Do you have questions about how therapy works?

Are you wondering if your anxiety about your relationships or the painful HUGE life events and issues you've tried to deal with on your own are ever going to go away?

Do you need help finding out more about why friends and family are great supports but not always the ONLY way to get answers to your problems? This is the page for you! 

It's okay to not have all the answers yet. It's okay to ask ALL the questions and continue to think about what's right for you. I'm here to help!

I am physically based in sunny, beachy San Clemente, California, with a gorgeous and spacious office downtown. If you live in southern Orange County and prefer in-person therapy appointments, I'd love to work with you this way! I also offer virtual therapy sessions via a secure telehealth platform to clients who live in California and Texas. This is a great option for folks whose schedules are tight, who want to do the work from the comfort of their own home, or who may struggle for health or anxiety reasons to get out and about in the world.

On the contrary, therapy that is done well can benefit ANYONE, and seeking support is a sign of strength and growth-focused living. We are biologically geared toward connection with others, and we all need feedback and insight into our difficulties through the perspective of another. Asking for help is scary, and I’m here to help you get what you need to gain skills, connect to helpful resources, and grow. Some clients also tell me they’ve tried talking to their friends and family about their anxiety, and instead of feeling validated and listened to they tend to feel like problems their loved ones try to solve. The intentions are well-meaning, but the outcome doesn’t do a whole lot to make anxiety better. When my clients use therapy to work on their anxiety, they gain an objective listener who’s not part of their personal life and who can focus the entire time on YOU. Your therapist cares about how you’re doing and that you get better, but you’re not a problem to solve. You’re a person with emotions who deserves validation and support, not fixing.

The length of a therapy relationship can vary anywhere from 6-8 sessions to a year or longer. It depends greatly on the goals we create together, as well as your interest and investment in the process. Both short-term and intensive therapy approaches can benefit you, the client, in many ways.

Intake session $275 (75 minutes) Individual psychotherapy $225 (50 minutes) Late cancellations (less than 48 hours’ notice) $100 No-show or missed sessions without notice will be charged the full fee if we cannot find a time to meet within the same calendar week. Payment is expected at the beginning of each session. I accept most major credit cards, and you may be able to use FSA or HSA funds to pay for sessions.

Insurance companies require that clinicians MUST provide a diagnosis in order to cover therapy services, which also means your private health information (diagnosis, session attendance, etc.) gets shared with third parties and over an electronic platform. While for some clients a diagnosis can be extremely helpful, for many people a label feels negative or limiting, boxing them into a specific identity that of course does not tell their entire story. A private pay service is completely secure, confidential, and gives both my clients and myself greater control over the work we do. My services are private pay only, which means that I’m not in-network with any health insurance plans. However, I can provide superbill receipts for any expense you might have out of network.

On the contrary, therapy that is done well can benefit ANYONE, and seeking support is a sign of strength and growth-focused living. We are biologically geared toward connection with others, and we all need feedback and insight into our difficulties through the perspective of another. Asking for help is scary, and I’m here to help you get what you need to gain skills, connect to helpful resources, and grow.

You certainly could talk to friends and family, and probably have already. A therapist provides an objective, informed perspective that is completely confidential and is free of judgment or expectations. Many well-meaning friends and family members might try to “problem-solve” your difficulties when you simply need to feel heard and supported to access the resources to help yourself get better.

For severe mental illness that results in an inability to participate in any or all of a person’s major life roles (student, parent, worker, etc.), taking medication can provide needed relief of the intense symptoms of mental illness and allow that person to function and feel better. However, it often doesn’t “solve” what created the symptoms in the first place. Research shows that the combination of medication plus therapy is most effective in both addressing symptoms that impact life in a negative way and also gaining an understanding of how those symptoms first developed, which helps reduce the likelihood of future mental illness. I tell my clients that medication is one of many tools in the “toolbox” we create together for them to use to help solve a variety of challenges.