Clinicians who offer sliding scale payment structures may offer lower or reduced fees based on an individual's ability to pay. Please contact this clinician for more details regarding their fees or sliding scale policy.My Approach to Helping
Licensed in California since 1981 I have been providing counseling therapy for over 40 years to individuals, adolescents, and families. I have wide experience in hospitals, community mental health clinics, and private practice office settings. I was trained in psychodynamic therapy but now find short-term Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is more effective for client needs. I find myself most effective with people who can identify the needs or pain they feel and we can focus on symptom relief. I also have decades of experience in supporting people in recovery from alcohol and or drug abuse.
I ask clients about people who have positively influenced them in the past to find out what characteristics a client finds most supportive and are likely to facilitate their personal change. I experienced the loss of my mother in an automobile accident when I was 12 and had to learn to adapt quickly to my changing environment. I was popular at school and learned to gather support from peers and the church youth group. I received a lot of feedback in my teens about how I was a "good listener" and so continued to develop those skills professionally.
I work with clients to identify one, two, or three goals they would like to achieve in a three-month period so that we can stay focused and intentional on change. If a client needs to go longer we can. If we change focus to different problems as we proceed, I can be flexible to meet client needs. Although there are certain questions that need to be asked for insurance coverage purposes, I generally let the client tell me what is bothering them and what they have tried to do to relieve the pain or suffering they are currently experiencing.