Frequently Asked Questions

Getting Started

Do you offer online therapy?

Yes. My practice is fully online, and sessions are held securely by video. I work with adults throughout California, which allows us to meet from the privacy and comfort of your own space without the added time of commuting to an office.

Online therapy can still be deeply relational and experiential. We can work with emotions, the body, present-moment experience, relationships, and deeper questions of meaning in much the same way we would if we were sitting together in a room.

Who do you work with?

I work with individual adults throughout California. Many of the people who find their way to my practice are thoughtful, sensitive, introspective people who want more than strategies for managing symptoms. They may be struggling with anxiety, self-esteem, depression, loneliness, relationship patterns, life transitions, grief, questions of identity or meaning, or simply a sense that something in their life is asking to be understood more deeply.

I also have particular experience working with existential and spiritual concerns, including nondual and transpersonal experiences, as well as the complex emotional territory surrounding fertility, involuntary childlessness, and creating a meaningful life outside of conventional expectations.

Do you offer a free consultation?

Yes. I offer a complimentary 15-minute consultation so that we can briefly meet, talk about what is bringing you to therapy, and get a sense of whether working together feels like a good fit.

There is no obligation to schedule afterward. The consultation is simply an opportunity for us to have an initial conversation and for you to ask any questions you may have.

You can book a consultation instantly via my online booking calendar by clicking below.

What happens in the first therapy session?

Our first full session is an opportunity to begin getting to know one another and to understand what is bringing you to therapy.

I will likely ask about what has been happening in your life, what you are struggling with, and what you hope might become different through our work together. But there is no expectation that you arrive knowing exactly what you want to work on or that you tell your whole life story in one sitting.

Therapy unfolds over time. We begin wherever you are.

How do I know if you are the right therapist for me?

Finding the right therapist is partly about qualifications and experience, but it is also about something more difficult to measure: how it feels to be with that person.

You might notice whether you feel understood, whether you can imagine becoming increasingly honest and unguarded in the relationship, and whether my way of thinking about therapy resonates with you.

You do not need to know immediately. Part of beginning therapy is discovering whether the relationship feels like one in which meaningful work can grow.

My Approach to Therapy

What is holistic depth-oriented psychotherapy?

Holistic depth-oriented psychotherapy looks beyond symptoms alone and considers the whole person — your emotions, relationships, history, body, inner life, values, imagination, and the larger questions that shape how you experience being alive.

Rather than asking only, “How can we make this symptom go away?” we may also become curious about what the symptom is expressing, what patterns or experiences lie beneath it, and what it might reveal about something that needs attention, healing, or change.

My work draws from several complementary approaches, including Gestalt, Jungian, existential, somatic, transpersonal, and nondual psychotherapy.

What is Gestalt therapy?

Gestalt therapy is an experiential and relational approach that emphasizes what is happening in the present moment — emotionally, physically, and between therapist and client.

Rather than only talking about your experiences intellectually, we may slow down and become curious about what you are noticing as we speak: a feeling emerging, a tightening in the body, an impulse you normally suppress, or a part of yourself that has difficulty finding words.

Over time, this kind of awareness can help previously hidden patterns become more visible and create greater freedom in how you respond to yourself, other people, and your life.

What is Jungian psychotherapy?

Jungian psychotherapy approaches psychological life with curiosity about the deeper layers of the psyche. Alongside our conscious thoughts and experiences, we may explore dreams, recurring patterns, images, symbols, creativity, longing, and aspects of ourselves that have remained outside ordinary awareness.

From a Jungian perspective, therapy is not only about becoming less symptomatic. It can also be part of the larger process of becoming more fully ourselves.

My work is Jungian-informed rather than traditional Jungian analysis, and I integrate this perspective naturally when it is meaningful and useful for the person I am working with.

What is existential therapy?

Existential therapy explores some of the fundamental questions that accompany being human: meaning, freedom, responsibility, uncertainty, isolation, mortality, belonging, choice, and how we want to live the life we have been given.

These questions can become particularly vivid during periods of transition, loss, disillusionment, aging, spiritual questioning, or when the life we imagined for ourselves has not unfolded as expected.

Existential therapy does not necessarily try to provide answers to these questions. Instead, therapy can become a place where we are able to encounter them honestly and discover what feels genuinely meaningful to you.

What is nondual therapy?

Nondual therapy brings insights from nondual contemplative traditions into psychological work while remaining grounded in the realities of human emotion, relationships, and everyday life.

At times, suffering is intensified by the sense that we must fix, overcome, or become someone other than who we are. A nondual perspective can invite a different relationship with experience — one based less on struggle and more on awareness, curiosity, compassion, and the possibility that even difficult parts of ourselves can be met rather than rejected.

You do not need to have a spiritual practice or any familiarity with nonduality for us to work together.

What is transpersonal or psychospiritual therapy?

Transpersonal psychotherapy recognizes that psychological life can include experiences that reach beyond our ordinary sense of self — including spiritual experiences, altered or expanded states of consciousness, profound experiences of interconnectedness, mystical experiences, and questions about the nature of consciousness itself.

For some people, these experiences become deeply important turning points in their lives and can be difficult to discuss in settings where they may be misunderstood or reduced immediately to pathology.

Therapy can offer a grounded place to explore these experiences psychologically and existentially without requiring that we adopt any particular spiritual or religious interpretation of them.

Do you incorporate somatic therapy?

Yes. Our bodies often communicate things before our minds have found language for them.

I may invite you to notice sensations, shifts in breathing, tension, movement, emotion, or other physical experiences that arise during a session. This does not mean that every session centers on the body. Rather, somatic awareness is one of the ways we can listen more closely to what is happening beneath the surface.

This can be especially helpful when insight alone has not changed a longstanding emotional or relational pattern.

Do I need to choose one kind of therapy?

No. You do not need to decide whether you want Gestalt therapy, Jungian therapy, existential therapy, somatic therapy, or another particular modality.

I work integratively, which means I draw from different therapeutic traditions depending upon who you are, what we are exploring, and what seems most helpful in a particular moment.

The relationship and the person come first; the modality serves the work rather than determining it.

Fees, Insurance & Private-Pay Therapy

What are your fees?

I offer the first full therapy session at a reduced fee of $80. Subsequent 50-minute sessions are $180.

I also maintain a limited number of reduced-fee spaces when available. You are welcome to ask about current availability during our consultation.

Do you accept insurance?

I am an out-of-network provider and do not bill insurance companies directly.

If your insurance plan includes out-of-network mental health benefits, I can provide you with a superbill that you may submit to your insurance company for possible reimbursement. Coverage varies considerably between plans, so I recommend contacting your insurer directly to find out what your particular benefits include.

HSA and FSA funds may also be used to pay for therapy.

Why do you work outside of insurance?

I have chosen to work as a private-pay therapist because it allows the therapeutic process to be guided by your individual needs rather than by the requirements of an insurance company.

Insurance reimbursement generally requires a mental health diagnosis and involves sharing certain clinical information with the insurer for purposes such as billing, authorization, or review. For some people this is entirely appropriate; others prefer to keep their therapy outside of the insurance system and maintain greater privacy around their care.

Working privately also gives us more freedom to explore concerns that may not fit neatly within a diagnostic framework — including questions of identity, meaning, relationships, life transitions, spirituality, self-understanding, and personal growth.

What is the difference between working with a private practice therapist and using an online therapy platform?

Large online therapy platforms and therapy apps can make therapy more accessible and may be a good option for some people. Working directly with a therapist in private practice offers a different kind of experience.

When you work with me, you are entering into an ongoing therapeutic relationship with one clinician who comes to know your history, personality, relationships, culture, inner world, and the particular ways you experience life. I do not follow a standardized program or apply the same approach to everyone. Our work is tailored to you and can evolve as you do.

My practice is intentionally small, which allows me to offer a personal, relational, and depth-oriented form of psychotherapy. Rather than focusing only on reducing symptoms, we can also explore the emotional patterns, relationships, experiences, and deeper questions that may be underneath them.

For people seeking an individualized therapeutic relationship rather than a larger subscription-based mental health service, private practice can offer a very different experience of therapy.

Is private-pay therapy worth the cost?

That is a deeply personal decision, and therapy is a meaningful financial investment.

Private-pay therapy may be particularly valuable if you are looking for an individualized, ongoing therapeutic relationship and want greater freedom in determining what your therapy focuses on and how deeply you explore it.

People come to therapy not only because something is “wrong,” but because they want to understand themselves more fully, change longstanding patterns, navigate important transitions, deepen their relationships, or live with greater authenticity and meaning.

I see therapy as an investment whose effects can extend beyond the time we spend together — into how you relate to yourself, the choices you make, the relationships you build, and the life you create.

The Therapy Process

How often will we meet?

I generally recommend meeting weekly, particularly when we are beginning therapy. Weekly sessions give us enough continuity to develop a therapeutic relationship and allow the work to deepen over time.

For some people, meeting every other week may eventually make sense depending on their needs, circumstances, and where they are in the therapeutic process. We can discuss together what frequency feels appropriate.

How long does therapy last?

There is no predetermined length of time.

Some people come to therapy to work through a particular period of difficulty or transition, while others find that longer-term therapy becomes a meaningful space for deeper psychological exploration and change.

Because my work is depth-oriented, I am particularly well suited to people who are interested in understanding longstanding emotional and relational patterns rather than only finding short-term strategies for a particular symptom.

Ultimately, the length of therapy is something we continue to consider together.

What kinds of concerns can we work on in therapy?

People come to my practice for many different reasons, including anxiety, social anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, loneliness, relationship difficulties, grief, life transitions, fertility and involuntary childlessness, existential concerns, spiritual questions, and the desire to understand themselves more deeply.

You do not need to fit neatly into a diagnostic category or arrive with a clearly defined problem. Sometimes therapy begins simply with the sense that something in your life no longer feels right, that an old way of living has stopped working, or that you want a deeper relationship with yourself and your life.

Is therapy only for people who are struggling?

Not at all.

Therapy can certainly provide support during periods of suffering, but it can also be a place for curiosity, exploration, creativity, and growth. Some people seek therapy because they want to understand themselves more deeply, become more authentic in their relationships, explore questions of meaning or spirituality, or listen more closely to something within themselves that has been difficult to hear.

There does not have to be something “wrong” with you for therapy to be meaningful.

Still Have Questions?

Beginning therapy can feel like a significant decision, and you are welcome to bring any questions that are not answered here to a complimentary 15-minute consultation.

More than anything, the consultation gives us a chance to meet one another and see how the conversation feels. If there seems to be a good fit, we can talk about what taking the next step might look like.