Willow Trees Psychological Services
828 Portola Road
Portola Valley, CA 94028
P: 650-851-8789
F: 650-851-5988
info@willowtrees.org

About Psychotherapy


• How do I know if I need psychotherapy?
• How is working with a therapist different from talking it out with a trusted friend or family member?
• How does therapy work?
• Will it hurt?
• How often will we meet?
• How much will it cost? How does payment work? Do you accept insurance?
• If I'm thinking of starting therapy with you, how would I start? And how will I know if you're the right therapist for me?

How do I know if I need psychotherapy?

Psychotherapy is a useful tool to explore issues in your life that are causing you pain and limiting your sense of happiness and contentment with your life. For example, you may find that you are:

  • Experiencing increased tension or irritability
  • Navigating a major life change, such as divorce, new job, death of a loved one, illness or move to a new city
  • Feeling more sad, anxious, or angry than usual and you don't know why
  • Finding that things that used to bring you pleasure leave you cold
  • Having increased difficulty in relationships

How is working with a therapist different from talking it out with a trusted friend or family member?

Sometimes, friends and family members can be useful resources to support you through difficult times. You may feel concerned about being a burden to them, or may fear that they might judge you. You may be concerned that they would have strong feelings about your situation, or even be involved in the difficulties, and therefore wouldn't be able to be objective. Or they might just not be able to help you as you'd like to be helped.

Psychotherapists bring a few unique differences that a friend (no matter how wonderful) cannot provide:

  • We have no pre-existing relationship to you to color their reactions
  • We are specifically focused on you and your needs and our only role is to help you think about and better understand your life
  • We are specifically trained in how to help people with psychological difficulties

How does therapy work?

Although therapy looks like two ordinary people talking, it is more than that. You come in and talk about whatever is on your mind, which may or may not be directly related to the initial topic that brought you to therapy. I will listen very closely to what you talk about, and will draw on my past experiences with you as well as your current topics to try to help you better understand patterns and unconscious beliefs or attitudes you may have. I also look at what happens in the relationship between us, because what happens inside our relationship often mirrors what happens in your relationships outside therapy, so by understanding your beliefs, attitudes and behaviors between us, we may better be able to understand what happens outside.

It is my belief, training and experience that, when we bring unconscious beliefs and ideas to consciousness, you will have more capacity to think about them and potentially to make changes in your actions or feelings about them.

Will it hurt?

The topics that people bring to therapy are sometimes heavy and difficult to think about. It is sometimes painful or uncomfortable, and you might not always like me or like coming to our meetings. However, sometimes you may feel supported and cared for – therapy is a time that is just for you, and totally focused on your needs, which may feel really nice in a life that is often focused on others. If it is regularly feeling painful to you, we should talk about what is happening between us. It could mean that we're working on important issues that are painful, but it might also mean that there's something going on between us that doesn't work for you, and we would talk about it. And if there's something between us that doesn't work, I'll help you find someone who might be a better fit for you. My goal for you is that even if it's painful at times, you ultimately find therapy to be useful and supportive.

How often will we meet?

Usually people come to therapy once or twice a week to start, and then we see what unfolds. We'll keep meeting as long as it seems to be useful to you. Many people find it useful to stay in therapy for at least a year, but it totally depends on the person and the situation. You may decide to stop therapy once you've worked through the issue that brought you to therapy. Or you may discover new topics that you want to explore, and wish to continue, even after you've resolved the initial issue. It's entirely up to you how long you wish to come to therapy. You may conclude our work together at anytime by scheduling a final closure meeting. I request a final meeting with my ongoing clients to allow us to reflect upon our progress and to bring closure to this therapeutic episode.

How much will it cost? How does payment work? Do you accept insurance?

My hourly rate is $160 per hour, and I do not accept insurance. I will supply you with an invoice at the end of each month for the sum of the month's sessions, and I request payment at that time. You can then submit the invoice to your insurance plan for reimbursement. You may wish to call your insurance company to ask if they reimburse for “CPT code 90806,” which is the official code for one 50-minute session of psychotherapy.

If I'm thinking of starting therapy with you, how would I start? And how will I know if you're the right therapist for me?

This is a great question. Research shows that the therapeutic relationship is a primary predictor of outcome – in other words, if you feel like you can trust and feel safe with your therapist, you have a much greater likelihood of having an outcome you're satisfied with.

If you're considering starting psychotherapy, give me a call, and we can talk briefly about your unique situation, and what you're looking for. If our conversation feels good to you, and we agree that exploring therapy might be good for you at this time, we'll schedule an initial 50-minute session. I recommend trying four sessions to see how therapy with me feels, and then we will re-evaluate at that time whether you want to continue therapy, and, if so, if you'd want to continue with me or if you want a referral for someone else.

It's my goal to help people find a supportive and positive therapy relationship. If I'm not the right person for you, I'll do my best to help you find someone who suits your needs, and give you a referral.

If you'd like to talk about the possibility of working together, please feel free to contact me at 650-321-1788 or by email at info@willowtrees.org