FAQ

What is the cost of therapy?

• FEES. A typical therapy session lasts 45 minutes for individuals, 45 to 90 minutes for couples and family sessions. The cost is $150.00 per 45-50 minute block.  A limited amount of reduced fee appointments are available based on necessity. Please contact me so that we can discuss any concerns. My goal is to help you reach your potential, even if it means giving you a referral to work with another San Diego therapist.
• INSURANCE. I currently do not accept insurance. There are  benefits to paying privately, including, greater privacy and control in our work together. If you have a PPO, I can provide a “super bill” that you could submit to your insurance company for possible reimbursement.

When can I schedule a session?
Therapy sessions can be schedule as late as the day prior to the session, depending on the therapist availability. Scheduling a session on the same day of the is usually limited to crisis situations.

How long will therapy take?

• Even though I prefer to work from a brief therapy model, the length of therapy varies greatly depending on the situation at hand, the clients availability to come in to session in a consistent manner and very importantly, the clients commitment to do the work in session and between sessions that will help them achieve their goals.
• When we begin our work together, we will set up such goals, once we reach them, our work together will be complete or we can then reassess and set new goals if that is what the client chooses to do at that time.

How can I make the best of my therapy experience?

How often do I need to meet with a San Diego therapist?
Ideally you should plan on having weekly sessions, at least initially. This allows our work to build momentum from the effort done in session and between sessions. When there is too much time from one therapy session to the next therapy session, it is harder to leverage the progress made and some of your hard work might not be as effective as it would otherwise be if you are able to come to weekly counseling sessions in San Diego.
Is what I say in therapy confidential?

• Yes. Confidentiality is one of the most important pieces of the relationship with your San Diego therapist. Therapy sessions are confidential, there are however certain specific circumstances where the law requires that a San Diego therapist break their confidentiality. Some of these situations are:
  • When there is a specific imminent threat of a client seriously hurting  or killing themselves.
  • When a specific and imminent plan to take someone else’s life is disclosed.
  • When any child or elderly abuse is disclosed (this includes streaming and sharing of any child pornography).
  • When there is a subpoena by a court.

I’m having problems in my relationship, should I do individual counseling or couples counseling?

• As a marriage and family therapist intern, I always lean towards working with both members of the couple, this allows the work to be more efficient and it is a very powerful and potentially bonding experience. There are however certain situations where it is best not to do couples therapy with both members of the couple, some of these cases are when:

• There is ongoing abuse and the safety of one or both members of the couple might be compromised

• There is an active and ongoing affair.

• There is an active ongoing addiction.

• On other cases, one of the partners is unwilling to be a part of the couples counseling process.
• In all of the above situations, couples therapy is not recommended, however, individual therapy is certainly a good option. Sometimes we are not able to change our relationships but we can take steps to change ourselves and gain the strength needed to move past our present difficulties.