We always waive this for genuine emergencies like illness, a sick child, or an accident. Work conflicts are still subject to the cancellation policy because the time has been reserved specifically for you.

The Therapy Itself

We review your intake paperwork and notes from your phone consultation before the first session, so we’re not starting from scratch when we meet. In the first session, we’ll get to know each other, understand what’s going on, and start sketching out what the road ahead might look like. By the end, we’ll send you home with at least one tool you can use immediately and one concrete action step to work on before we meet again. Learn more about what to expect. 

Therapy works best when there’s action between sessions. We may ask you to try a tool, notice a pattern, keep brief notes, or make a small change in how you respond to thoughts, emotions, or specific situations. The session is where we slow things down and learn the tools; real life is where the change happens.

In the beginning, we meet weekly or biweekly to build momentum and develop new habits. We’ll pick a day and time that works for your schedule and set it as a recurring appointment. Consistency matters. If you can’t commit to meeting regularly at the start, we usually recommend holding off until you can, so you get the best return on the time, money, and energy you’re putting into therapy.

There’s no set timeline. Some clients keep therapy in their life every two to four weeks as a way to step back, review how they’re living, and catch things early. Others come in for 8 to 12 sessions, make meaningful changes, and pause until they need it again. When you have a few sessions in a row where you don’t have much to bring, that’s usually a good sign it’s time to taper down.

Our primary approach is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, an evidence-based therapy with strong research support across anxiety, depression, stress, addiction, and self-esteem issues. ACT helps clients build a different relationship with difficult thoughts and emotions so those experiences don’t dictate behavior, while clarifying what matters and taking concrete action toward it. We blend in elements of CBT, DBT, mindfulness, and compassion-focused therapy depending on the therapist and what you’re working on.

A lot of therapy stops at talking about the problem, which can be helpful but is rarely enough on its own. We spend time understanding what you’re going through, then move into practical work using tools you can apply between sessions. At the end of therapy, we want you to be able to point to specific changes in your life, not just describe good conversations.

We work primarily with anxiety, stress and burnout, depression, self-esteem issues, insecurities, anger, addictive patterns, communication challenges, social anxiety, and relationship friction. Our focus is always on your side of the street. We can’t change the people around you, but we can help you change how you show up.

Yes. Anxiety is one of the main things we treat. That includes chronic worry, panic attacks, social anxiety, health anxiety, performance anxiety, overthinking, avoidance, and the kind of stress that keeps your body stuck on high alert. We use practical tools to help you relate differently to anxious thoughts and sensations while taking steps back toward the life you want.

Progress tends to feel like more contentment, more clarity, and more confidence in the direction you’re heading. It’s less about feeling happy all the time and more about feeling solid in who you are and how you’re showing up. For many clients, progress looks like responding less reactively, avoiding less, communicating more directly, and acting more aligned with the man they want to be.

There are no guarantees in therapy, just like there are no guarantees in life. But we are confident in our ability to help, and we’ve helped hundreds of people make meaningful changes in their lives. If you show up ready to work, change is very likely. You can also read what past and current clients have said about their experience working with us.

We may refer out for active suicidal crisis, eating disorders, active substance dependence requiring a higher level of care, psychosis, or trauma presentations that require specialized trauma treatment beyond what we offer. If you reach out and we’re not the right fit, we’ll tell you honestly and help point you in the right direction.

We don’t prescribe medication, but we have a network of psychiatric providers in Richmond and across Virginia we trust and refer to regularly. Many clients find that therapy alone is sufficient, while others benefit from combining therapy with medication. If it’s worth exploring, we’ll connect you with the right person.

That’s a good sign. It usually means you’re stepping outside your comfort zone, which is exactly where therapy does its best work. Almost every man is nervous before the first session, and that nervousness usually fades within the first 15 minutes once we start talking.

Yes. Therapy is confidential, with a few legal and ethical exceptions: if there is risk of harm to yourself or someone else, suspected abuse or neglect of a child or vulnerable adult, or a court order requiring disclosure. For minors, we also protect confidentiality carefully while involving parents only when clinically necessary or when safety is involved.

We only work with individuals. Relationship issues often come up in the work, but the focus is on your side of the street: how you communicate, handle conflict, manage emotions, set boundaries, and show up as a partner. If couples therapy is the better fit, we’re happy to point you toward trusted couples therapists in Richmond.

Take the Next Step

If you’re ready to move forward, schedule your free consultation today. It’s a low-pressure way to talk about what’s going on and see if this feels like the right fit.

Schedule a Free Consultation

“Action is the antidote to anxiety."

– Jon Kabat-Zinn

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