Questions You May Have About Working Together

Therapy may be right for you if you, or someone you love, have ever been worried about how you are thinking, feeling, or behaving. If you’ve ever harmed yourself or thought about harming yourself, that is certainly an indicator that therapy could be beneficial. Sometimes the hardest part isn’t knowing whether you need therapy, it’s giving yourself permission to explore the possibility.

Not necessarily. However, if you plan to use health insurance to pay for therapy, your insurance company typically requires a mental health diagnosis to establish medical necessity and determine eligibility for coverage or reimbursement. Many people seek therapy for personal growth, relationship challenges, life transitions, grief, or simply wanting to better understand themselves. While these concerns may not always meet the criteria for a mental health diagnosis, they can still be meaningful reasons to seek therapy.

The best way to know if we’re a good fit is through a consultation and, ultimately, your experience in the therapy room. While a therapist’s education, experience, and approach all matter, one of the strongest predictors of successful therapy is the quality of the therapeutic relationship.

Therapy is a unique relationship. Sometimes it’s the safest place to be witnessed in ways the people in your life may not have the capacity to witness you. Feeling understood doesn’t necessarily mean someone agrees with you—it means your experiences, emotions, and perspectives are explored with curiosity rather than judgment.

My role isn’t to tell you what to do or convince you to see the world the way I do. My role is to help you better understand yourself, others, and your relationships so you can make decisions that are more aligned with your values and goals.

If, after meeting, it doesn’t feel like the right fit, that’s okay. Finding the right therapist is an important part of the process, and I encourage you to choose someone you feel comfortable being honest with—even if that person isn’t me.

Your first session will help lay the foundation for our work together. During this initial assessment, I’ll be asking you a series of questions to help me better understand your current concerns and the circumstances surrounding them. This may include gathering some information about your personal history, your physical health, your relationships, your strengths, and anything about you that you believe is important for me to know. My goal is to develop a holistic understanding of your experiences so we can create a treatment plan tailored to your unique needs.

Therapy is not one-size-fits-all. The frequency of sessions depends on several factors, including the severity of your symptoms, your treatment goals, where you are in the therapeutic process, and practical considerations such as scheduling and budget.

When possible, I generally recommend meeting weekly for the first 90 days. Weekly sessions provide consistency, help build the therapeutic relationship, and create momentum while we’re working to understand your concerns and establish new patterns. After that, we’ll periodically reassess whether meeting less frequently makes sense based on your progress and goals.

That said, weekly therapy isn’t always realistic. Sometimes my availability only allows for every-other-week appointments, and sometimes financial or scheduling constraints influence what is feasible. We’ll work together to find a frequency that balances clinical benefit with the realities of your life.

The length of therapy varies from person to person and depends on your goals, the concerns bringing you to therapy, and how those concerns impact your daily life and relationships. Some people seek short-term support for a specific challenge or life transition, while others choose to remain in therapy longer as they continue working toward personal growth and deeper patterns of change.

Therapy isn’t a commitment to attend forever. Throughout our work together, we’ll periodically review your progress, discuss your goals, and decide collaboratively whether it makes sense to continue, reduce the frequency of sessions, or conclude treatment.

I’ve worked with some clients for just a few months and others for several years. There isn’t a predetermined timeline because therapy is tailored to your goals rather than a fixed number of sessions.

The primary difference between therapy and coaching is that psychotherapy is a clinical healthcare service, whereas coaching is a non-clinical professional service.

Psychotherapy is designed to assess, diagnose, and treat mental health conditions or emotional distress that significantly interferes with daily functioning. As a licensed marriage and family therapist, I am held to legal and ethical standards that govern how therapy is practiced, documented, and, when applicable, reimbursed by insurance.

Coaching is non-clinical professional service geared toward self-improvement and personal development. Coaching focuses on helping individuals pursue personal or professional goals, overcome obstacles, strengthen performance, and create meaningful change. Coaching is not intended to assess, diagnose, or treat mental health conditions.

If you’re unsure which approach best fits your needs, I’m happy to help you determine the most appropriate service during a consultation. Because I offer both psychotherapy and coaching, the goal isn’t to steer you toward one service over the other—it’s to help determine whether your needs are best addressed through a clinical or non-clinical approach.

Although both hypnotherapy and psychotherapy are forms of therapy, they differ in the primary method through which change is facilitated.

Psychotherapy is a clinical healthcare service that uses evidence-based psychological approaches to assess, diagnose, and treat mental health conditions. Depending on your needs, treatment may incorporate a variety of therapeutic modalities. While hypnotherapy can be incorporated into psychotherapy when clinically appropriate, it is one of many possible interventions and is not always the first or most appropriate course of treatment.

Hypnotherapy is a therapeutic service in which hypnosis is the primary method of facilitating change. It can be used to address both clinical and non-clinical concerns, depending on your goals and the context in which services are provided.

If you’re unsure whether psychotherapy or hypnotherapy is the best fit for your needs, I’m happy to help you determine the most appropriate starting point during a consultation.

You don’t have to know. Part of my role is helping you determine which service is most appropriate based on your goals and the nature of your concerns. If, after our consultation, we determine that your goals are non-clinical and are better suited for coaching or hypnotherapy, I’ll recommend the service that best fits your goals. If that turns out to be coaching or non-clinical hypnotherapy, those services are offered through my non-clinical practice, Hypnodipity.

In general:

• Psychotherapy may be the best fit if you’re experiencing significant emotional distress, symptoms of a mental health condition, unresolved trauma, or relationship difficulties that would benefit from clinical assessment and treatment.
• Coaching may be appropriate when your goals are non-clinical and focused on personal or professional growth rather than the assessment or treatment of a mental health condition.
• Hypnotherapy may be appropriate if you’re seeking hypnosis as the primary method of facilitating change. Because hypnotherapy can be be used for both clinical and non-clinical concerns, the appropriate service depends on your goals and the context in which hypnosis will be used.

If you’re unsure where to begin, we can discuss your goals during a consultation and determine the most appropriate starting point together.

My private practice primarily operates as an out-of-network practice. While I maintain limited contracts with select insurance networks, availability and eligibility vary. If you’re unsure about your coverage or payment options, I’m happy to help you understand your options during your consultation.

Being an out-of-network provider simply means I do not bill your insurance company directly. Instead, you pay for services at the time of your appointment, and if your insurance plan includes out-of-network benefits, you may be eligible for reimbursement for a portion of your psychotherapy costs.

Many PPO plans offer out-of-network benefits, but coverage and reimbursement amounts vary depending on your specific plan.

To help make therapy more accessible, I’ve partnered with Thrizer, a service that allows many eligible clients to use their out-of-network benefits with less paperwork and lower upfront costs.

Thrizer is a service that helps eligible clients use their out-of-network insurance benefits. Depending on your insurance plan and whether you’ve met your deductible, Thrizer may offer different payment options that can simplify the reimbursement process and, in some cases, reduce your upfront out-of-pocket costs.

I’ll help you determine whether Thrizer is a good fit based on your insurance benefits and explain the payment options available to you before your first appointment.

Yes. I reserve a limited number of sliding scale appointments for clients who may benefit from a reduced fee. Sliding scale rates are based on financial need and availability. If cost is a concern, please let me know during your consultation. We’ll discuss your circumstances together and determine whether a reduced fee may be appropriate.

Yes. I offer in-person therapy by appointment at office locations in West Los Angeles and San Pedro, depending on availability and scheduling needs.

Yes. I offer secure telehealth sessions for clients located anywhere in California. Online therapy provides the same personalized care as in-person sessions while offering greater flexibility and convenience.

The easiest way to get started is by scheduling a free 15-minute consultation. During our conversation, we’ll discuss what brings you to therapy, answer any questions you may have, and determine whether we’re a good fit to work together.

If it feels like the right fit, we’ll schedule your first appointment and discuss the next steps, including whether in-person or online therapy is the best fit for your needs.