FAQ’s
Q: What therapies do you use?
A: I believe that using the appropriate therapy is important, but attitude and approach is even more important.
Therapy should never be based on what is wrong with you, faults or limitations you think you have, or on what diagnoses you might have, or not have, been given.
Together, we look at ways you learned to cope that are no longer helping you, understand how they’re playing out, and discover the gifts and strengths in each of them. You’ll understand long-standing stress responses within a whole-person approach.
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART™)is a unique approach to the treatment of trauma and it’s adaptations or reactions. Because trauma is stored as negative images and sensations, replacement of these images and sensations results in a memory that no longer feels disabling.
The use of bilateral eye movements allow you brain to more easily access memory. In any case, before treatment is complete, triggers will be reduced or gone, and nightmares and repeated intrusive thoughts will have stopped.
ART is recognized as evidenced-based by the Society of Clinical Psychology, Div. 12 of the American Psychological Association (APA). See https://acceleratedresolutiontherapy.com/evidence-based/
Biofeedback focuses on learning about how your body responds to stress through non-invasive, live computer feedback. During a session, changes in your body are monitored, including your heart rate, breathing, skin temperature, muscle tension, and skin sweat response, which are displayed on the computer.
You might learn that your body is reacting in ways that are now hidden from you, and you become more aware of emotional and physical issues before they develop.
Sessions involve learning strategies to manage and regulate responses. Often biofeedback is sued along with other therapies.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Working with the parts of you that are stuck in emotional discomfort and negative beliefs, IFS has been shown effective with anxiety, grief, depression, self-doubt, burnout, relationship issues, trauma, shame and spiritual concerns.
IFS helps heal by building relationships with inner parts; the protective, wounded, and wise aspects of yourself. IFS, developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz, is a respectful and non-pathologizing approach to therapy. It views the mind not as broken or disordered, but as an inner ecosystem, one that’s naturally designed to heal when given the right conditions.
Trauma-Informed Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT is now one of the most researched and widely used forms of psychotherapy. It helps you identify and shift the thoughts and beliefs that influence your emotions and actions.
Trauma-Informed CBT acknowledges that many of your current thought patterns were shaped by past experiences, survival instincts, and protective adaptations.
This approach honors your nervous system, your story, and your resilience. We recognize distorted thinking, challenge with truth, and replace with more balanced, empowering perspectives. We move at the pace of your nervous system.
Over time, this leads to shifts in how you feel, how you respond to life, and how you see yourself. CBT is especially helpful for: anxiety and panic, depression and negative self-talk, fears, phobias, behavioral patterns you can’t seem to break
In most sessions, CBT is used in conjunction with ART™. While ART™ processes the emotional and somatic residue of trauma, CBT brings clarity to the thought patterns that accompany it.
This integrative approach helps you not only reprocess old memories but also build new mental frameworks that support long-term change, resilience, and peace. Trauma-Informed CBT can help you gain insight, build emotional resilience, and rewrite the inner narrative that’s been blocking you.
A Whole-Body Approachto therapy connects your physical and mental health. It treats your thoughts, emotions and body as an interconnected system. This means looking at how your daily habits … what you eat, how you move, and how you manage stress—impact your mood, energy, and overall well-being.
FAQ’s: General
Q: Do you offer testing or psychological evaluations?
A: Administering psychological tests and evaluations is within the scope of my license. More often than not, you will be asked to take one or more ‘assessments’ to help us to decide the most accurate healing path for you. One of those assessments is the TAP-Profile™ which will help us identify the exact patterns you have developed to adapt to trauma, and guide us toward resolution.
That said, there are some psychological assessments including neuropsychological batteries in which I am not ‘current’ and as such are outside the scope of my practice. If you request such an assessment, I will refer to you a qualified colleague. Although I am qualified to diagnose, I prefer not to do so unless required for insurance purposes.
Q: Do you offer psychotherapy outside California?
A: As a licensed psychologist in the state of California, I am licensed to offer therapy only to those who live in California.
If our assessment reveals that coaching rather than therapy would be appropriate, I am able to offer that service for those who live outside California. If you require therapy, and are not in California, I'll help you research someone in your area.
Q: Does insurance cover telehealth (video sessions)?
A: Yes, most California insurance plans such as Anthem and Blue Shield, cover telehealth psychologists due to state laws requiring payment parity and the expansion of telehealth services. Some plans require use of specific telehealth platforms for coverage. However, as of October 1, 2025 Medicare and Medical telehealth benefits are being suspended.
Please contact your insurance provider to determine your exact benefits. Call the telephone number on the back of your insurance card (there may be a separate number for behavioral health services).
While I’m not an in-network provider for insurance, I provide you with a monthly statement that you can submit to your insurance company for reimbursement. I recommend you call your insurance provider to determine your "out-of-network benefits", including your deductible, what your coverage amount will be, and how many sessions might be covered.
If you choose to seek reimbursement, you need to know that I’m required to include a diagnosis on the superbill, which will be part of your medical record.
Q: Do you offer a free initial consultation?
A: An optional 15-minute video consultation is provided without charge. The purpose is for you to ask questions, and for me to advise what I believe is the next best step for you. In this session, I’m unable to provide a diagnosis or document for legal purposes. With exceptions that I’ll tell you about before we start, the consultation is confidential.
Making the first call can start you on a path of positive action, whether we end up working together or not.
Q: What is your website privacy policy?
This privacy notice applies solely to information collected by this website. It will notify you of the following:
What personally identifiable information is collected from you through the website, how it is used, and with whom it may be shared.
What choices are available to you regarding the use of your data.
The security procedures in place to protect against the misuse of your information.
How you can correct any inaccuracies in the information.
Information Collection, Use, and Sharing
We are the sole owners of the information collected on this site. We only have access to/collect information that you voluntarily give us via email or another direct contact from you. We will not sell or rent this information to anyone.
We will use your information to respond to you, regarding the reason you contacted us. We will not share your information with any third party outside of our organization, other than as necessary to fulfill your request, e.g. to ship an order.
Unless you ask us not to, we may contact you via email in the future to tell you about specials, new products or services, or changes to this privacy policy.
Your Access to and Control Over Information
You may opt-out of any future contacts from us at any time. You can do the following at any time by using the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email we send you.
Security
We take precautions to protect your information. When you submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and offline.
Wherever we collect sensitive information (such as credit card data), that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for a lock icon in the address bar and looking for “https” at the beginning of the address of the Web page.
While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline. The computers/servers in which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment.
Q: How many sessions will it take?
A: This can vary from person to person, depending on the concerns bringing you into therapy, support that you have outside of therapy, and therapy you have received in the past.
Many clients benefit from brief/short-term therapy focused on a specific issue or interfering problem, in which case the length of treatment is between 1-5 sessions. For other longer-standing or generalized issues, the first 1-2 sessions are an intake/assessment period, where we explore your background & your goals for therapy. Following that time, we will reach our mutually set goals within 6-10 sessions. Rarely will your treatment period exceed this.
Because buried issues emerge, you may initially feel more ‘worse’ before you start to feel better. However, know that you are doing this work in a safe, therapeutic space, and moving through discomfort usually signals progress.
Q: Can you complete my disability/LOA paperwork?
A: Completing disability/LOA paperwork is outside of the scope of my practice so I am not able to complete any requests for disability paperwork (for example, State Disability, Leaves of Absence 'LOA', Family Medical Leave 'FMLA'). It is recommended that you consult with your Primary Care Physician, or other trained professional for disability paperwork requests.
Q: Stress makes it hard to go to work/school. Can you write me a letter stating that I need time off?
A: Your ability of attend school or work is a complex issue, requiring several layers of information, and beyond the scope of my practice. This assessment and determination would need to come from your Primary Care Physician or specially trained behavioral health specialist. I am able to provide what are referred to as "treatment summary letters" which provide dates of therapy, any presenting symptoms, goals for treatment and any applicable diagnoses (but not whether these symptoms/diagnoses should warrant a leave of absence).
Q: Can you write a letter certifying my pet as an 'emotional support animal?”
A: Certifying an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) requires “meaningful need” training, which is outside my professional scope of practice. The ADA and DOJ do not currently recognize any form of certificate, identification card, vest, or tag as proof of an animal’s designation as a service animal OR an emotional support animal. The only individuals authorized to write ESA letters are qualified healthcare providers, so clients are encouraged to consult with these providers.
Fees and Insurance
Q: How many sessions are authorized by my insurance?
A: This may vary depending upon which insurance plan you carry, or whether you are in an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Some plans allow for unlimited sessions, while others authorize a certain number (and may require 're-authorization' paperwork for additional sessions). To find out how many sessions you are authorized for, please call the telephone number on the back of your insurance card.
Working outside of insurance allows for greater privacy (no required mental health diagnosis on file), more flexibility in how we structure your treatment, freedom from restrictions imposed by insurance companies.
Q: What is the investment?
A: Individual Therapy:
$245 for a 50-minute session
$315 for an 80-minute session
ART™ Intensive
$975 for a 3-Hour ART™ Intensive (in-person or online)
This program accelerates the healing process by providing three hours of focused ART™ in a single session (with short breaks for consolidation), self-admin mini-ART™ sessions, and one follow up 50-min session.
Spaces on a sliding scale do become available, please inquire.
Q: What payment methods do you accept?
A: I accept payment by Stripe, Venmo and all major credit cards via our HIPAA-compliant processor. By signing, you authorize charges to the card on file for session fees and late-cancel fees. You can revoke card authorization in writing at any time.