FAQ

My office is located at 16 S. Oakland Avenue, Suite 208, Pasadena, CA 91101. I also offer telehealth sessions over a HIPAA-compliant platform to clients located throughout the state of California. I offer equine-assisted psychotherapy at Ride On Therapeutic Riding Center in Pasadena, 4810 Oak Grove Drive, Hahamongna Watershed Park, Pasadena, CA 91101 (https://www.rideon.org/index.php).

I require that you have a credit card on file with me before your first session. I will bill your credit card automatically, and payment is due on the day of the session. I accept some insurance plans but equine-assisted psychotherapy is at my full cash rate of $195/hour-long session.

I accept some insurance plans (please contact me to verify). If I don’t take your insurance, I can offer you a superbill that you can present to your insurance company for out-of-network reimbursement – if that is allowed – but if your insurance doesn’t pay me, you are responsible for the full rate. As a courtesy to my clients, I have a biller who can help you process out-of-network claims.

I have limited availability for sliding scale services based on financial needs. These sliding scale agreements will be re-negotiated every three months. Please inquire about this option as my sliding-scale slots are usually full.

I require that clients cancel outside of a 24-hour window. Otherwise, I will charge the full fee for services. My time is important, as is yours, so this is modeling healthy boundaries!

We set up a screening call to see if we are a good therapeutic match. After the screening call, I will send you intake paperwork to fill out and upload to my secure electronic health record system (web-based).

If we are a good match, we will schedule an initial assessment appointment at that time.

Your second appointment will consist of treatment planning, allowing us to agree upon goals for our work together and frequency of treatment.

I treat adults ages 18 and up for regular psychotherapy. For psychotherapy incorporating horses, I treat children and adults ages 6 and up.

I treat people based on their personal needs. My philosophy is pragmatic. Therefore, my job is over when you no longer need me (that is the goal). So, I intend to give you the tools that will allow you to no longer need therapy. This process will take as long as is appropriate for YOU.

I believe in a strengths-based, person-centered approach akin to the work of Carl Rogers.

“People are just as wonderful as sunsets if you let them be. When I look at a sunset, I don’t find myself saying, “Soften the orange a bit on the right hand corner.” I don’t try to control a sunset. I watch with awe as it unfolds.” – Carl R. Rogers, A Way of Being

I also pull in evidence-based treatments that are appropriate to the client. I believe we are all affected by intersectionality (see the work of Kimberlé Crenshaw), and I bring attention to intersectional identities in treatment.

I am a Diplomate & Certified CBT Therapist through the Academy of Cognitive & Behavioral Therapies and certified in Motivational Interviewing. In addition, I am an EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) trained clinician.

I believe in the recovery model of mental health care and feel that most mental health diagnoses are simply typical (if sometimes exaggerated) responses to abnormal circumstances.

I take a peer-oriented approach to delivering mental health services, believe in cultural humility, and am pro-LGBTQIA+. I provide affirming services for individuals in this community (I am gender non-binary).

I take an abolitionist stance toward mass incarceration and support the BLM movement. I am against AAPI hate and discrimination, support immigration, and believe the United States is stronger because of our diversity.

I am transgender affirming and informed about gender and sexual minority stressors and their treatment. I am a radical social worker.

I believe that you heal trauma through relationships. Healing from trauma can also occur by processing it in a safe space through exposure. In addition, I focus on the regulation of a dysregulated nervous system and bring knowledge of anatomy and physiology to my treatment (I have an MA in anthropology with a focus on anatomy).

I explain how our nervous system evolved to protect us and how its responses can go haywire from exposure to traumatic circumstances. I help clients address this overactive alarm system and learn tools and tricks to down-regulate. I work with clients in psychotherapy sessions with horses to heal trauma through healthy attachment. Additionally, I can offer EMDR treatment for trauma which is an evidence-based approach based on lateral eye movements.

Through methods such as behavioral activation, scheduling, and self-contracting, I can assist you in pulling out of the mire of depression. I take a whole-person approach to treating depression and examine our social support systems, health and wellness practices, nutrition, and self-care in this context.

I have lived experience with clinical anxiety/recovery and can guide you through the healing process, allowing you to experience fulfillment in life once again.

Yes, it is normal to have skepticism. We often think that our issues are “just who I am,” but through therapy, we can recognize that they are often treatable symptoms and learned patterns from childhood that no longer serve us.

I have several favorite animals (aside from horses and dogs) – the hyrax, the indri, the fennec fox, and the aye-aye!

Pizza – because it is convenient and almost universally liked.

Perseverance – because it is what has gotten me through life.

It is healthy to ugly cry. I don’t give out Kleenex when someone cries because I believe in the healing power of fully feeling our emotions without judgment. Handing someone Kleenex interrupts this process and is likely due to the observer’s discomfort with emotion.