Through Evergreen Counseling and Psychological Associates, Dr. Davis offers individual therapy via teletherapy (secure video) to adult clients who live in Pennsylvania. In-person appointments may be available at Evergreen’s office in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia. Dr. Davis may be able to see clients in some other states (those participating in PSYPACT’s interstate teletherapy agreement), depending on insurance coverage.

Dr. Davis also provides individual therapy via secure video through the Alma network to adults of all ages who live in California or Pennsylvania with select insurance plans or paying out of pocket.

See the Services page for more information.

Therapy,  also called psychotherapy or counseling,  involves meeting with a mental health professional to get help with your emotional, psychological, relational, and spiritual concerns. Deciding to start therapy can be a step toward a healthier version of yourself—no matter what challenges you are facing. The most common form of psychotherapy is “talk therapy,” meaning that most of what happens is talking. However, therapy can also  include somatic (body-oriented) techniques (e.g., deep breathing, physical relaxation), creative exercises (e.g., journaling, creative expression), and other activities. Your therapist may also suggest things to work on between sessions, such as practicing a new coping tool, writing in a journal, or takings steps toward a behavior change goal.

Therapy can provide a number of benefits, including feeling heard and understood, getting support, deepening insights about yourself and your patterns, improving communication and boundaries with others, clarifying your goals and values, improving your coping strategies, and changing patterns and behaviors that aren’t working for you. Because everyone is different, talk therapy may not be the ideal form of healing for all. That said, therapy does help many people lead better lives.

As a “generalist,” Dr. Davis doesn’t have one specialty area in her practice. She has experience helping adult clients with the most common issues that bring folks to therapy, which are anxiety, stress, mood issues, and relationship problems. She has experience helping people with life transitions, school and career issues, self-esteem, identity concerns, alcohol and other drug problems, discrimination, abuse, sexual assault, and trauma. Before going into private practice, Dr. Davis worked for many years in university counseling centers. She primarily provides “talk therapy,” sometimes incorporating somatic (e.g., grounding exercises, breathing) or creative arts modalities (e.g., journaling exercises, drawing).

Insurance Plans Taken and Out-of-Pocket Costs
Through Evergreen Counseling and Psychological Associates, with remote (secure video) services and limited in-person services in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Dr. Davis can take a number of insurance plans. You can also pay out of pocket to see her through Evergreen if you are unable to use insurance. Learn more about Evergreen’s intake process, availability, insurance and payment policies, and out-of-pocket rates by calling (215) 247-5400 during business hours. Note that due to high demand, Evergreen often has a waitlist for initial appointments. There is a $75 fee if you cancel an appointment with less than 24 hours’ notice or don’t show up for a scheduled appointment.

Through the Alma network, Dr. Davis takes Aetna, Cigna, Optum/UnitedHealthcare, and some additional sub-plans. Clients unable to use insurance can pay out of pocket. Dr. Davis’ out-of-pocket rate is $150 for a 50- to 55-minute individual therapy session. There is a $75 fee if you cancel an appointment with less than 24 hours’ notice or don’t show up for a scheduled appointment.

General Considerations Regarding Insurance
If you wish to use insurance, be sure to check with your provider so you are aware of any deductible (an annual amount you pay out of pocket before your plan’s coverage kicks in) and/or any copays or percentage of the cost of appointments that you must pay. Finally, if your insurance plan is not one that Dr. Davis can accept, find out if your insurance provider pays a portion of out-of-network services. If so, you will want to know what percentage of the cost your insurance plan will reimburse.

Note that most insurance plans will only pay for therapy that is considered “medically necessary”; this means that your insurance company will only cover sessions if you have a mental health diagnosis (such as anxiety, depression, etc.). Through asking about your concerns, symptoms, history, and functioning in the first appointment or two, Dr. Davis will determine what diagnosis fits (or will inform you if she believes you don’t have a diagnosis for which insurance covers therapy).

Laws and ethical standards for mental health professionals require that your mental health information is kept confidential. This includes the fact that you are even being seen for therapy. There are some exceptions to confidentiality, such as when the therapist believes the client is at imminent risk for suicide, the client discloses a plan or intention to harm or kill a specific person or group of people, the client discloses information that indicates a child is being abused or is at likely risk of abuse by a known abuser, and the therapist is given a court order to release the client’s records for a legal proceeding. Also, some information (including diagnosis) is disclosed to your insurance company if you are using insurance to pay for therapy.

Dr. Davis earned a B.A. in communications from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. in communications from Temple University, both in Philadelphia. She worked for 15 years in Philadelphia doing editorial work for medical publishing companies, an environmental nonprofit, and a magazine before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2005 to pursue a doctorate degree in psychology.

While completing her clinical psychology program at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco, she worked as a therapist-in-training at a low-fee clinic in San Francisco; a center for people with disabilities in Berkeley; and a university of the arts in Oakland and San Francisco. She completed a doctoral internship at the counseling center of University of San Francisco, where she did individual, crisis, group, and couples therapy with undergraduate and graduate students and provided education and wellness information to the university community. She graduated from CIIS in 2010, then worked first as a postdoctoral resident and then as a drug and alcohol specialist at the counseling center of Humboldt State University (now Cal Poly Humboldt) in Arcata, CA. She earned her California psychologist license (PSY 24930) in 2012.

She served as a drug and alcohol specialist and generalist psychologist for 7 years at the counseling center of  University of California, Santa Cruz, providing therapy services to students, supervision to postdoctoral residents, and education to the university community. She then returned to work at the counseling center at University of San Francisco for 3 years, providing therapy services to students, supervision to doctoral interns and postdoctoral residents, and education to the university community.

She got her Pennsylvania psychologist license (PS 019461) in 2021 and moved back to the Philadelphia area in 2022. She works as an independent contractor for a Philadelphia-area group practice and through a teletherapy platform, providing therapy to adult clients with a variety of concerns and identities. 

In 2023, Dr. Davis obtained Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT) and/or Temporary Authorization to Practice (TAP), granted by PSYPACT Commission, meaning she can provide teletherapy to clients located in states participating in PSYPACT, depending on insurance coverage.

Dr. Davis returned to the Philadelphia area in 2022 after living for 17 years in central and northern California. She is a licensed psychologist in both Pennsylvania (PS 019461) and California (PSY 24930) and has Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT) and/or Temporary Authorization to Practice (TAP), Granted by PSYPACT Commission 5/25/2023; APIT #14243.

Please note that by law, psychologists can only treat clients who are located in states in which the psychologist holds an active license or in states that are part of PSYPACT if the psychologist has Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT) and/or Temporary Authorization to Practice (TAP).

No. If you are seeking medication for a mental health condition, you may be best served by meeting with a psychiatrist (a medical doctor who specializes in mental health) or psychiatric nurse practitioner. Family doctors and general practitioners can also prescribe medications for some common mental health conditions, such as mild to moderate anxiety and depression. In some states, psychologists can get certified to prescribe as well.

Yes. While Dr. Davis is trained in handling mental health crises and can thus help her existing clients manage crises if they arise, she is not able to take on new clients who are in an unstable crisis state (e.g., are actively suicidal, have uncontrolled psychotic or manic symptoms), have severe mental health conditions, have conditions that require a specialized team approach (e.g., many forms of substance use disorder or eating disorders), or are at high and/or chronic risk of suicide or harming others. Severe and complex mental health conditions require a different level of treatment than can be provided via weekly or biweekly therapy appointments–the standard of care for these conditions is more frequent meetings, often combining individual and group therapy, with a team of mental health professionals who can provide therapy and medications. In some cases, clients with severe and complex diagnoses and high risk may require temporary hospitalization or inpatient treatment.

Dr. Davis does not provide letters documenting mental health needs for things such as a leave from work or school or Emotional Support Animals as a standalone service or to new clients. She may be able to provide such documentation for clients with whom she has already been providing therapy, as appropriate.

Dr. Davis does not provide comprehensive psychological or educational testing and assessment (e.g., testing for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder [ADHD], learning disorder assessment, psychological assessment for disability status). However, some of her colleagues at Evergreen do provide some of these psychological assessment services.

A $75 fee is charged for appointments missed or cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice. This applies when a client “no shows” (does not show up for a scheduled appointment), cancels an appointment with less than 24 hours’ notice, or shows up more than 10 or 15 minutes late for an appointment without advance notice, unless there is a medical  emergency that prevented the client from cancelling ahead of time.