Find the answers you're looking for:
I think of therapy as a relationship with the purpose of helping you improve your own mental health. It starts with you making a choice to make your own needs a priority. It ends with you feeling capable of meeting your needs on your own. In the middle, we talk about your thoughts and feelings in a non-judgmental space (seriously, everything you say is met with compassion and kindness - everything). We make space for all the stuff you have been carrying around, and we look at it together. I may offer some coping skills or techniques that have worked for other people, and we see what fits your style the best. It is all about working together to find the right way for you to feel prepared to approach your life.
You can expect to be treated with kindness and openness. We will explore relevant experiences from growing up, as well as the important people in your life now. I focus a lot on the present moment, so any thoughts and feelings making their way into the session are explored with care and curiosity.
I have also found that building mindfulness and staying present has been invaluable to all my clients. This may not always take the form of meditation or breathing exercises though (some people hate them, and that’s okay!). Instead, we find ways for you to take a more active role in your own life from moment to moment.
The first step to seeing if we are a good fit is often through a short consultation. I offer all new clients a 15-20 minute call that gives us both an opportunity to chat and feel out if your challenges are a good fit for my skill set, and if you feel comfortable enough starting the therapy process with me. This also gives us a chance to compare calendars and find a good time for both our schedules.
I also tell all new clients that the main ingredient to any good therapy is rapport. Typically, within the first 1-2 sessions we should have some rapport building. If you aren’t feeling comfortable around session 3, let me know and I am happy to help make a referral to someone you may feel more comfortable with. Not all therapist styles are a good fit for all clients, and it is more important to me that you get the help that you need.
I charge a flat fee of $160 for a 50 minute session. No sliding scale, and no insurance at this time.
All sessions are 50 minutes long. If you feel the need for longer sessions, we can discuss as needed.
In general, the most common frequency of sessions is weekly or bi-weekly. Monthly sessions are on a case by case basis (they can be a monster to schedule) and I cannot guarantee the same day/time each month as I typically can with weekly or bi-weekly sessions.
Typically, therapy is ‘done’ when we have either met or mostly met your goals. For some people, this is a very specific definition (haven’t felt depressed for a whole month, no panic attacks in the past year, etc.). For others, there is more of a general sense of ease or confidence with life, or previous challenges don’t feel so difficult any more.
I typically discuss with each new client what their goals and expectations are for therapy at session one or two. We will also check in periodically to see if the work still feels helpful, discussing the option of tapering sessions with consistent improvement for several weeks or months.
A good sign of being done with bereavement therapy is when happy memories about the loss feel happy again (instead of sad).
Another way we measure success is through accomplishing four specific tasks of mourning: accepting the loss, experiencing the pain of the loss (feel all the feelings!), adapt to a new world after the loss, and reinvest in the reality of a new life.
Yup! Although, if this is new, uncomfortable, or scary for you, we will go slow and build on your ability to tolerate and experience difficult feelings at your pace.
One of my major goals with all clients is to help them recognize the informative nature of our emotions and that while feelings can often be (extremely) uncomfortable, they can’t hurt us. We also learn to recognize what each of our emotions are doing for us (or trying to do), and how we can use them to help meet our unmet needs.
No, not at this time.
I am only offering therapy through telehealth for now. While many people are skeptical of online therapy, it has been shown to be equally as effective for most clients as in person sessions, and allows a wide variety of individuals to fit therapy into busy schedules with more ease.
In the event that our connection is bad, we will default to using the phone for audio purposes as a backup to avoid interruptions.
All payment is electronically processed by credit card through the website Simple Practice, which also acts as our electronic health record, encrypted video service, and scheduling platform.
Please give 48 hour notice if you need to cancel or reschedule. If we are able to reschedule within the same week, the fee is waived. However, any late cancellations or no-shows will result in a charge of the full fee.
You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” outlining projected mental health care costs. If you have questions or concerns about the length of treatment and how much services will cost you over time, let's discuss what feels feasible together.
Under California law, clients not using insurance have a right to an estimate of expected charges for psychotherapy services.
You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency healthcare services, including psychotherapy services.
You can ask your healthcare provider, and any other provider you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule a service.
If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill. Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate.
For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises or call (800) 985-3059.
