Dr Adam Klein Psychotherapy | Frequently Asked Questions

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Beginning therapy can raise many questions

The answers below address some of the most common questions people ask when considering psychotherapy, including how therapy works, what to expect, and how to begin.

Understanding How Psychotherapy Works

My work is grounded in a depth-oriented and developmental approach to psychotherapy. Rather than focusing only on symptoms, therapy often explores the deeper patterns, relationships, and experiences that shape how a person moves through life.

Depth-oriented psychotherapy looks beneath surface problems to understand the deeper emotional patterns that influence a person’s life.

Instead of just focusing on symptom relief, the work often explores formative experiences, relationships, unconscious dynamics, and the meaning behind recurring struggles. Over time, this deeper understanding can help a person respond to life with greater awareness, maturity, and personal freedom.

Psychotherapy groups bring several people together in a structured setting to explore relational patterns as they occur in real time. Group members speak openly about their experiences with one another, which allows important dynamics such as trust, conflict, leadership, vulnerability, and communication to emerge and be examined directly.

My mentor Jack used to say to me, “Adam, when I am doing one on one work with you it’s like being your tennis coach because I am the one playing on the other side of the net. When you’re in a group I can watch you play tennis with others and therefore coach you in a different way.”

What we do in the “real world” outside of therapy, we also do in the therapy arena. In groups we can live it out and learn to talk about it and understand ourselves and others in the process.

I strongly discouraged people in my groups from being friends outside of the group setting. That way there’s no ripple effect from the group into the rest of their lives. Between group sessions their phone does not ring, and they have no contact with others in the group until the next group session.

This allows for real relationships that can be examined in a contained space. People can slow down interactions and frame by frame learn how their impacts, responses, and reactions affect others, as others around them do the same.

For many people, group therapy becomes a powerful way to understand how they relate to others and to practice new ways of engaging in relationships.

Some people begin therapy to address a specific difficulty, while others choose to continue the work over a longer period because it becomes a place for deeper reflection and personal development.

Long-term psychotherapy can help people understand long-standing patterns in relationships, work, and family life, and gradually develop a more mature and integrated way of living.

Individual therapy focuses on your personal experiences and inner life. Group therapy adds a live relational environment where you interact with others in the room.

This often allows patterns that exist in everyday relationships to appear more clearly and be explored directly with the support of both the therapist and the group.

Yes. Many people begin with individual therapy and later choose to participate in group therapy as well. Others may continue with both forms of work at the same time.

The two settings often complement one another: individual therapy allows for personal reflection, while group therapy provides a place to examine relational patterns in real time.

Starting Therapy

People seek therapy for many different reasons. Sometimes there is a specific problem such as anxiety, relationship conflict, or a difficult life transition.

Other times people simply feel stuck, discouraged, or uncertain about the direction of their lives. Therapy can provide a place to think more deeply about what is happening and how you want to move forward.

The first session is typically a conversation about what has brought you to therapy and what you hope might change.

Some people arrive with a clear issue they want to discuss, while others need time to think aloud and find the thread of what they are experiencing. Both are valid and expected.

Before your first appointment you will receive a small set of intake forms and a therapy agreement. Completing these ahead of time allows the first meeting to focus on your concerns and the work itself.

Types of Therapy Offered

Yes. Individual psychotherapy is a central part of my practice. Individual work allows us to explore personal concerns such as anxiety, depression, relationship patterns, trauma, career questions, or life transitions.
Yes. Couples therapy can help partners better understand recurring conflicts, communication problems, anger, loss of intimacy, or deeper relational patterns that affect the relationship.

Yes. Family therapy can help when patterns within the family system create tension, confusion, or conflict between parents, children, or extended family members.

Yes. I work with teens and emerging adults who may be navigating questions about independence, direction, relationships, school, or the transition into adult life.
Yes. Ongoing psychotherapy groups are an important part of my practice. Group therapy allows people to examine relational patterns in a live interpersonal setting and often becomes a powerful complement to individual work.
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How Therapy Works

Therapy length varies depending on the person and the nature of the work. Some people attend therapy for a short period focused on a specific issue, while others choose longer-term work to explore deeper patterns and life questions.
Many people begin therapy with weekly sessions. As the work progresses, the frequency may change depending on the goals of therapy and what we decide together.

Many people return to therapy after earlier experiences that did not feel helpful. Sometimes the fit between therapist and client was not right, or the approach did not match what the person needed at that time.

A different therapeutic relationship can lead to a very different experience.

Many people come to therapy without a clear label for what they are experiencing. Therapy can help you think through what is happening and develop a clearer understanding of the concerns that brought you in.

Practical Questions

Yes. Sessions may take place in person in Annapolis or online depending on what works best for your schedule and location.
The practice operates on a private-pay basis. Some clients choose to submit receipts to their insurance provider for possible out-of-network reimbursement.

The best way to begin is to contact the practice either through the service line: 202-355-9460 or through the website contact form. From there we can arrange an initial conversation and determine whether working together would be a good fit.

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