Frequently Asked Questions

  • I work with adults 18 and older.

    However, seniors aged 65 and older are best served by working with a geriatric psychiatry subspecialist. I recommend the UCSF geriatric psychiatry clinic in San Francisco or Dr. Alexis Armenakis in Marin. You can also search for a geriatric specialty psychiatrist here.

    • Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

    • Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

    • Social Anxiety Disorder

    • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

    • Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

    • Bipolar Disorder

    • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

    • Personality Disorders

    • Men’s Mental Health

  • I work with mild substance use disorders which have not yet resulted in significant health consequences, career setbacks, or created unnecessary conflict in relationships.

    Those with more serious problems would likely benefit from speaking with an addiction specialist. I recommend Dr. Madison Buchanan of Marin. You can also search for an addiction specialist here.

  • I offer psychodynamic psychotherapy, which is a modern treatment approach based on psychoanalytic fundamentals.

    I also work loosely within an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy frame which expands on older cognitive behavioral therapies with values-based work and mindfulness approaches.

  • The duration of psychotherapy is different for every person. I offer open-ended treatment which means there is no end date agreed upon in advance of treatment. Many patients will have already tried a time-limited or short-term psychotherapy before seeking this kind of help.

  • I meet with patients at least weekly for individual psychotherapy and some patients benefit from twice-weekly sessions.

  • I meet with patients at least quarterly to ensure their medications are adequately treating their symptoms and are not causing harmful side effects.

  • Yes, I offer complex case or second opinion consultation, billed at my standard intake fee.

  • I do not offer this service in my practice.

  • While I have extensive training in these modalities, I do not currently offer them in my practice.

    For those interested, I recommend Clarus in San Francisco and Soft Reboot in Menlo Park for state of the art IV ketamine therapy.

  • I am out of network with all health insurance plans, however I provide superbills which patients can submit on their own for partial reimbursement to PPO plans with out of network benefits.

    You should discuss your out of network benefits with your insurer to better understand what your financial responsibility will be for treatment.

  • I do not currently offer sliding scale treatment in my practice.

    I am able to offer somewhat reduced fee treatment for the patients I’m meeting at high frequency (i.e., in twice-weekly psychotherapy).

  • I accept cash, check, credit card, and Zelle.

  • Patients must cancel upcoming appointments with at least 48 hours advanced notice or else reschedule over the following week to avoid no-show fees.

    Emergency cancellations are handled on a case-by-case basis.

  • You should call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

    If you are having a mental health emergency and are seeking outpatient treatment at the same time, you may benefit from treatment in an intensive outpatient program like those offered by UCSF, the Mind Therapy Clinic, or the Camden Center.

  • I offer supervision of nurse practitioners (by contract) and UCSF psychiatry residents (by courtesy). Please contact me to discuss in greater detail.