Frequently Asked Questions
Thoughtful questions from thoughtful people
Below you will find answers to commonly asked questions that I get from my clients. I try my best to anticipate questions and provide transparent answers. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me.
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Individual therapy: One-on-one sessions to support the individual
Family therapy: to support my client’s difficult conversations with family members and to improve family dynamics
Session Length: 50 min-60 min
Session frequency: In order for me to best support your consistent change and growth, I offer once per week or bi-weekly sessions to start off. The frequency may change as you progress in therapy.
While I prioritize individual therapy in my practice, I do recognize that some of my clients want help from their support system and benefit from family therapy to support their growth.
Please see Payment Options Menu for information on session costs.
For a general overview of services offered, please visit Summary of Services page.
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On average, clients I work with may include:
Age range is from about 14 (high school age) to women in their mid 30s.
Young women of color who:
Want therapy that supports their unique identity with respect to the intersectionality of age, gender identity, race/ethnicity and cultural sensitivity.
Identify as BIPOC (black, indigenous, person of color), Brown, Latinx, Asian American, Pacific Islander, biracial; and who want to explore mental health with sensitivity as a person of color.
Have a history of growing up in the foster care system or who have experienced abuse (ie emotional, physical, sexual, neglect).
Are looking for LGBTQIA+ affirming care.
Are overachievers, highly ambitious, perfectionist students (high school, college, graduate level students)
Are interested in mind-body oriented therapy practices and/or cognitive behavioral therapies.
Want to process childhood trauma, and/or generational trauma.
Want to improve relationships with themselves, and create meaningful relationships.
Want to process major changes in their life.
Are developing their identities and who want to learn more about themselves.
Want to explore their mental health in a safe space while exploring person of color experiences (race/ethnicity justice/concerns, cultural experiences, colorism, assimilation, acculturation, oppression, discrimination, etc.)
People who are simply interested in specific areas of healing and growth including: anxiety (general, social), trauma, depression, body image, self esteem, gender identity, life transitions/changes, cultural experiences, race/ethnicity trauma.
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Who you choose as your therapist is such an important decision! A few factors to consider in your decision is a therapist who you can connect with, who supports the values that you hold, and who is skilled in the areas of growth that you want to focus on.
I am a therapist who is passionate about helping young women of color heal and grow. I hold skills, experience, and focused training for therapy practices that can be effective for BIPOC community members.
As you explore the About page, Therapy for Young Women of Color page, and Mind Body Therapy page, I encourage you to make an informed decision based on what is right for you.
Still not sure? No worries! Feel free to schedule a free 15 minute consultation!
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Please visit Payment Options Menu for detailed information on payment options that include cash pay (via debit or credit), insurance, or out-of-network benefits.
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Sessions take place on a HIPPA compliant video platform. Because I am not physically present with you during the session, there are safety guidelines that we will review during our first meeting so that I can best support you in case of an emergency.
In general, you can join your session as long as:
you are physically located in California at the time of the session
you are in a safe, private space
you have reliable internet connection
your device is charged well to avoid interruptions in the session
highly recommended, but not required: hands free device option (laptop or propping your device up) to help make it easier to engage in certain practices during your session.
Learn more here.
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Virtual therapy and in-person therapy each have their own benefits. I chose to keep my platform virtual because I have found that therapy can be accessible, engaging, and effective while also allowing flexibility in my clients’ lives. I want to be able to support my clients who may be further away, who have busy schedules, or who have challenges with transportation. For example, some of my high school aged clients will move to a campus in California to begin college, but would like to continue sessions. My clients who are young adults may need to move to another apartment for a job. I try to make therapy fit in the flow of my client’s life without compromising quality.
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The main purpose of the consultation is to see if it would be a good fit for us to work with each other. It is important that you feel comfortable with your decision on who you choose to walk alongside your healing journey!
We’ll chat about what you’re looking for in therapy and how I can help. I'll be sharing about my practice so ensure that we are on the same page, most of which is described on the Summary of Services page. If you have any specific questions, I would be happy to answer them during this call. From there, if we decide that moving forward together will best serve you, then we will schedule the first full session (for more information, please see question below).
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This is called the intake session and the main focus is for me to get to know you more! I would like to know about your current stressors, past difficulties, and future aspirations. We will be going at your pace, so you can share what you’re comfortable with. We will collaborate and create goals for your therapy sessions. These goals will help guide us through our time together so that we can track progress and ensure that we are addressing the areas of growth you want to focus on.
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The length of therapy varies from person to person. Some people feel better after a few months, while others need longer. There’s no right or wrong way when it comes to therapy. I do believe that therapy needs to be effective and purposeful for my clients, and I like to check in with my clients to see if there needs to be any changes, or if they have any feedback.
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This is a great question! Just like adults, people who are under 18 have the right to confidentiality. This means that what you say with me in sessions are kept between us. There are exceptions to confidentiality for all my clients, such as if you or someone else may be in harm’s way, which would lead me to talk with your parents or another professional. The main goal is for you and others to be safe. Before I reach out to someone else, I would want to talk with you about what I feel needs to be shared, and we will figure out together how it can be shared.
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I have a 24-hour cancellation policy
If you are using insurance coverage to pay for sessions, a $130 late cancellation fee will be charged if a cancellation is made with less than 24 hours’ notice. If you are paying a cash pay option, then you will be charged for the full session.
I understand that emergencies happen. I will excuse the first cancellation and will not charge the fee. However, any further cancellations after that will result in charging the cancellation fee.
Yes.
You deserve to heal…