Oh, this is a tricky question! If you’re asking the question, you should at least take some time to schedule an initial consult (see if you can find a free one!) and talk to a therapist. I usually find that my clients feel that they need therapy if they are struggling with something, particularly if it is taking up a lot of their mental energy and affecting their day-to-day life. This can be anything from relationship issues to health scares to exploring one’s sexuality to preparing to have a baby. Essentially though, therapy is about understanding yourself better and optimizing your life based on that understanding.

This really varies from client to client. I’ve worked with clients who only need a hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or gender-affirming surgery (GAS) letter, who I might only see for one session. I’ve also worked with clients for over a year as they unpack their childhood wounds and traumas and work on not letting their past affect their future and their relationships.

The free phone consultation is an opportunity for us to get to know each other a little bit and see if we are a good fit. This is a space for you to share any concerns with me, and it’s also a chance for me to learn a little of what brings you into therapy. If we feel that we mesh well in the phone consult, we can proceed and schedule an initial session, and if not, I’m happy to refer you out to one of my very many amazing colleagues.

Because I work with the disabled and chronically ill communities, I am especially careful in terms of Covid and other contagious viruses. For this reason, at this time, I am only seeing clients through tele-therapy, which you will need to consent to as a potential client. If you are looking for in-person therapists, I’d be happy to refer you to some.

The first therapy session tends to be a little different than the subsequent ones. In the first therapy session, I introduce myself, explain how therapy works, talk to you about confidentiality and therapy fees, and do a psychosocial—that is, I ask you some questions about yourself to better understand and assess your needs. After that, I give you the stage to tell me, in your own words, what you would like out of therapy. Then, we work together to develop some short and long term collaborative treatment goals.

I love working with partners in relationships—it’s one of my favorite types of therapy work—because often the positive outcomes of relationship therapy are more immediate. Often, partners come to relationship therapy in crisis, so one of the first things we work on is stabilization through concrete interventions and practices. From there, we take some time to understand and empathize with the childhood wounds and the traumas of each partners and unpacking them such that the relationship becomes stronger. Occasionally, relationship therapy can even be about learning how to detangle, uncouple, and separate in healthy ways.

No, only your primary care physician or your psychiatrist can prescribe you psychotropic medications. However, I can diagnose and treat the mental health conditions you present with in session, and I can help you advocate for yourself as a patient receiving or planning on receiving psychotropic medications.

In order to accept insurance reimbursement, insurance companies require me to diagnose you with a mental or relational disorder. Occasionally, insurance companies won’t require a diagnosis for couples therapy sessions, but without a diagnosis, they are not required to reimburse providers. I do not believe that a diagnosis is always necessary for therapy and nor do I want to be in a position for us to need to prove to your insurance company that you are dysfunctional or have a pathological condition in any capacity for you to receive treatment. Insurance companies can also audit your case and have access to your personal medical records, and I prefer to protect my patients’ confidentiality to the greatest degree that I can. For these reasons, I do not accept insurance.

Depending on your financial situation, I may be able to offer a sliding scale for a limited period of time, for example three to four months. After this period of time, we would raise your fee incrementally to return your sliding scale session fee to the regular full session fee.

I have limited sliding scale slots that I voluntarily offer to clients based on my perception of their financial need for reduced fees. I reserve the right to ask sliding scale clients (usually after a couple of months or a year) to return to my full session fee rate. Because I offer limited sliding scale slots, I prioritize those clients in my caseload who I feel need the fee reduction the most at any given time. If I voluntarily choose to give you a sliding scale slot, please keep in mind that this is not a permanent reduction in fee, and I reserve the right to ask you to return to your full session fee rate.

According to the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (CAMFT), as a potential client, you are entitled to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” of what the charges could be for psychotherapy services provided to you. While it is not possible for a psychotherapist to know, in advance, for example, how many psychotherapy sessions may be necessary or appropriate for a given client, your psychotherapist should still provide you with their fees or an estimate for your session(s). Your total cost of services will depend upon the number of psychotherapy sessions you attend, your individual circumstances, and the type and amount of services that are provided to you. This estimate is not a contract and does not obligate you to obtain any services from your provider, nor does it include any services rendered to you that are not identified in the estimate. 

CAMFT also indicates that “Good Faith Estimate” is not intended to serve as a recommendation for treatment or a prediction that you may need to attend a specified number of psychotherapy visits. The number of visits that are appropriate in your case, and the estimated cost for those services, depends on your needs and what you agree to in consultation with your psychotherapist. You are also entitled to disagree with any recommendations made to you concerning your treatment, and you may discontinue treatment at any time.

More specifically, before starting therapy, and often in the first session as well, I discuss with my clients what their session fees are, the intended frequency of their sessions, and the fees for any other services they might express interest in at that time—as well as my cancellation policy. These can be used to help clients have a “Good Faith Estimate” to anticipated services to be rendered. Please feel free to ask me more about this if you have any questions!

Because it is very hard for me to schedule another client in less than two days time if a client cancels, I require 48-hours notice for cancellation. If a client cancels less than 48 hours before their scheduled appointment, they will be charged their full session fee.
I will always email you about five minutes into a session if I don’t hear from you. If you tell me you’re running late by the ten minute into session mark, I’ll be happy to wait for as long as you need within the session time. If I haven’t heard from you that you’re running late by the ten minute mark, I will assume something came up and end the session.