Michelle Sinkgraven Therapy
Licensed in DC, MD, VA and LA

Frequently Asked Questions
My market rates are listed below. See my equitable pricing model to see the full range of options including Community Care Rate and Reduced Rate pricing.
45-minute sessions in-person or virtual using EMDR or more traditional talk-therapy with elements of EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS or “parts” work) with a somatic lens woven in. This is offered at the market rate of $250.
Extended 90-minute sessions in-person or virtual for those who want to work intensively with EMDR or prefer longer sessions at a rate of $450 per session.
EMDR intensives, consisting of 9-12 contact hours over the course of 4-5 days; 2 of which are virtual and 2-3 in-person.
Weekday intensives are offered on M/W/F. This program costs $4,500.
Weekday intensives specifically for a recent, single event trauma are available on M/F or F/M. The cost of this program is $3,000.
Premium weekend intensives are offered on F/Sa/Su. The cost of this program is $6,000.
I don’t accept insurance directly, but I provide a superbill at the end of each month. This is an itemized form detailing the services you’ve received. You can submit this to your insurance company to apply it toward your out-of-network deductible or request reimbursement. I’m happy to guide you through this process if needed.
I offer limited evening appointments one day a week. As for weekend appointments, I offer weekend EMDR Intensives but I do not have appointments for individual therapy sessions on weekends.
Yes, I do offer virtual telehealth therapy via Zoom's HIPAA compliant business platform.
I offer therapy for adults 18 years and older.
Committing to regular attendance and arriving on time are essential to effective therapy. When we agree to a scheduled time I am committing that time slot to you, and your designated appointment is your financial responsibility. When life happens, as it will for both you and I, if we can reschedule your session within the week before, during or after the date of your absence you will only be charged for the rescheduled session.
Per calendar year, clients are allotted the following "skips" that do not need to be rescheduled:
Biweekly 45-minute clients as well as those who see me three (3) times a month for 45-minutes are allotted one (1) cancellation;
Weekly 45-minute clients are allotted two (2) cancellations;
Weekly 90-minute clients are alloted (1) cancellation;
Clients who see me more than once a week are allotted three (3) 45-minute cancellations (i.e. a 90-minute cancellation counts as two (2) skips); and
Once a month clients are not allotted any cancellations;
NOTE: You will NOT need to use a cancellation on any of the following holidays: Labor Day, Wednesday through Friday of Thanksgiving week, and last week in December.
You will be charged for a full session if:
you are a “no-show” to a scheduled appointment.
you cancel a session or anticipate or know of a future scheduling conflict and you are not able to reschedule.
you have already used your allotted cancellation(s) for the calendar year.
NOTE: If you anticipate extended absences (family leave, sabbaticals, medical procedures, extended travel - work or personal, etc.) we can discuss pausing your therapy during those time periods. If your absence is less than a month, I will hold your appointment time for you. If it is longer than a month we will likely need to find a new time slot for you when you return.
NOTE to IN-PERSON CLIENTS: Three to five (3-5) times per year I may need to meet with you virtually instead of in person. If you are unwilling to meet virtually, this will be considered a missed appointment. If you used up your allotted cancellation(s) you will be charged for the session or it will count as an allotted cancellation.
Understandably, many people are hesitant to talk through details of their traumatic experiences for fear of being retraumatized or overwhelmed. In EMDR, you're not obligated to recount every agonizing moment. EMDR is a departure from traditional talk therapy. It doesn't demand detailed recounts of events. The use of EMDR's "Recent Traumatic Event Protocol" or R-Tep; however, does call for clients to recall the incident from beginning to end, as if running a movie, so that each disturbing part can be processed.
Kambria Evans from Zero Disturbance says it best, "When something traumatic happens to us, it can be healing to have a therapist listen to and/or validate our horrible experience, especially if no one else has before. However, rehashing the details of that traumatic event can be retraumatizing. Brain-based therapies like EMDR teach us that we don't have to talk about the trauma or the details if we don't want to because the real healing doesn't focus on the traumatic event itself."
I do not refer to any recommended practice between sessions as "homework" as this implies an expectation and a need to get it correct. Instead, I offer invitations from time-to-time if I feel it will support or enhance the work we have done together during the session. As with all invitations you get to decide if you'd like to participate or not.
For those who are not engaged in EMDR therapy I am open to meet at one of two designated locations in Rock Creek Park (one near Dupont Circle and the other in upper NW, DC across from St. John's College HS) to conduct a therapy session while walking through a section of the park with very little foot traffic so we can maintain confidentiality. This arrangement needs to be made in advanced and may need to happen on a day and time that is not your regular session appointment time.
I am happy to make myself available, should my schedule allow, to meet for an additional session with you during the week if you need additional support. However, if you are in a crisis or need immediate assistance, please contact to one of the following resources 24/7:
DC Rape Crisis Center Hotline at 202-333-7273
TransLifeline at 1-877-565-8860
Suicide & Crisis Hotline at 988 (text/chat also available)
National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (text/chat also available)
The Trevor Project for LGBTQ+- (text/chat also available)
911 or go to the nearest emergency room
Crisis Text Line 741741
The therapeutic relationship is so important to your healing so I want to be sure we are the right fit for each other. For that reason, I require a free 30-minute virtual consultation so we can get a feel for what it is like to share space together. I want you to feel confident in my professional expertise; comfortable with the prospect of being open and vulnerable with me; and trust your intuition (cognitively and somatically) that we would work well together.
I take seriously my responsibility for my competence as a brain-based therapist. I completed basic EMDR training in 2022 and intermediate training in 2023, and I in 2026 I took a three-part series on the integration of IFS and EMDR. I have used EMDR in over 500 therapy sessions, including 45-min, 90-min and intensives. I will work with you not only to clear your negative beliefs from your past traumas but to integrate your positive beliefs. My favorite positive belief is: "I can learn and I believe in my capacity to figure things out." I am in an EMDR consultation group and receive supervision from an IFS & EMDR-trained therapist. My growing edges and blind spots as a clinician are ending sessions on time but it is an area of growth I am committed to improving.
Clients are charged directly with the credit card on file in my electronic health record platform, Sessions Health, at midnight the day of their session. Invoices are sent after each payment and a superbill is provided for the previous month for you to submit to your insurance company.
I am an out-of-network provider and I do not participate with insurance panels. Your insurance company may reimburse you for a percentage of the cost of therapy. To find out what might be covered I recommend asking your plan the following questions:
Do I have mental health insurance benefits?
Do I have out-of-network benefits?
Do I have a deductible and if so, what is it?
Is there a maximum number of visits per year?
What is the coverage amount per therapy session for an out-of-network provider?
Is coverage determined by the treatment diagnosis?
What is the out-of-network reimbursement rate for the following procedure codes?
- 90834: 45-minute Individual Psychotherapy
- 90837: 53+ minutes Individual Psychotherapy
- 99354: 90-minute Individual Psychotherapy