What is an LMFT?

An LMFT is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. LMFTs are mental health professionals trained in psychotherapy and family systems. They have graduate training (a Master's or Doctoral degree) and are licensed to diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders within the context of marriage, couples and family systems.

How do I get started?

Reaching out and making the first call is always the hardest part.  Once you have made that decision, you can call me directly at 310-560-4037 for a free phone consultation. If I am unavailable when you call, I will call you back within 24 hours. At this point you can tell me about what brings you to therapy and what you would like to achieve. If we both feel it is a good fit after our conversation, we can schedule an initial in-person session.

How often do I need to come to therapy?

Therapy is most effective if clients come in weekly (or more frequently if needed). I generally do not recommend that clients come in less frequently than once a week. Infrequent sessions often become "catch up sessions," filled with surface level details, while continuous and consistent sessions remain focused on making progress toward therapeutic goals.

How long does therapy take?

Therapy can take a few short months or a few meaningful years. Each individual, couple or family comes to therapy with unique situations and goals so there is no set number of sessions that works for everyone. Therapy can be short-term, focusing on specific concerns, or longer-term, addressing more complex issues and ongoing personal growth. Every person makes progress at their own pace.  

How long are sessions?

Sessions are generally 50 minutes long but it is sometimes therapeutically beneficial for clients to have longer sessions, such as with couples or family work. If we decide to proceed forward with longer sessions, the fee will be prorated at the same amount as the 50 minutes session.

Do you accept insurance?

While I do not accept insurance, I am happy to provide you with a superbill that you can submit to your insurance carrier for possible reimbursement. Nearly all clients who submit superbills receive reimbursements, though the amount reimbursed differs based on insurance carriers.

Therapy is "confidential" - what does that mean?

Therapy is a confidential process. This means your personal information and everything we discuss in therapy remains between us. I can only release information about our work to others if you make a written request for me to do so.

That being said, there are times when I am legally obligated to release your information. They are as follows:

* If you make a serious threat of harming yourself or another, I will take protective actions which may include contacting the police and/or seeking hospitalization or notifying the potential victim.

* If I have good reason to believe that a child, elderly person or disabled person is being abused or neglected, I must notify appropriate agencies of the suspected abuse.

* If you introduce your emotional condition into a legal proceeding or if I am subpoenaed to give testimony.