FAQ
Where is your office located? Is there parking?
How do I pay for therapy? Do you take insurance?
I have found that the restrictions set by insurance companies create many obstacles to providing the care my clients need and deserve. For that reason, I do not take insurance. I am happy to provide you with a written superbill you can submit to your insurance company for out-of-network benefits. I provide that superbill once per month.
Payment is made directly to me via an app called IvyPay. After each session, I will initiate a request for payment via that app. You will get a text message that asks for your approval. Once you accept and input your credit card number, your credit card will be charged the session fee.
What is your cancellation policy?
How do I choose a therapist?
The first part of this decision is to make sure that the person you are considering working with is qualified to do that work. Usually, that means confirming they are licensed and in good standing with their licensing board. Alternatively, therapists in training must be supervised by someone who is licensed.
Once you have found out that the person is qualified to be a therapist, the second piece, equally important, is whether that person feels like they are a good fit for you. Do you feel you could talk with that person about the tough stuff? Sometimes you tell that right away during a phone consultation, but other times it may take one or two sessions before you know.
Keep in mind that sometimes therapy brings up hard feelings such as sadness or anxiety. This is not a bad thing, and a good therapist will help you understand those feelings and be supportive as you work through them.
I have never been to therapy before. What happens in therapy?
If I see you in my office and you have not yet completed my intake paperwork, you should come about 10 minutes before our session time so that you have time to complete the forms. You will also turn on the light next to my name on the wall, which will let me know that you have arrived. When our session starts, I will come to get you from the waiting room and bring you to my office. There is a couch for you to sit and relax.
Therapy is your place to bring up whatever thoughts or feelings are on your mind. We will talk about whatever those feelings are, work to understand them, and then develop strategies to deal with them. Sometimes these discussions are more esoteric, and sometimes we are actively developing problem-solving skills. Sometimes you will leave a therapy session filled with feelings, both good and bad. Still, my goal is for you to leave each session feeling as though you are getting closer to understanding yourself and closer to finding solutions for the issues that have brought you to therapy.
What happens in online therapy?
If we meet virtually, you will receive an email from me with forms to complete and return electronically before our first meeting.
Just before our appointment, you will receive an email from me with a link to my virtual office via the HIPAA-complaint platform called Doxy. At our session time, you will click the link provided and come into my virtual waiting room. I will then start our video session.
For online therapy to be most effective, you will need to be someplace with a strong Wi-Fi signal that is private enough so that you can feel comfortable speaking freely with me.
If I tell you my most personal issues, how can I be sure that my secrets are safe with you?
This is an excellent question and something that we will discuss in the first session or two.
As a general rule, I am bound by the requirement to keep private whatever you say in therapy. That means that I cannot share anything I know about you with anyone without your written permission. However, there are three areas where I am bound by law to protect you or another person, which would require me to violate your confidentiality. Those areas are: when you tell me you are thinking about hurting/killing yourself; when you tell me you are planning on hurting/killing another person; or telling me you are/were the victim of child abuse. There is more to be said about this, but we will talk about it together in session.
You can also view my HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices here.
Do you, or can you, prescribe medication?
I am a psychologist, and as such, I cannot prescribe medication. However, I can help you think about whether medication might be a useful adjunct to therapy and help you connect with a psychiatrist who can prescribe medication. In addition, I can and do work hand-in-hand with a psychiatrist where it is appropriate to do so.
How long is each session?
What kind of therapy do you do? Are you a psychoanalyst? Do I have to lay on a couch?
I am not a psychoanalyst, and you do not need to lay on a couch, facing away from me. I will not say “hmmmm” or “And tell me about your mother…” Well, I might ask that question if it is relevant.
I was trained in psychodynamic theory, but I utilize many different therapeutic modalities when I meet clients, including family systems therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and emotion-focused therapy.
What that all means is that my goal is to work with clients and use all the tools I have learned through 20+ years of experience that will help my clients meet their goals.
How long will I be in therapy?
That is a difficult question to answer. It depends on what is bringing you to therapy and what you are looking for help with. Some clients come in with discrete problems to be solved. Once we have talked through those problems, created strategies to address them, and implemented those strategies, clients feel they have received what they need from therapy.
Other clients come in with problems that don’t lend themselves to discrete solutions or issues that deserve more time to address them. In those cases, clients stay in therapy until they feel as though they have reached the depths they wished to reach and have made the changes to their thinking and behavior that they wanted to make.
As with most things, the more you invest in the process, the more you can get out of it.
What is your educational background? What kind of professional work have you done?
I received my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology. In addition, I completed a postdoctoral fellowship in child and adolescent psychology at Reiss-Davis Child Study Center in Los Angeles, California. I have been licensed in the state of California as a Clinical Psychologist since 1996.
Since becoming licensed, I have worked for AIDS Project LA, Reiss Davis Child Study Center, and the Los Angeles Superior Court as a Child Custody Evaluator. I established my private practice in Los Angeles in 1998, where I see both men and women, individually and as couples, as well as adolescents.
What else do you do besides work?
I really enjoy doing Crossfit. I take classes at my gym with my workout buddies and train with two good friends on our own. I try to do some physical activity five days a week. I also love baking, so it’s a good thing I also love my Crossfit!
When I have time, I do all sorts of arts and crafts, but mainly needlepoint. I have way too many needlepoint pillows!