Frequently Asked Questions

Where is your office located?

My office is located in the Pill Hill neighborhood of Oakland at 431 30th St, Suite 110. I am currently open for in-person services with masks for individuals who have been fully vaccinated for Covid-19. In order to ensure safety for everyone, I do require that masks are worn during our sessions if you are not currently vaccinated.

Do you offer online counseling?

Yes, I offer online therapy to clients throughout California. I am also able to offer video sessions for my clients when they are out of town or not able to make it to the office for their regular in-person sessions.

What are your hours?

My hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10 am-6 pm.

How long are the sessions?

We will meet for 50 minutes during our sessions.

How much do you charge?

My fee is $225 per individual therapy.

Do you take insurance?

I am considered an "Out-Of-Network" provider, which means I do not accept any insurance directly. 

If you would like to use your insurance, then I am able to provide you with a monthly receipt called a "Superbill" and you can submit this to your insurance provider for possible reimbursement. I recommend calling your insurance provider directly and checking with them to confirm if you have "Out Of Network" benefits. 

Otherwise, you can choose to see me privately and not involve your insurance at all. See why many of my clients choose this option below. 

Why would I choose to pay private pay instead of using my insurance benefits?

Many of my clients actually prefer to work with me privately and not involve their insurance at all. This is because in order to use your insurance for counseling, a mental health diagnosis is required, and this gets attached to your record. Insurance can also put limitations on the number of counseling sessions you can have, prior to truly completing the process. 

And by not taking insurance, I’m able to maintain a smaller caseload of clientele and devote all of my focus into helping people. Instead of taking hours each week going back and forth with insurance, I devote that time and energy to my clients, resulting in better outcomes for therapy.

How do I set up an initial appointment?

First we would have a free 15 minute consultation call (via phone or video call) to see if we would be a good fit. During that call we will work together to schedule a time for our first session.

What is your cancellation policy?

Your designated hour is your financial responsibility and it is in service of your therapeutic progress to attend all of your appointments; therefore you agree to pay for your appointment, for the duration of our therapeutic arrangement, regardless of whether you choose to come. You are able to reschedule for cancelled appointments within the week before, during, or after the date of your absence, if we are able to find a time that works for both our schedules. You are allotted two “free” cancellations per year that you will not be charged for as long as you give 24 hours advanced notice. You are not required to pay for sessions that I cancel. I will make every effort to alert you of my planned vacation times in advance. In order to reschedule your session, you must give 24-hours notice, otherwise you are responsible for your fee and I cannot reschedule the cancelled appointment. If you cancel your appointment or do not show up for your appointment, you will be charged by the end of the day of the canceled appointment.

How much paperwork do I have to fill out?

Once we schedule your first session, I will send you an intake packet electronically that includes my practice documents to review and sign, as well as an intake questionnaire that will give me a little more information about you to inform our work together. It should take about 10-15 minutes to complete the intake packet and it needs to be completed at least 24 hours before our first appointment.

What can I expect in the first session?

I truly believe that therapy is a collaborative process, so I always start our first session (and all sessions) by getting a sense of what you would like to bring into the session that day to make sure we have time to cover what is most important to you. We will then go more in-depth into what we talked about in our consultation call, so I can get a better understanding of what is happening for you and what may be contributing to how you are feeling. We will delve more into goals for our work together and make sure that we have a plan on how we will move forward in future sessions. 

With whom do you work?

I work with young adults who are working through trauma that they experienced in their childhood that is impacting their emotions, their relationships, and their ability to connect to themselves. I work with people who are super empathic and highly sensitive to other people who need support to manage how to differentiate what is their stuff and what they are holding for other people. My clients are interested in working to integrate mind, body, and spirit into their healing work.

What is your approach?

I integrate narrative therapy, relational, liberation psychology, and mindfulness/somatic therapy to help my clients integrate mind, body, and spirit to get a whole person transformation.

How long will it take?

Each person is different in what they are bringing into therapy and what they would like to get out of therapy, but in general, people begin to find more balance and ease within a couple of months. Many clients that want to do the deeper work, will continue on in therapy as an ongoing process to have a space carved out each week for themselves.

Will I have homework?

Life is the real test of how much therapy is helping, so you will always be able to apply skills and wisdom we explore together in your life. I will occasionally assign homework assignments for self-exploration, but this is by no means a requirement to work with me. 

How often will we need to have a session?

I recommend that we start off meeting for weekly therapy sessions until you get to a place you feel like you are more in control of yourself and your life. I work with my clients to be in conversation throughout our work together to explore tapering off sessions to every two weeks or once a month if that is appropriate.

What does ending therapy look like?

Ending relationships can be difficult. Therefore, it is important to have a termination process in order to achieve some closure. The appropriate length of the termination depends on the length and intensity of the treatment. I may terminate treatment after appropriate discussion with you and a termination process if I determine that the psychotherapy is not being effectively used or if you are in default on payment. I will not terminate the therapeutic relationship without first discussing and exploring the reasons and purpose of terminating. If therapy is terminated for any reason or you request another therapist, I will provide you with a list of qualified psychotherapists to treat you. You may also choose someone on your own or from another referral source.