Frequently Asked Questions

While this is a valid concern, you do not need to prepare. Part of my job is helping you find your way into what’s on your mind, even when you’re not sure where to start. Many patients begin without knowing exactly what they need. I will meet you there.

Not at all. Everyone needs help now and then. Recognizing that takes strength, and reaching out takes courage.

Finding the right fit matters a great deal, and different approaches reach different layers. Many are built to manage symptoms, which can help and can also leave the underlying pattern in place. Psychoanalytic work is aimed at the pattern itself. A free 20-minute consultation lets us both gauge whether my approach fits.

No. Wanting to understand yourself at a deeper level usually reflects self-awareness: you’ve recognized that surface fixes won’t be enough.

I can usually see new patients the same week you request your first appointment, or the week after.

Yes. I’m glad to work with the effects of discrimination, racism, and other forms of oppression, including how they shape identity, relationships, and a sense of safety and belonging. You don’t need to explain or justify what you’ve lived through to begin.

Much of our daily existence is driven by factors outside our awareness, and it’s very hard to see ourselves from the outside, even when we think we know. This is why therapists seek their own therapy too: no one can do this work on themselves.

I help you understand the “why” behind your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Insight comes first, because we can’t change something we don’t know is happening, and with it comes the chance to do things differently and break out of old patterns. I’ll be with you through it.

I work mainly from a psychoanalytic lens, in the tradition of contemporary psychoanalysis. My style is warm, collaborative, and down-to-earth.

More on the Psychoanalysis page →

Friends and family often have good intentions, and it’s very hard for the people closest to you to stay unbiased. I’m an objective third party and a highly trained mental health professional, with your best interest in mind.

It depends on the work. I see patients one to five times a week, and deeper analytic work often means more than once a week. We’ll find the right rhythm together, and it can change over time. I recommend the same day and time each week, so your session becomes part of your routine.

It’s optional. Some patients lie down while I sit just out of view, and others prefer to face me throughout. Either is a legitimate way to work.

That’s welcome information. We often follow whatever is present: a dream, a stray thought, a feeling that doesn’t quite make sense yet. Some of the most useful material arrives exactly when you think you have nothing to say. Sometimes the tangent is actually the way in.

Generally no. The work happens in the room, in the relationship between us, and in what surfaces. We can still discuss action steps you can take and things you can implement.

People often feel some relief and hope after the first visit. Lasting change takes longer: sustained analytic work can unfold over a few years, and that length is what lets the change become structural. Many patients notice shifts well before any endpoint, and we talk regularly about how the work is going.

We decide together when the work has done what you came for, and we take time to talk about it. I always recommend a final stretch of sessions to review what has changed, talk about what comes next, and say goodbye properly.

Medication alone can’t resolve everything, and it often works best alongside talk therapy. If you’re interested, we can talk about a referral to a psychiatrist.

Yes. I see couples from a psychoanalytic perspective. I encourage couples to come in person, and I can also work with you online.

No. Some couples come to repair the relationship, and others come to separate well. Both are legitimate goals, and you don’t need to know which you want before you begin.

No. Some couples come at a breaking point, and others come because the relationship feels stalled or distant.

No. I’m not a prescriber. If you’re doing ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, you obtain the ketamine legally through your own medical provider. My role is the therapeutic container: preparation, presence during the experience where applicable, and integration afterward.

Yes. A lot of the most important work happens after a journey. If something surfaced that you haven’t fully processed or applied to your life, integration is where that gets metabolized.

I’d be cautious of anyone who promises that. A journey can open a door, and walking through it, then staying through it, is the slower work of integration. I work best with people who are ready to do that work.

Please contact me to discuss rates. We can also discuss and agree upon this during the first session.

Insurance companies require a diagnosis and often cap how often or how long you can be seen, which works against open-ended, frequent, depth-oriented treatment. Working privately means we set the frequency, pace, and duration based on what you need. I’m an out-of-network provider and can give you monthly superbills to submit for potential reimbursement. Your insurance company can tell you what they reimburse for out-of-network care.

I accept cash, check, and credit card. Most patients enroll in autopay through SimplePractice, storing a card securely in their online patient portal. Your card is charged only after our first session, then automatically overnight after each session. You can stop autopay at any time.

Your time slot is reserved just for you. If you can’t attend, please cancel at least 48 hours in advance. Otherwise the full session rate applies.

You can miss a set number of sessions per calendar year free of charge, and the number grows with how often we meet: three a year if you come once a week, six if you come twice a week, and so on. This applies to sessions canceled outside of the 48-hour window.

Sessions are 50 minutes. Longer sessions can be arranged at an additional cost.

My office is located at 1700 Pierce St., San Francisco, CA 94115.

All three. I encourage people to come in person if they live in the area. My office is in Lower Pac Heights in San Francisco. I use the SimplePractice Telehealth platform for video sessions.

What you share with me is confidential. I’m legally required to protect everything you tell me unless I believe you or someone else is at serious risk of harm. If you’d like me to share information with another provider, we can discuss it and you can sign a written release.

Please call 911 or the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. This site and my email are not monitored for emergencies.

When I was a child, I never said, “I want to be a therapist when I grow up.” Then, like every other person on this planet, I experienced life and the difficult emotions that come with being human. Through the challenges of my formative years, I often wished I had the right someone to talk to.

Later, an early job showed me that my life would be devoted to helping others. I wanted to be that person for people who feel dejected or alone, or like no one gets what they’re going through. There is nothing quite like feeling seen, heard, and understood, and there is hope for improvement.

I love being a therapist, and there is nothing I would rather do. I see my work as a chance to help people understand themselves and feel less alone.

When I’m sitting with someone, in my office or online, I’m fully engaged. I’ve always been able to feel other people’s feelings, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. For me, this is a calling and a privilege.

Humans aren’t always taught or shown how to be emotionally intelligent or how to work through major personal issues. These things may not have been modeled at home, and TV and movies often show a skewed version of reality. Yet somehow we’re expected to know how to be our best selves on our own.

You can make your way back home to yourself. My practice exists to help you do exactly that.

────────────────────────────────────────