FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• Do you provide therapy to children, adults and couples?

  I welcome adults--individuals, couples/families, preteen children and adolescents. I am helpful to persons with a wide range of concerns and clients who come from diverse cultural backgrounds, lifestyles, interests and occupations and professions.

• Are you available evenings or Saturdays? 

I hold appointments as early as 8:00 AM and offer some evening and Saturday appointments.

• How often should I come to therapy?

With few exceptions weekly appointments are necessary at the start of therapy. As you benefit from your appointments we can discuss a step-down plan to biweekly therapy. Meanwhile, for most concerns, plan on weekly appointments.

• Do you believe that medication is helpful?

Some people benefit from medication intervention, some do not, and, for some people, there are many possibilities to consider. I am happy to talk with you and your psychiatrist (M.D.) about combining therapy with medication intervention.

• Will a meditation approach to therapy conflict with my religious beliefs and practices?

The mindfulness-based therapy that I offer is psychotherapy and not spirituality or religion. I do not become involved in your religious beliefs or practices.

Mindfulness-based therapy is a clinically valid and scientifically verified method of treatment for depression and anxiety, not a religious practice or "spiritual therapy". Mindfulness-based therapy can be used in harmony with whatever tradition or beliefs you hold, observe or practice.

• What is an "alternative healing approach"?

Mindfulness-based psychotherapy, especially when combined with actual mindfulness meditation practice in therapy sessions, is out of the ordinary though well documented and valid in the field of psychology. It is different from thinking/feeling and talking therapies. Also, I employ interpersonal and sociological perspectives and invite into the work not just a person's thoughts and feelings and complaints, but also his or her mental images, attention to the five senses, thinking, and creative imagination, including sometimes the use of drawing and music media.

• Are you a monk or a spiritual teacher?

I am a mindfulness-based psychotherapist, a meditator and by nature a contemplative individual. I offer meditative and mindfulness practices in psychotherapy that includes some philosophic principles from Zen practices and the Madhyamika-Prasangika Tibetan Buddhist philosphy. These approaches are in the mental health literature (see Dan Siegel, Jack Kornfield, John Kabat-Zinn and Mark Epstein.) I am a California licensed marriage/family therapist (MFC # 38351) who incorporates mindfulness practices into talk therapy in a manner that is valid and accepted and well received in the mainstream medical/psychiatric and psychological community for the benefit of helping people achieve more satisfying interpersonal adjustments. I am not a spiritual teacher, guide, monk or Zen master or Buddhism teacher, and I do not provide spiritual therapy.

• Is therapy confidential?

With a few important exceptions provided by law, therapy is strictly confidential. The mere fact that you see a therapist and everything you say in therapy are confidential unless you provide the therapist with written permission to disclose this information to someone else. Exceptions to confidentiality exist, however, in cases of suspected or actual child, elder or dependant adult abuse, or when there are threats to harm certain persons or property, or when serious possibilities or plans of self harm exist as related by client or his/her family.

• Do you accept insurance?

I can bill your insurance company directly if I am a contracted provider with your insurance company. Otherwise, if I do not take your insurance, you will need to pay directly for your psychotherapy and I will provide you with insurance-friendly, coded invoices and HICFA or super bill 1500 forms that show what you paid. If you have a PPO plan you can submit these to your insurance company for possible reimbursement.

 

First, determine whether you have a PPO or MHO plan and whether it covers psychotherapy which is usually referred to as "behavioral health". And when you call your insurance company to find out (the phone number is on the back of your insurance card) also ask if you must obtain treatment authorization before your first psychotherapy session, and find out if you have a deductible and whether it has been met this year or not and what the amount is. Also, ask how many sessions of psychotherapy you are permitted per year, and whether there is a co-pay required.

 

My involvement with your insurance will be limited to submitting claims and providing you and/or your insurance company with needed treatment information (dates of service, diagnostic codes, etc.) to process the claims. Unlike other providers you have dealt with, such as dentists and physicians, who work mostly on insurance and maintain a staff of billing clerks to handle all aspects of claims, most of my work is private pay and not insurance based, and the fee transactions are between just you and me. Therefore I do not provide services and bill you later, troubleshoot claims or assume your insurance will cover the service I provide, even if it does.

Whether you have an HMO or PPO plan, of course you are always responsible for verifying benefits, getting what you need from the insurance you purchase, such as negotiating and troubleshooting coverage and claims and handling reimbursement problems yourself. And it will always be your responsibility to make sure that your psychotherapy is paid for. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.