Terms and consent

What Unmoored is

Unmoored offers one-to-one conversations, by video, about crises of spirit: faith and the loss of it, doubt, fear, emptiness, anger, longing and the search for meaning. When it helps, a passage or an idea from the Jewish mystical and Hasidic tradition, or from philosophy and literature, serves as background for our conversation. The conversations are reflective and educational in nature.

What Unmoored is not

• It is not psychotherapy, counseling, psychological treatment or any other health care. I do not assess, diagnose or treat any mental or physical condition.
• It is not crisis support or an emergency service.
• It does not give rulings on Jewish law and practice. For those, please ask a rabbi you trust.
• It does not give legal, financial or medical advice.

I am a psychotherapist by profession, but in Unmoored I do not act in that role. Our conversations do not create a therapist–client relationship, and they are not a substitute for therapy. Unmoored is not open to my current therapy clients, and is separate from my clinical practice, which is presently closed to new clients.

Your emotional and mental health

A crisis of spirit can stir up strong feelings. If you are living with depression, anxiety, trauma, an eating disorder, an addiction, thoughts of suicide or self-harm, or any other mental-health condition, or if you are in serious emotional distress, please seek care from a qualified mental-health professional or your doctor. Unmoored can sit alongside that care. It cannot replace it.

Please tell me if you are currently in treatment, taking prescription medication or using any psychoactive substances, or if any of this changes while we talk. It helps me understand where you are. If I come to think that professional help would serve you, I will tell you plainly and with care, and I may suggest that we pause our conversations until you have that support in place. We can pick up again when you are ready. Looking after your health, and getting the help you need, is very important, and it remains in your hands.

Who can take part

You must be 25 or older. You take part voluntarily, and you can stop at any time, for any reason, without explaining why. You decide what to bring into a conversation, and you can change the subject or end a session whenever you want.

Confidentiality and its limits

What you tell me stays between us. I do not share it with anyone, and I do not record our sessions. Neither of us may record a session without the other's written agreement.

There are limits. I may share information without your consent if I believe there is a serious and imminent risk to your life or someone else's, if a child or a vulnerable adult is at risk of harm, or if the law requires it. Where I can, I will tell you first.

Because Unmoored is not therapy, I do not keep clinical records of our conversations. For the same reason, the legal protections that apply to therapy records in some countries may not apply to them.

We meet by video on Zoom. Please join from a private place. Email and video are not perfectly secure, so please take this into consideration when deciding what to put in writing.

Faith, beliefs and the sources

I speak from inside the Jewish tradition. You do not need to share my beliefs, or any beliefs. I believe every soul has its own path, and yours is not mine to choose. So I will not try to change your faith, recruit you to any community, or ask you to take on any practice. Where you end up is yours to find.

No promised outcome

I cannot promise any particular result. The decisions you make about your life circumstances, your faith, your relationships, your health and your work are yours.

Fees, scheduling and cancellation

• The first call is 20 minutes and free. It is a chance for both of us to see whether this is the right kind of conversation.
• After that, sessions are 60 minutes and cost $250 each, paid in advance by card, through a payment link I send you before each session. You pay for one session at a time. There are no packages, prepaid programs or minimum commitments, and the work is open-ended.
• If you need to cancel or move a session, please tell me at least 24 hours before. Later cancellations and missed sessions are charged in full.
• If I need to cancel, there is no charge, and we find another time.
• Either of us can end the work at any time. Sessions already held are not refunded.

Questions for publication

The Questions section of the site is only for questions that may be published. For anything private, write to me directly.

To send a question, you tick three statements on the form, and they are copied into your email: that I may publish your question on the site without your name, and may shorten it; that you have phrased it so that it does not identify you or anyone else; and that an answer is a brief personal perspective, not spiritual guidance or advice, and that not every question is answered. Sending a question does not subscribe you to anything.

I am not a spiritual advisor or guide. Before publishing, I remove anything identifying that remains. If you change your mind before your question appears, tell me and I will not publish it.

Your information

I keep your contact details, our correspondence and any brief notes I may make only to arrange and continue our conversations. I store them securely, and I never sell them or share them with third parties. You can ask me what I hold about you, and ask me to correct or delete it, unless the law requires me to keep it. The essay mailing list is separate. It runs on Buttondown, which stores your email address on my behalf; your address is never sold or shared with third parties, and you can unsubscribe at any time. Questions you send for publication are kept only to answer and publish them as described above.

Responsibility

To the extent the law allows, I am not liable for decisions you make or actions you take on the basis of our conversations. Nothing in these terms limits rights you have under the law where you live.

Changes and governing law

If I change these terms, I will tell you before the change applies to you. These terms are governed by the laws of Israel.