Psychotherapy FAQs
What kind of payment methods do you take? Do you take insurance?
I take cash (Zelle), debit cards, and major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, JCB, Diners Club, China UnionPay). I can provide a super bill for your HSA/FSA reimbursement as I will be an out-of-the-network mental health provider.
Why do you like to work with couples?
We don’t just learn to love ourselves by ourselves. - Esther Perel
I love seeing the individuals discover who they are, how they connect, how they negotiate in the couple’s system. The moment they look into each others \’s eyes with renewed understanding and love touches me. I often tell them to savor this moment— THIS is the gem of couple hood. It’s shine brings light to our life journey.
How long does therapy last?
According to good therapy.org, Therapy can last anywhere from one session to several months or even years. It all depends on what you want and need. Some people come to therapy with a very specific problem they need to solve and might find that one or two sessions is sufficient.
Is there any guarantee? Any risk?
No and Yes. Psychotherapy is similar to physical therapy in some ways, the therapist assess your situation, uses his/her expertise to provide interventions to aid your healing, they sometimes prescribe “exercises/homework“ for you to consolidate the progress, then you graduate. Will you get injured/ hurt again in the future? Everything is possible. Like doing P.T., psychotherapy process takes energy and can be painful. But with the warm, compassionate guidance and emotionally safe containment, your efforts in creating new neuron-pathways are well supported, and the relearning can take place.
How much does couples counseling cost in San Francisco Bay area?
According to Thervo.com, in the San Francisco Bay Area, expect to pay anywhere between $120 and $250 per hour as a couple. Some skilled therapists are in higher demand, and so have a higher rate. Skill and training also play a large part in the pricing of couples and marriage therapy in San Francisco. Some therapists cost more, but these tend to be specialized experts in their field who have a high success rate.
How soon can I see progress in couples counseling?
We will spend the initial three sessions to get to know each other, decide together if we are a good fit to work effectively, set goals for your couples counseling. It generally takes couples 5-8 sessions to achieve at least one therapeutic goal, depending on how much energy and work the couples put in and outside of the couples sessions. We will review our progress at the 8th session and decide if we want to move on to other goals or revise the goals. When the couples feel competent to negotiate boundaries, solving issues collaboratively, experience increased intimacy, we can wean the sessions to a monthly maintenance session before ending therapy.