FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: What are your fees? What forms of payment do you accept?
A: My fee is $160 per 45 minute session and $320 per 90 min session. Other session lengths (60 min) are billed at a prorated amount. I accept credit card, cash, or check and my booking system can securely store credit cards so we can work the full duration of the session without using time to pay for services.
Q: Do you accept insurance?
A: No, but I do provide statements of payment called Superbills that you can submit to your insurance to receive partial reimbursement. You can contact your insurance to ask them what percentage of reimbursement you will receive for an out-of-network provider. Clients are responsible for verifying and understanding the limits of their insurance coverage.
To determine if you have mental health coverage, the first thing to do is check with your insurance carrier. Check your coverage carefully and find the answers to the following questions:
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What are my mental health benefits?
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What is the coverage amount per therapy session?
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How many therapy sessions does my plan cover?
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How much does my insurance pay for an out-of-network provider?
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Is payment subject to meeting my deductible?
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Is approval required from my primary care physician?
Q: Do you offer a sliding scale or discounted services?
A: I have a designated number of slots in my practice devoted to serving families/people in need. Low fee slots are reserved for BIPOC or people with disabilities in need of trauma treatment that would otherwise not be able to have access to therapy services. Currently, all low fee slots are full. They become available sporadically, so please email me to be added to a waitlist so you can be notified when a slot becomes available.
Q: Where are you located?
A: My office is located in Camarillo, California.
I also see clients who are California residents for secure video sessions. All of the modalities I use including EMDR, Brainspotting, and Art Therapy can be done over video.
Q: What is EMDR?
A: EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a type of evidence-based therapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of adverse life experiences. It activates the body and brain’s natural healing processes and creates the right conditions for people to be able to heal. During EMDR therapy, we identify earlier memories and experiences that are connected to current symptoms and distress. By allowing your brain to process the images, beliefs, feelings, and physical sensations associated with the memory, the memories come to adaptive resolution. This means that when you recall the memory, it no longer causes feelings of distress because it has connected with more adaptive information. As memories move towards adaptive resolution, clients often notice lower levels of stress, more resilience and healthier responses to current stressors and challenges.
EMDR therapy is now accepted by many psychological and psychiatric associations as the treatment of choice for trauma. In 2013, The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended EMDR therapy as an empirically validated and effective trauma treatment.
Q: So you are an Art Therapist, what does that mean?
A: I am both a Clinical Art Therapist and a Marriage and Family Therapist. Art serves as a way for my clients to meet their treatment goals. Its function can include: self-expression, releasing emotions that are stored somatically, and helping clients who are feeling stuck gain insight in order to move forward. For example, art can be an avenue to express feelings and communicate experiences that are sometimes difficult to fully capture through words alone. Depending on my client’s needs, we may use art materials including (but not limited to): collage, clay, paint, pastel, charcoal.
Q: Who can benefit from art therapy?
A: Art therapy is appropriate for people of all ages. It will look different for people of different ages and in different life stages. What we do in session will be geared towards what you are hoping to get out of therapy.
Q: Do I have to be a good artist? What if I don’t even like art?
A: Art therapy is not about making “good art” and is not product-oriented. I will not judge your art or make value judgments about if it is “good” or “bad.” No skill or previous art experience is required. The artwork is a way for clients to share about their experiences and feelings. It also can be used to help clients identify their strengths, needs, and hopes. Often, after clients create artwork we will look at it together with curiosity and process it verbally. As clients meet their goals and feel ready to move on from therapy, the art serves as a tangible reminder of our work together and the ways they have grown. I have a number of clients who choose to engage in talk therapy and other body-based therapies with me in lieu of art therapy, and I am happy to approach your therapy in a way that best meets your needs.