Frequently asked questions about therapy in Pasadena and online

No. Most people arrive describing a pattern rather than a label: feeling keyed up, dreading the week, or not recognising themselves in their own life. If a diagnosis becomes relevant we can talk about it, but it is not the entry requirement.

You may not know after one conversation, and that is normal. Use the free call to ask how the work goes and what a session looks like. If it does not feel workable, saying so is an entirely ordinary outcome.

There is no fixed dose. Many clients notice something shift in the first month and continue for several months after that. We review progress periodically, and you can stop at any point without a conversation about why.

Weekly is the usual rhythm, particularly at the start, because momentum does much of the work. Fortnightly becomes an option once things are steadier.

For the concerns this practice treats, the research does not show a meaningful difference. What matters more is whether you have a private space and a reliable connection. If you do not, in person is the better choice.

It happens, especially for parents between pickups, but it makes the hour harder to use well. A parked car with a closed door is workable. Driving, or a shared office, is not.

A California licence limits me to clients physically in the state at the time of the session, so a move means ending the work or transferring care. If you travel, you need to be in California for our appointments. I will help with a referral where I can.

Yes. Babies are welcome, and a crying baby is not a problem. Many parents find the first sessions easier with the baby there than with the logistics of leaving them at home.

The office is at 123 Example Lane, Suite 200, Pasadena, CA 91101. Appointments run on weekday mornings and early evenings, with more flexibility for video sessions because no travel is involved. Ask about current openings on the free call.

$180 for a 50-minute session. The consultation is 15 minutes and costs nothing.

Not directly. The practice is out of network, so you pay at the time of the session. I issue a monthly superbill you can submit to your plan, and it is worth checking your out-of-network benefits before you start so the reimbursement is not a surprise either way.

Twenty-four hours' notice, otherwise the session is charged. Illness and childcare emergencies are the exception. Tell me what happened and we will sort it out rather than bill you.

A card on file, charged after each session. Statements show the practice name only.

You talk and I ask questions: what brought you in, how the week actually runs, what you have already tried. There is no form to complete in the room and no couch to lie on. By the end I will say plainly whether I think I can help.

Only where it is doing work in the present. If the reason you cannot rest traces back to how you learned to earn approval, we will look at that together. Nothing is opened for its own sake.

Both happen and neither is a problem. Silence is allowed in a session. You are not being assessed on how well you explain yourself.

Sometimes a small experiment, sometimes nothing at all. It is not homework to be marked, and if the week is too full to try it, that also tells us something useful.

Yes, with the exceptions every licensed psychologist in California is required to act on: a serious risk of harm to you or another person, and suspected abuse or neglect of a child or a dependent adult. Those limits are explained before you start rather than discovered later.