FAQs

What are your fees?

Fee exchange:
Individual therapy: $180
Couples therapy: $200

I also offer 80-minute sessions at a rate of $250/$280. Many people prefer this option anytime there is more than one person in the room. EMDR sessions also are more effective/productive when 80-minutes.

I recommend that intakes be 80 minutes because there is so much to cover!

A couple’s intake is a unique process that will be three 90-minute sessions at a rate $300 per session. To encourage you to take this route, as it truly is the most effective way to begin, I offer the whole intake package for $800 if paid up front.

This includes all three 90-minute sessions, plus an extensive FREE online relationship analysis worth $39 dollars. If done all separately, it would cost $939, saving over $100 for purchasing the intake package up front.

After the intake, even if you choose not to continue to work with me, I can provide you with an in-depth analysis of your relationship and its specific issues. Please see the “What to Expect” page for more information about the couple’s intake process.

***I have a team of therapists working with me called the Conscious Pathways Collective. These therapists are available at a lower rate between $120-$160 per session for individual and couples therapy. Please let me know if you are seeking a lower rate via the contact page when you reach out!!

Do you take insurance?

In general, I do not work with insurance companies. I am considered “out-of-network.”

However, if you would like to seek reimbursement on your own, I am happy to provide a super bill with the necessary information.

Insurance companies are a bit too bossy for my liking. They limit who you can see, the amount of sessions you can have, and pay clinicians a fairly offensive rate. My experience is that they treat my clients as case numbers and a diagnoses, instead of dynamic human beings.

For insurance to be used, the treatment must be “medically necessary.” This means that someone has to actually diagnose you with a mental health disorder AND prove that it is impacting your health on a day-to-day basis. Many of life’s problems, especially relationship problems, are not mental health disorders. Many folks seek treatment before their issue would meet criteria for diagnosis as a mental health disorder, which is exactly what you should do!

Why therapy? How will it even help?

The point of therapy is to help YOU understand YOU in a deeper way. I am highly educated in human behavior, how the brain works, and how relationship dynamics happen and maintain.

All of these things are usually happening outside of our awareness. And it is VERY difficult to “see” yourself from the outside. That’s why most good therapists go see THEIR OWN therapists…in order to stay in tune and aware of their own unconscious “stuff.” We just can’t see ourselves and our stuff the way a highly trained 3rd party can see it.

For couples specifically, we as humans get so trapped in our own reactivity. We know we are angry, annoyed, hurt…but often struggle to really understand WHY.

I will help you understand the “WHY.”The “why” creates awareness and insight. And that is how change occurs. We can’t change something that we don’t even know is happening! So insight allows for CHOICE…do you want to keep behaving that old way that doesn’t work or would you like to behave differently now that you know other options?

Couples also gain a much deeper understanding of EACH OTHER in therapy. This creates more empathy and kindness, increasing your bond. When the bond is stronger, you can work together as team, moving from “me against you” to an “us against the world” mindset.

Why am I hesitating to call you?

We are creatures of habit. That makes all changes and transitions difficult. Plus, we have an evolutionary fear of the unknown and unfamiliar. I hope my website can answer many of the “unknowns” for you. But if you still have concerns or fears, just use the contact page to write me, and we can keep exploring it together.

Therapy also has gotten a bad rap. Good ol’ Freud has everyone still thinking we lay on the couch talking about our mommy-issues. May I confidently reassure you that therapy has evolved!

It is for everyone and anyone wanting to understand themselves better and get relief from any overwhelming emotion. In my experience, it’s not “screwed up” people that come to see me. Just the opposite really: it is the brave ones who are willing to be human and seek help for the things they don’t know about.

Therapy offers a choice:
We can unconsciously keep playing out the same patterns, stuck in our own habits and prisoner to our upbringings. Or we can step back, use our higher brains, and gain insight and awareness into our actions. That is how we change.

And…yes, sometimes we do wind up talking about mommy issues

How long will it take to feel better?

Hope and a sense of relief usually occurs immediately after coming in. With a regular, weekly commitment to therapy, improvement can be seen in the first month. I often start prescribing interventions for couples and families within 4 sessions.

If you do prescribed homework and use skills outside of session, treatment can be completed in about 6 months (longer if there is severe trauma).

An average stay is usually around a year or so. And you are welcomed back with open arms anytime something new may arise in your life!

Like with most things, you get out with you put in. The more committed to the work, the quicker you will see results that are lasting and sustainable.

What are you like?

My clients tell me I am laid back, very accepting, confident, and highly informative. I love to joke and will always give hugs to a client who asks.

My partner tells me I can be feisty and energetic while colleagues share that I am articulate, passionate, and a good teacher.

Like many Colorado transplants, I love sunshine, fresh air, my dog, and craft beer. I’m sure that we can always find something in common!

Are you LGBTQIA+ friendly?

Most certainly! I was trained in couples and sex therapy in Philadelphia in the heart of the gayborhood (now sporting beautiful rainbow walkways!). I am passionate about social justice issues and I’m a member of the community.

I also specialize in treating a range of ENM (ethically non-monogamous) relationships including polyamory, open-relationships, throuples, and swinging.

You can trust you will be welcomed with open arms at my practice with no judgment about your lifestyle choices. Plus I can offer professional knowledge and training mixed with personal lived-experience.

What makes you different than any other couples therapist?

There are many therapists that say they can do couples therapy. But far less are actually trained specifically to do so.

I have committed my whole adult life to studying relationships exclusively. My college undergrad major was in Family Science and my masters was solely in Couples and Family Therapy.

I was trained by the Council for Relationships (https://councilforrelationships.org/about-us/history/) who literally INVENTED couples/marriage therapy in 1932.

I also have a sex therapy focus, making virtually NO topic off limits in my office.

Add this extensive and specialized training to my natural intuition for how to help people connect with one another…and you have yourself a true Couples Therapist!

Why do you do this for a living?

It is a difficult job. I hear many stories of pain and suffering. I stay present with people in their hardest of times. And yet, I do feel it is my calling…my privilege and my purpose.

The other side is that I get to teach people how to be healthy, how to have closer relationships, how to understand themselves and their partner better. The relief and joy that clients feel as they start to get better lets me know we are doing something profound together. Something meaningful and rich with value.

We all exist in relationships. It is what society is made up of…family units that create neighborhoods and communities. We have varying degrees of relationships with everyone: Friends, co-workers, husbands, wives, neighbors, teachers, the bartender, pets, parents, acquaintances, the garbage man, and our children.

When choosing a specialty I thought, “Why not become an expert in the thing that everyone is in, everyone has, and everyone struggles to maintain: relationships.” The same thought process was applied when I chose a sex therapy concentration

And the saddest thing to me is that so few of us are actually equipped with the skills and tools to make relationships go well.

Growing up, we weren’t taught how to solve major marriage crises. How to confront a friend that hurt our feelings. How to keep romance with our partner. How to show empathy and validation to our children.

So how are we expected to do that well?! Hence my calling. I have learned these skills and can share them with you.

You CAN become a master of relationships and my therapy practice exists to teach you how.

Get Help When You Need It

If you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment, I would be happy to talk to you for a 20-minute free consultation. I can be reached by phone at (720) 316-5625 or you may send me a brief email.

Licensed Relationship Therapist and Trained Psychedelic Guide in Denver, CO

LEGAL DISCLAIMER + PSYCHEDELIC SAFETY

Kate Nesterwitz fully complies with all local and Colorado State cannabis laws, and all federal regulations. We are a harm reduction service and education company. We do not promote illegal activities or provide resources for obtaining illegal substances or illegal psychedelic psychotherapy services. As a psychedelic harm reduction program we do not support the misuse or abuse of cannabis, any other drug, or psychedelic medicine. Nor do we believe that cannabis or psychedelic medicine exploration, even within the confines of applicable laws, is appropriate or beneficial for everyone.

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