What is psychotherapy?

Psychotherapy/counseling, or common known as the “talk therapy,” utilizes talking and a safe therapeutic relationship with a therapist to explore possible origins, impacts, and solutions to emotional and/or behavioral issues. In psychotherapy, you and your therapist may discuss in greater details of your thoughts, feelings, or motivations underlying certain behaviors. Depending on your presenting concerns, significant relationships or relevant life experiences in your past and present may also be explored. These topics are incorporated in therapy so that you may gain insights about yourself and therefore find tools to make future life choices that are rewarding and meaningful.

What does therapy usually look like?

The process of therapy typically begins with a thorough assessment, known as the intake interview, in which information on your presenting issues, relevant history, general functioning, and overall wellness are obtained. Then, you and I work collaboratively to establish treatment goals and action plans based on your presenting concerns. Throughout the course of therapy, I will check in with you periodically on these goals and plans to monitor the treatment process and to modify accordingly if necessary. The length of therapy varies, depending on your goals, circumstances, and situations. This is usually determined together by us during the initial phase of therapy.

Is therapy confidential?

YES. For therapy to be successful, it requires a tremendously amount of trust in the therapeutic relationship between you and the therapist, in which many deeply personal and sensitive materials are discussed. As a psychologist, I do not take this trust lightly and I adhere to the highest level of ethical codes surrounding confidentiality. In general, everything that is disclosed in therapy, including all records, will be kept confidential and no one has access to your records without a written consent of release signed by you. The few exceptions to this confidentiality are related to safety concerns. If there are reasonable suspicions that you are in immediate danger of harming yourself, or someone else; or if there are reasonable suspicions of an incident of child abuse or abuse of elderly or dependent adults, confidentiality may be waived to ensure the safety of people involved.

How is psychotherapy different from psychiatry? What about medications?

Psychotherapy and psychiatric medications are two forms of treatment for mental health related issues. Psychiatric treatments typically involve medication prescription and management. As a psychologist, I do not currently hold prescription privileges and cannot prescribe medications. However, it is often found that combining both forms of treatment can be beneficial especially at the initial phase of treatment. If you are interested in supplementing therapy with medication, I can provide you with referrals for psychiatrists in the area that may fit your needs.

How do I get started?

Before scheduling your first appointment, it is recommended that you schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation with me. During this initial phone conversation, I will ask you some general questions such as your presenting issues and what you are looking for in therapy to better understand whether my service may be a good fit for you. During this time, I can also answer any questions you may have regarding the therapy process. If it is determined that a follow-up meeting is necessary after the initial phone consultation, I may offer to schedule an in-person consultation with you, at the regular session rate (currently $225 per 50-minute clinical hour).

What’s your session fee? What about insurance?

Presently, the fee for each session is $225 per 50-minute clinical hour for intake interview and individual therapy sessions. The fee for couples therapy sessions is $275 per 60-minute clinical hour. Session fees may be negotiable and a sliding scale fee may be available on a limited basis. I do not currently accept health insurance coverage and am considered an “out-of-network” provider. However, I can provide a Superbill that you can submit to your insurance for reimbursement. For more details, please visit the FEES page.

What if I need to cancel or reschedule my appointment?

All appointments can be cancelled or rescheduled without a charge as long as such changes are made at least 24 hours prior to the original scheduled appointment. Changes made within 24 hours of the scheduled appointment will be charged with the full session fee.

Can I use Chinese in my sessions? 我可以用中文嗎？

I am fluent in both English and Mandarin Chinese and can provide therapy in both languages. In order to foster a safe environment in the therapeutic relationship, I typically encourage clients to use either or both languages in ways that are natural and comfortable to them. 我能以英文和中文流利地與您溝通。為了能創造一個安全的咨詢治療關係，我建議您在會談的過程中自由且舒適地使用您所習慣的語言。