Online Therapy

I have been offering online and phone therapy sessions for the last few years to help clients with challenging schedules or those who live outside my area get the help they need. With the recent COVID-19 corona virus situation impacting all aspects of our lives I had to move the rest of my practice to online sessions for the time being. I’ve set up this page to address the basics of how online therapy works and what to expect.

How?

All you need to do online therapy with me is a good internet connection, a smart phone or a laptop or desk top computer with a webcam. A wired connection is better, but a good WiFi connection will work. It is helpful, but not necessary to use earbuds/headphones. You will need to download a program onto your computer or app onto your smart phone to do online therapy. Doing this is pretty straight forward, but I also help you with this over the phone if needed. We will use a HIPAA compliant encrypted video platform to ensure client privacy.

Why?

You never know when the next pandemic is going to throw a wrench and an inordinate amount of stress into your life. Just kidding, certainly it is helpful in such a stressful time when peoples’ lives have been upended and it is best to stay at home to minimize contact with others as much as possible. The main reason clients choose to do online sessions is flexibility. Online therapy gives clients the option to connect from the comfort of their home, office or even in their car between appointments. Online therapy is a great option for people with challenging work and personal life schedules. For many clients their biggest challenge is putting themselves in their own schedule and online therapy sessions help them do this. It is also helpful for those who do not live close to one of my offices as my license allows me to work with anyone in the state of California.

When and Where?

My schedule enables me to offer meeting times in the morning and/or evening depending on the day. Contact me to go over what days and times are currently available. On most days (including Saturday) I have a daytime slot available. As I mentioned above, where sessions occur just depends on finding a place with minimal distractions or interruptions where you can get a good internet connection. The “where” of therapy suddenly has a lot more options with smartphones and laptops. I also have clients who do a combination of online and in person therapy sessions. Any combination of the two is fine if it works for you.

How does online therapy work?

Online sessions and the process of therapy are the same as they are when a client comes to my office. I meet with clients weekly for 50 minute sessions while we are working together. Some clients (both online and in office) will start to decrease the frequency as they get a handle on what has brought them to therapy and are winding down the process. How long we work together depends on you and when we reach the goals you have set for yourself in therapy. There are some clients who want to meet with me because they are not sure what their goals are. They just know things aren’t working or that they’re not happy and they need help figuring out what they want and how to get there. We can go over this during the initial phone consultation.

Next Steps?

Contact me so that we can set up a time for a phone consultation to go over what’s been going on for you and how I can help you move forward.

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