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My practice provides specialized, high-intent support designed to help individuals navigate the complex emotional and logistical friction of family transitions. Rather than offering traditional, open-ended talk therapy, I focus on highly structured, solution-oriented frameworks across four core areas: High-Conflict Divorce & Co-Parenting, Blended Family & Stepfamily Integration, Family Asset & Inheritance Friction, and Eldercare & Aging Parent Conflict.

Depending on your specific needs, geographic location, and goals, we look at the dynamic through two distinct operational lenses:

• Clinical Therapy: For individuals seeking deep psychological processing, trauma-informed coping mechanisms, and emotional regulation strategies to heal from toxic family systems.

• Mediation: An outside-in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process rooted strictly in the Center for Conflict Resolution (CCR) framework. In this track, I operate as a Neutral Third-Party Facilitator to help two or more conflicting parties (e.g., divorcing co-parents, or siblings dividing an estate) move past defensive positions, identify shared interests, and draft their own self-determined agreements to stay out of court. No mental health treatment or diagnosis occurs in this track.

While both services are designed to bring resolution and peace to high-conflict family dynamics, they operate under completely different professional, legal, and billing frameworks.

Here is how to determine which service aligns with your current needs:

1. Clinical Therapy

• The Focus: Internal Healing & Psychological Health. Therapy is a clinical healthcare service designed to help an individual evaluate, process, and heal from the psychological toll of a high-conflict family system (such as a toxic divorce, sibling warfare, or generational trauma).

• The Relationship: You are a patient, and I am your clinical advocate. We work on emotional regulation, diagnosing and treating conditions like trauma or anxiety, and building an unshakeable internal boundary system.

• The Billing:Insurance-Eligible. Because therapy treats a diagnosed medical necessity, it can be billed to your health insurance network (BCBS, Aetna, United Healthcare, Cigna) or processed via out-of-network benefits.

Choose Therapy If: You need personal emotional support, want to process the trauma of an ongoing or past family conflict, and are looking to heal your internal landscape.

2. Formal Mediation

• The Focus:External Conflict Resolution & Structured Agreements. Rooted strictly in the Center for Conflict Resolution (CCR) framework, mediation is an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process. It is not a healthcare service, there is no patient, and no mental health treatment or diagnosis takes place.

• The Relationship: I operate as a Neutral Third-Party Facilitator between two or more conflicting parties (e.g., divorcing parents trying to settle a schedule, or siblings trying to divide a family estate). I do not take sides or advocate for anyone. Instead, I guide the group past defensive "positions" to identify core "interests," helping you draft your own binding, self-determined agreements.

• The Billing:Strictly Private Pay. Mediation is an administrative, conflict-resolution service, meaning it does not meet the definition of a covered medical benefit for any health insurance company. It is billed at a flat, out-of-pocket rate.

Choose Mediation If: You and another family member are in active gridlock over an estate, a parenting schedule, or an eldercare plan, and you need a neutral professional to facilitate a structured negotiation so you can sign an agreement and stay out of court.

🚫 Our Regulatory Firewall

To prevent role confusion and protect the integrity of your work, my practice maintains a strict firewall: If I am your individual therapist, I can never act as a mediator for your family dispute. Conversely, if I act as a mediator for your family, I can never become an individual or family therapist for anyone involved in that mediation.

Taking the first step toward reclaiming your peace and establishing firm boundaries is straightforward. We begin with a brief, structured initial consultation to ensure our frameworks align perfectly with your specific family situation and goals.

Here is exactly what the onboarding process looks like:

• Step 1: Schedule Your Consultation: Click the "Book a Consultation" button anywhere on this site to access my secure calendar. Select a date and time that works best for you.

• Step 2: Complete the Brief Intake Form: You will receive a short, confidential digital form to outline your primary areas of friction (e.g., co-parenting boundaries, asset disputes, or eldercare conflict) so we can maximize our time together.

• Step 3: Our Strategic Call: We will meet for a focused conversation to assess your situation, clarify whether clinical therapy or strategic coaching is the right fit, and map out the preliminary steps of your custom boundary blueprint.

Most traditional talk therapy focuses indefinitely on processing feelings, analyzing the past, or hoping the other people in your life will eventually change. While self-awareness is valuable, it rarely solves the active, high-conflict gridlock that keeps you up at night.

What sets my practice apart is a strict pivot from open-ended venting to structural strategy and boundary architecture.

I look at your situation through a systemic lens, treating high-conflict family dynamics as systems that require a blueprint, not just a sympathetic ear. Instead of giving generic advice like "just set boundaries," I work with you to engineer the exact communication protocols, logistical firewalls, and parallel parenting scripts required to stop the bleeding in real time. We don't wait around for a toxic ex, an aggressive sibling, or an invasive in-law to become reasonable. Instead, we focus entirely on what you can control: your response, your legal and documentation strategy, and the emotional sanctuary of your own home. You get the clinical depth of a therapist combined with the tactical, real-time strategy of a consultant.

Communication security and accessibility are top priorities in my practice, especially when navigating sensitive or high-conflict family dynamics. You can reach out through any of the following verified channels:

• Email: For general inquiries, administrative questions, or scheduling updates, you can contact the office directly at info@hbacounseling.com.

• Phone: To speak with the office or leave a confidential voicemail, please call 872-888-2557.

• Fax: Legal documentation, medical records, or estate paperwork can be securely transmitted via fax to (872) 241-0366.

• Secure Messaging: Current clients are onboarded to Spruce, a fully encrypted, HIPAA-compliant communication app. This platform ensures that your daily check-ins, boundary script reviews, and urgent logistical updates remain entirely private, secure, and separated from your standard text messaging log.

Financial transparency is essential to a secure working relationship. Because my practice offers two completely distinct services, Clinical Therapy and Mediation, billing structures are kept strictly separated to remain fully compliant with state regulations and managed care contracts.

1. For Clinical Therapy (Healthcare Services)

Clinical Therapy is a healthcare treatment for a diagnosed mental health condition and is eligible for insurance coverage.

• In-Network Coverage: I am an in-network provider for Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS), Aetna, United Healthcare, and Cigna. If you choose to use your insurance, your out-of-pocket responsibility (copay, coinsurance, or deductible) will be determined entirely by your specific health plan. We will verify your benefits together during onboarding.

• Out-of-Network Benefits (via Thrizer): If you hold a PPO plan with an insurance company outside of my network, I partner with Thrizer to simplify your reimbursement. Thrizer automatically verifies your out-of-network benefits up front. Depending on your plan, Thrizer allows you to pay only your co-insurance responsibility at the time of session, handling the insurance claims maze on your behalf so you do not have to wait months for a superbill check to arrive in the mail.

2. For Formal Mediation (Alternative Dispute Resolution)

Formal Mediation is an administrative, non-clinical conflict resolution process designed for multiple parties. It is not a healthcare service, there is no patient, and no mental health diagnosis is made.

• Strictly Private Pay: Because mediation is a structured alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process and not a medical treatment, it does not meet the definition of a covered medical benefit for any health insurance provider.

• Contractual Protections: Insurance cannot be billed, and superbills cannot be generated for mediation services under any circumstances. Fees are structured as a flat, out-of-pocket rate split among the participating parties as agreed upon prior to the first session.