Therapy in Los Angeles & California — FAQ
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My typical session is 50 minutes, once a week. I can make longer or more frequent session depending on your schedule and clinical need which we will discuss during the consultation and/or in our sessions. I see clients as early as 9 AM and as late and 5 PM, Monday to Friday. I do not work weekends or evenings at this time.
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I require a verbal commitment of at least 12 sessions from my clients. This is more an expectation than a hard contract, but there is logic behind it: this is to support our work together actually, well, working. We need some time to get to know what brings you to therapy for you to reap the benefits of me knowing you and how to reach you where you’re at.
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I do and I absolutely love doing so! Many of my clients are non-athletes, women, or people that don’t fit a specific specialty of mine. I work with all sorts of people and frankly enjoy the variety; what’s most important to me is that the people I work with find what I have to say about my approach resonant with them. Those are the folks that tend to benefit most from working with me.
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Yes, I offer telehealth over Zoom, and can see therapy clients anywhere in California and Coaching clients worldwide. I’ll meet you where you are at; Many of my clients alternate between in office and Zoom depending on their travel schedule.
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I do. I have an office conveniently located on the edge of Brentwood and Santa Monica near Wilshire and Bundy and just off of the 10 and 405. If you are in Southern California I strongly encourage my clients to come and see me in person at least once. It really supports the work!
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I am committed to maintaining an LGBTQA+ affirmative practice. Frankly, I love working with and supporting queer clients!
I also maintain a poly-and CNM- competent, gender-inclusive, kink-aware, sex-positive, and multiculturally competent practice.
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You can text me to cancel/reschedule your appointments. For cancellations 24 hours in advance, you may reschedule/cancel a consult or session at no charge. No shows, cancellations, or rescheduled sessions with less than 24 hours advance notice will be subject to the full session fee.
If more than 3 weeks pass without a session or prior communication regarding sessions (such as vacation, a break in therapy) then the therapeutic relationship will be considered terminated and the therapist will no longer be responsible for the client.
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The term “Marriage and Family Therapist” is anachronistic and comes from the 50s when everyone was married, or at least the people the state thought were going to therapy were. Regardless, don’t get bogged down in literal words, much like what we will do in therapy it is about what is going on behind them. I have an MA in Clinical Psychology with extensive clinical experience working with individuals, couples and families. What matters most is that you feel like we are the right fit.
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My fees are currently $250 for Individual Sessions (50 min), and $275 for Couples, Families, and Minors (50 Min). For longer sessions they are pro-rated at these rates per 10 minute increment (e.g. 60 minute Individual Session is $300). I have limited sliding scale spots if you cannot afford this.
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At this time, I don’t accept insurance. Why? Because insurance can be limiting. Insurance providers can limit your number of sessions, legally ask to see my therapy notes, and require me to give you a mental health diagnosis. They don’t care about your mental health, they only care about their bottom line which often means making life difficult for therapists. Your mental health is my top priority.
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Yes, I do provide superbills upon request. It is your responsibility to reach out to your insurance provider directly about any possible out-of-network reimbursement prior to beginning therapy services. I can then provide you with a monthly statement or superbill to submit to your insurance provider for possible reimbursement. Any reimbursement is at their discretion and per their policy requirements; I have no direct contact with your insurance company.
One note about Superbills is that they do require that I provide a diagnosis; this can be troubling or confusing for some clients. If you have any concerns we will discuss this in our sessions.
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You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical and mental health care will cost.
Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the expected charges for medical services, including psychotherapy services.
You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of psychotherapy services. You can ask me for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule a service. These are only provided upon request.
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.
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Most of my clients are 20-50, but I have clients worked with clients as young as 12 and as old as 89. These days I only accept clients I believe I will do my best work with - in terms of age ranges that typically means 15 and up. If you believe I could be a good fit for your child who is 12-14 please reach out as I will only take them as clients on a case-by-case basis.
One note about working with minors: I only accept minors (under 18) if both parents consent to family work and feedback from me regarding their child. If you are not willing to participate in the work, which can include coming into sessions with your child, I am not the therapist for you.
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I work with professional athletes who are looking to work on their relational, emotional, psychological, or mental performance issues and want a specialist who isn’t involved with their team, league, or organization in any way. If this sounds like you please reach out and we can get started. Learn more about this on my Therapy for Athletes page.
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My work with athletes and men includes couples and family work as well.
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In the first session, we’ll have a conversation about your expectations and goals of therapy. We’ll talk about what brings you into therapy and specific issues that you want to tackle. Then, we’ll come up with a plan that works for you. I am a big believer of integrating both our mind/thoughts/analytical brain with our bodies/feelings/intuition. This is usually a blend of attending to our words and tuning into what our bodies and feelings are saying to us.
My theoretical orientation is a strengths based approach that integrates information of how we got here (Psychodynamic, Family Systems), what’s going on RIGHT now (Somatic Experiencing, Gestalt) as well as what is propelling us forward (Existential, Humanistic). From my point of view this is all pretty nerdy but I am happy to discuss it if you like - just ask!
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Please use my contact form here if you’d like to set up a consultation! You can also email 24 hours a day, or text me at 424-279-4799 between 8 AM and 10 PM Pacific Time.
