If you are new to therapy, please let me know this at the start of our session so that I can answer any questions you might have. I am happy to talk with you about how therapy works, the process, what people typically find helpful and healing, what you might expect, and other questions you might have. And, of course, if you have questions along the way, I am happy to answer those as well.

If you have gone to a therapist before, you probably have a pretty good sense of what therapy is like. But if you have questions about therapy generally or about my approach in particular, please also feel free to ask about those anywhere during our work together.

Scheduling Your First Appointment

I know that starting therapy can sometimes feel vulnerable, especially if this is your first time reaching out to a therapist. That's why I've tried to make it easy to get started.

To schedule an initial appointment, please select a time from the calendar. Appointments can usually be scheduled within a few weeks. In order to accommodate most people's schedules, I have appointments during the day as well as in the evening, weekdays between 7:30 am and 6:10 pm.

Most sessions are under an hour, but longer sessions can often be arranged upon request.

After the therapy has gotten started, we will typically meet once a week or every other week, although I sometimes see people more often or less often depending on a variety of factors. We can discuss this during our initial session to see what would be most helpful for you.

Initial Appointment Overview

During our first meeting, we'll start off going over some paperwork. Once we've done this and you've had a chance to ask any general questions and we'll talk. I'll start to get to know you and learn more about why you're coming to therapy, and we'll get a sense of whether our working together seems like a good fit. I'll also try to get a sense of your hopes and goals for therapy. I'll start to get to know you and learn more about why you're coming to therapy, and we'll get a sense of whether our working together seems like a good fit. I'll also try to get a sense of your hopes and goals for therapy.

Convenient Office Location & Online Sessions

My downtown Durham office is easily accessible from I-85, 15-501, 147, and 70. It is conveniently located near Ninth Street as well as by both the East Campus and West Campus of Duke University. This location is a perfect mid-point for folks in the Triangle-area (including Chapel Hill, Cary, Morrisville, Carrboro, Raleigh, RTP, Roxboro, Oxford, Butner, and Hillsborough). And it is very convenient because it is right off many of the major highways.

If, for whatever reason, in-person visits aren't convenient, consider online sessions.

"Carolyn's office is a cozy refuge where you are just as likely to laugh as to cry. With her warm, caring, and attentive ear, she will gently lead you to theraputical epiphanies, whether you are having a crisis or just trying to get through the week. Also, if your mental health issues are exacerbated by social injustice and/or the patriarchy, Carolyn is definitely the right therapist to see."

- former client

"Carolyn is such a caring and genuine and wonderful therapist. I can't express how much my work with Carolyn has helped me. I'm able to handle my anxiety and depression and issues with my family in much healthier ways. I feel really present to my life and my relationships with everybody in my family have improved so much. It's not that I'm happy all the time, or enjoy where I am all the time, but I'm ok with that now, and I am present so much more of the time, and so much more able to recognize when I feel sad, or angry, or happy. I think my work with Carolyn was very, very successful in a way that I really never imagined it could be."

- former client

"I first met Carolyn two years ago when I was in the middle of several big life changes. I thought that having regular therapy would help me handle these stressful transitions more smoothly, which it did, but I could not have predicted the much larger effect that Carolyn has had on my life as a whole. I have seen her regularly for individual therapy, and for a few sessions with my husband for couple's therapy. Through her insightful and compassionate questions, Carolyn has helped me see bigger issues from my past and present that were negatively impacting me every day... Read more"

- former client

(See other testimonials)