FAQ

My office is nestled right in the heart of old town Tustin, on the corner of West Main Street and C Street.  

145 West Main St, #100 Tustin, CA 92780  

If you are familiar with old town Tustin, my office is across the street from Rutabegorz restaurant and the Tustin Presbyterian Church.

With an H.M.O. plan, you’re limited to in-network providers because they are contracted with your insurnce company, which helps everyone save money. In general, a P.P.O. plan offers more flexibility, allowing you to choose an out-of-network therapist, yet with higher deductibles and copayments.  With a typical P.P.O. plan, you pay the therapist upfront, receive a Superbill (receipt), and submit it for partial reimbursement, minus the predetermined co-pay set by your plan.

Tap or click the “Let’s Chat” button below.

Next, I will contact you to schedule a brief clarity call to help you discover if I’m a good fit for you.  After that call, I will send you a link to my new client portal to fill out the paperless intake forms.  For your convenience, there is nothing to download, print out for our first session!

Great question.  To learn more, visit our fees page.

Great question.  To learn more, visit our fees page.

It’s all about you.  As such, I tailor my approach to suit your specific needs because each person or couple has different goals for therapy. Your job is to relax and put language to your feelings states so together we can help identify, understand, and change your situation.  Don’t be surprised if we laugh together because laughter is an excellent healing agent.

The last 22 years have taught me the importance of doing a thorough assessment with my clients, which helps me answer three powerful questions: 

1. Why are you coming to therapy?
2. What do you hope to accomplish?  I will use the information from those two questions to formlate my treatment plan focused on…
3. How do I equip you to achieve those goal(s).  

Of course, you can use our time together to learn about me by asking questions in session and reading my bio page.

The short answer? I take pride in doing good therapy. I like to work myself out of a job. The long answer? Every person’s circumstances are unique to them. The length of time it takes to achieve your goals depends on your desire for personal development, your commitment, and the social factors that can interfere with therapy—things like work, parenting, and life.

Online Therapy or Telehealth allows us to conduct a therapy session through audio and video conference over the internet instead of meeting in person.  If you are busy and short on time, all you need is a desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile device (iOS or Android)—it’s your choice!  To learn more, visit our online therapy page.

As a neutral third party, I provide a safe space for couples to explore each other’s perspectives. We tend to view our relationships through a single lens—which can impair our ability to consider the views of others. Doing so tends to magnify arguments. When couples disagree on an issue, the tension typically increases if we don’t consider our partner’s view. My goal is to help couples come to mutually agreeable solutions that work for both of them. After our work, if one of you would like to continue with individual therapy, I will refer you to an individual therapist. 

The reason? My loyalty is to help your relationship. As such, it is unethical to treat a couple and then start seeing that same couple individually each week. Having a second, significantly different relationship with clients is harmful to therapy because it disrupts trust, emotional safety, and the therapeutic alliance. That conflict of interest is like seeing a person in treatment who happens to be my neighbor. Every time we talk, they wonder, “are you functioning as my neighbor right now or my therapist?”  Over time, that person will edit the contents of both conversations.

I am so glad you are dedicated to getting the most out of therapy. Your active participation and dedication are crucial to your success. After all, we only see each other for a session a week. That said, there is a big difference between clients interested in change and those committed. Take weight loss, for example. On January first, every gym in America is filled with people who are interested in weight loss and physical fitness. However, six months later—when it’s hot and inconvenient to go to the gym—you will only find those who are committed. Your work outside of our sessions will play a significant role in your ability to achieve the level of personal growth and development you want.

A bartender, hairdresser, or friend can be excellent listeners, empathic, and help solve problems. Aside from the obvious fact that bartenders and friends typically charge much less for their services—that’s not always true for hairdressers—as a counselor or mental health professional, I go beyond these basic helping skills and do much more. 

As a mental health professional, I help you approach situations in a new way to help change your life for the better. I’ll teach new skills, help you gain different perspectives, and listen to you without judgment or expectations. During our sessions, I employ reflective listening techniques to help clarify, echo and restate what you say with the hope that it will expand your awareness of yourself and your situation. Furthermore, I’m bound by confidentiality—unlike your bartenders, hairdressers, and friends. Put another way; your secrets are safe with me.  You won’t have to worry about others “knowing your business.” Suppose you confide in a friend or family member over a situation that generates intense emotion. In that case, you may become hesitant around that person or try to avoid them because “they know” which can produce feelings of shame, guilt, or embarrassment.   

Lastly, what separates me from your local bartender, hairdresser, or friend is my approach. I rely heavily on well-researched theories to guide and direct my therapy. I use what mental health workers call a theory-based treatment plan to: 

• Develop a specific form of a helping relationship.
• Articulate more useful understandings of your situations and 
• Identify effective means for resolving your presenting problems.

In the end, my ability to skillfully translate theory into action is what makes counseling so much different from the bartenders, hairdressers, or friends in your life. In sum, the counseling theories I use in therapy provide a powerful lens through which to view your situation so I can identify the most practical means to resolve your concerns as quickly as possible—and do it from a scientific or evidence-based approach.

If you feel you are in a life threatening situation, call 911 immediately.

If you, or someone you know, is considering taking their life:

Suicide Prevention Lifeline

1-800-273-TALK (8255)

Free and confidential support for people in distress, 24/7

Additonal Resources:

National Helpline

1-800-662-HELP (4357)

Treatment referral and information, 24/7

Disaster Distress Helpline

1-800-985-5990

Immediate crisis counseling related to disasters, 24/7

Yes. Sometimes I do have a waiting list, and I want you to be able to access mental health services as fast as possible and are a good fit for you. Feel free to contact me, explain your situation, and ask for resources/referrals.