Beginning in 2022:  THE NO SURPRISES ACT

Most psychotherapy clients receive regular and recurring services. It may be difficult to estimate the total length of treatment to achieve initial goals. Additionally, client goals may change during treatment. With that in mind, a Good Faith Estimate may be provided for recurring services provided within a 12-month period (e.g. the cost of weekly sessions for a year). A new estimate can be provided for additional services beyond 12 months.

You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical care will cost.

Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services.

• You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency items or services.
• Make sure your health care provider gives you a Good Faith Estimate in writing at least 1 business day before your medical service or item. You can also ask your healthcare provider, and any other provider you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule an item or service.
• If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill.
• Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate.

For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises or call 1-800-985-3059.

The No Surprises Act (H.R. 133) will go into effect beginning January 1, 2022, 

Individual Counseling

You deserve to be happy, loved and respected.  

 Are you frustrated, angry or hurt because

  - you feel "ignored", "put down, or "not good enough"? 

  - you have to "walk on eggshells" or fear confrontation with your partner?

Do you want to be "empowered" in your relationships and be appreciated for who you are?  

Call me for a free consultation at 760-766-1622.

Couples Counseling

Do you and your partner struggle with:

   - Hurt feelings, anger, depression, anxiety, frustration, a lack of intimacy 

   - Criticism, contempt, blame, defensiveness or the "silent treatment" 

It doesn't have to be that way.  

Open communication, loving and caring are much better ways to show someone how you feel even when you are upset.  

Let me show you how to create healthier and more satisfying relationships.  

Call me for a free consultation at 760-766-1622. 

Children and Teens

Does your child or teen feel frustrated or angry in school, or at home?   

Are homework and grades a struggle? 

Do your child or teen struggle with defiance?  

Does she or he get angry when they don't get what they want?

Is your child or teen exploring or questioning their sexuality and struggling with who they are, or, are they already farther down that path?  I am supportive of the LGBTQ+ community and sensitive to the family and societal issues that can arise.  I go by "he", "him" and "his."

I provide teen counseling, child and family counseling.

Call me for a free consultation at 760-766-1622.

1. A Note on TicTok because so many teens and pre-teens are using it...

What families can do:

Parents can take steps to protect their teens on TikTok and talk about the videos they are creating or viewing.

Use parental Controls. 

TikTok allows parents to link their own accounts to their teens’, to enable content and privacy settings, such as restricting content types and setting time limits.  Through Family Pairing, parents can also turn off messaging, or restrict who can send direct messages to their teen. 

Monitor your teen’s feed.

Therapists and child-safety experts recommend asking to watch TikToks together.  A quick look at what shows up in their feed will give you an idea of the kind of content they’re seeing.  And checking to see what kind of videos they’re creating is a must, thought teens can create secret accounts.

Don’t freak out.

If you find your teen has been creating videos you consider inappropriate, it’s best not to overreact, therapists say.  Instead, ask why they conse to create those types of videos and whether that’s the version of themselves they want to share with the world.

Please download and print the appropriate Adult, Couples or Minor's forms along with the Telehealth Informed Consent form.

Complete them and scan or send them to me prior to your first appointment.

If you have any questions, we can discuss them at this session.

How often will I come in for sessions?

That’s a good question. I have found that, in this work, just like trying to build strength or improve your golf game, you get better with more frequent sessions. That usually means weekly though, at times, there may be a need or desire to come in more often. Working on yourself less frequently than once a week doesn’t offer you the chance to make changes in your life; conversely, when you are in need, more frequent visits help you to get through a difficult period.

How long does it take?

This is difficult to predict. I ask clients to give the process at least 12 sessions for the process to start making a difference.  You should expect to feel somewhat better in the first 12 weeks and you will begin to notice changes and have more awareness.  However, most issues have deeper roots and dealing with those issues takes time.

Do you take insurance?

The answer to that question is complicated based on your situation. Insurance companies require a mental health disorder diagnosis to cover the costs of treatment. Many of my clients prefer to deal with their insurance companies on their own or not to submit my invoice receipts because they want to protect their personal information. There is no way I can guarantee the confidentiality of your personal information once it leaves my office.  

I am a provider for veterans and their families through TRICARE. For all other clients, I provide a "super-bill" for my services, as an "out of network provider" that you can submit that to your insurance company for reimbursement.  If you have a PPO medical insurance, your reimbursement may be from 30%-60% of my fee (for "out-of-network" providers).

What are my fees?

The fee for a 50-minute session is $150 for individuals, teens, children and family sessions.  Extended sessions are prorated based on the 50-minute fee (at $3/minute).

Couples sessions are scheduled for 75 minutes at a fee of $225.

How do I pay you?

I take Zelle and credit cards to pay for the session at the beginning of each session unless otherwise agreed to.

How do I reach you if I have to?

The best way to reach me is to call our office voicemail [760-766-1622] and leave a message. I will be notified that you left a message and get back to you as soon as I can. I am not available after 10:00 pm or before 7:00 am. If you have an emergency, you need to call 911 or go to the nearest Emergency Room. When in doubt, please act in your best interests and for your own safety.

I have worked with thousands of children and teens since 1997 in school settings and in private practice.  I respect and enjoy these young adults and have learned much from them.

With over 30 years of experience in banking, consulting, financial services, manufacturing, marketing, project management, product development and technology, and 20 years as a licensed psychotherapist, I offer insight into dealing with business challenges and "difficult" people.  

My background in technology, aerospace, banking, financial services, operations and management includes:

• Technology (IT) and product/project development for a large California bank, an aerospace company and the largest credit card marketing associaion in the world
• Multi-year and multi-million dollar budget project responsibility
• Operations and Manufacturing consulting for multiple divisions of an international conglomerate producing business and military aircraft, space aircraft, consumer radio and television products, software development and building tools 
• Executive Director of a mental health organization
• Management positions in multiple and diverse corporate organizations in Southern and Northern California
• Increased productivity of IT professionals and improved processing of major systems in aerospace and banking environments
• Created a unique method to identify and terminate hundreds of millions of dollars of fraud for the largest worldwide credit card association
• Developed a reporting capability (i.e., "Big Data") to identify how billions of dollars of credit card purchases originate and flow from merchants worldwide by SIC code, city, state, country and product type
• Managed the development, technical support and marketing of a PC application for T&E expense and purchasing in multiple languages directing support teams in Tokyo, London, Toronto, Miami (for Central and South America) and the United States
• Managed multiple levels of employees in large corporate environments
• Dealt with internal corporate and "outside" attorneys in numerous contracts and served as a subject matter expert in a $100M lawsuit (which we won)
• Built data centers in Northern and Southern California for a large national banking institution and a processing center near Philadelphia for a new credit card business entity
• Served on the board of a $500M credit union for ten years and several boards of mental health professionals for the last 12 years
• Licensed as a Marriage Family Therapist helping clients ranging from 4 to 95 since 2001
• BA in Economics and an MBA in Marketing from UCLA; MA in Counseling from JFK University