Frequently Asked Questions

My office is located in  Anaheim Hills, CA, just north of Canyon High School and near the interaction of Santa Ana Canyon Road and Imperial Highway. For directions to my office, click here. 

Patients "graduate" from therapy on a regular basis so availability is subject to change at any moment. I encourage you to reach out to me to see if I have an opening that fits your schedule or whether being on the waitlist makes sense for your situation. I try to respond to all messages within 48 hours. 

I accept Lyra Health, Medicare, Corporate Counseling Associates (CCA), and the State Fund.

I am out-of-network with all other plans, even if these plans list me as being in-network in their online directories. Patients with PPO insurance may receive anywhere from 60-70% reimbursement for their out-of-pocket expenses, depending on the provisions of their plan. 

To get an estimate of what your insurance might reimburse, you can use my free benefits checker at this link: https://mentaya.com/checkbenefits/nLGQbaiAQlMffQfORywp  

As a highly specialized, board-certified provider, I charge $210/session. If I am an out-of-network provider, I will provide you with a superbill (i.e., receipt) for you to submit to your insurance for reimbursement. Depending on your provider, you may be reimbursed up to 60-70% of your out-of-pocket costs after meeting your deductible. I encourage you to contact your insurance provider to determine your out-of-network reimbursement rate. 

My goal for our first session is to better understand you, your challenges, and how I can help you. To do this, I will ask a lot of questions, do a lot of listening, and take as many notes as I can! I will ask you about your goals for treatment and how you would like your life to be different. I may have you fill out a questionnaire or two to get a "snapshot" of your current struggles. All of this information will be used to develop your treatment plan, which you and I will review together in a future session.

All patients I see receive evidence-based care and are active partners in designing their treatment plan. 

I will work with you to create a formal treatment plan that: 1) clearly outlines your current problem(s), 2) lists your goals for treatment, 3) identifies the specific treatment approaches and techniques I propose to use, and 4) clearly outlines a plan that shows HOW we will assess progress toward your goals. This will serve as our therapy "roadmap." Further, we will routinely assess your progress toward your goals to make therapy as efficient and effective as possible. 

Most therapists do not provide this structured, evidence-based approach to care and it shows in their patient outcomes (or lack thereof).

It comes down to extent and quality of training. Your mental health is too important to place your care in the hands of someone with less training and expertise. 

Clinical psychologists have a doctorate, which typically involves 5+ years of advanced study and over 2,000 hours of supervised clinical practice. Because of their extensive training and emphasis on research, clinical psychologists are more likely to provide evidence-based practice (i.e., research has shown these treatments work). This may result in more effective treatment delivered over a shorter period of time, which could save you money. 

Many other mental health providers have master's degrees, which typically involve 2 years of training and place less of an emphasis on evidence-based practice and research. These individuals tend to focus more on everyday problems whereas a clinical psychologist can address these concerns as well as those of individuals with a diagnosable mental health condition, such as depression or anxiety.

The life coach industry is completely unregulated, meaning that anyone can call themselves a life coach. There are no minimum standards for training and since there is no regulation, some life coaches are illegally providing psychotherapy (that they are  not qualified to provide) under the guise of "coaching." For additional information about life coaching, please check out this investigative report. 

When one is board-certified, it assures the public that an individual has established an advanced level of competency in a particular area of specialization. While being licensed to practice psychology means that an individual has met the minimum requirements set forth by the State, individuals who are board certified have met these requirements and have undergone peer review and additional examination to prove they have the competencies required to provide quality services in their specialty area.  

Less than 5% of all psychologists are board-certified. 

For information regarding my board certification in clinical child and adolescent psychology, click here.  For information about my board certification in biofeedback, click here.  

 For a great explanation of different types of mental health providers, click here. 

I offer individual therapy for a variety of mental health concerns, including anxiety, depression, coping with Crohn's and colitis, teen and young adult issues, biofeedback, and managing ADHD. 

Sessions are typically 45-50 minutes long.

At your first visit, we will focus on what brings you in and what you would like to change. With children, this usually involves meeting with parents and their child together. For teens, we may meet together or separately, depending on what the teen prefers. College students and other young adults are typically seen by themselves.

 
This first session is very important in helping me get a sense of your concerns and goals for treatment. I may ask you to fill out one or more brief questionnaires to help us get a "baseline" of your current symptoms. This will help us track your improvement over time. 

Sometimes, we cannot get to every important detail in the first session and we may have to continue the intake interview in a follow-up session. Getting a comprehensive understanding of what is going on allows me to come up with the best possible individualized treatment plan. We will take the time needed to ensure I have a good picture of you, where you want to be, and how I can help you.

The first session is also helpful in determining if we are a good fit. In the event that your concerns fall outside of my areas of expertise, I will provide referrals to other mental health providers who specialize in your concerns. 

The role of parents will highly depend on why you/your child is coming in. Parent involvement is most common in younger children (e.g., dealing with temper tantrums) but less likely with teenagers, who prefer privacy. In this case, parents are kept informed about their child's general progress but not the specific details of what is discussed. If anything comes up that I feel parents should know, I will work with your teen to help them tell you themselves. Any patient aged 18 or older, is the legal owner of their healthcare information and their written consent is required, in most instances, before their information can be shared with others, including parents. 

Your privacy is protected in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act in addition to California law. Additionally, both of my practice locations are intentionally discreet from the outside to protect your privacy.

If you are ready to get started, please give me a call at (714-485-5938). Or, you can contact me via this website by clicking here.