DSC01570

This is a note about making myself available to you by phone.  People usually try chatting with me with a couple of different purposes in mind: 

  1. They have a relationship situation going on and would like some help figuring it out. 
  2. They are working on bettering their relationship and want pointers about specific skills to apply in a specific situation. 

Well, phone chatting seems to work pretty well.  But I've found it best we set up some agreements clearly, first. 

“Counseling”

You probably want to forget about that word – counseling.  There have crept into existence lots of rules, legal ones, about using that term.  For the past 20 years, in my professional office with my partner, I teach, educate, tutor, coach.  By phone we chat.  We share.

Cost

I charge $80 per hour.  I don’t pay the phone bill.  You call me.  I can chat with you for increments of a half-hour (30min, 60min, 90min, etc).  I do process credit cards  (Visa, MasterCharge, American Express, and Discover).  I have also come to like it if people pay me via PayPal.  That internet service seems to work very reliably for most people.

I want your address and phone number in case of scheduling problems, but mostly I want your email address.  I schedule most easily by email.  My address is al@turtlecounseling.com.

I live in the Pacific Northwest of the USA and thus I am on Pacific Time.  I’m lazy (old, smart?), so I let you figure out how many hours different there is between you and me.  I schedule sessions using my time. 

I am most easily available from 7am to 11am (PST/PDT) on weekdays, particularly on Friday.  Other times sometimes work. (Of course, I like vacations with Sandra a lot, so I am not always available.) 

Start/Orientation

Its sometimes useful to share with me a bit about yourself in an email before the first session.  A nice starting place is always some article that I have written that sparks your thoughts or questions.  I do have my website pretty well memorized. 

Organizing Chatting Sessions

I find that most people seem to benefit by coming to a session with a list of topics or questions.  We then can work our way through it.

Guarantees

In life, there are none I've found.  I just do my best, the way you do.

So, drop me an email (al@turtlecounseling.com) and let's set up a visit.