Frequently Asked Questions
What is the length of a therapy session?
A standard session is 50 minutes long.
How often do we meet?
We will usually meet or have a telephone session once a week. Depending on your needs, we may have sessions more frequently or less often.
How much does it cost?
Fees vary and we will discuss this during the first session.
Do you accept insurance?
Chris Massey, LMFT accepts Anthem Blue Cross, Cigna, ComPsych, MHN (Health Net), Optum, and United.
Haleh Massey, Ph.D., LMFT accepts Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross, Cigna, MHN (Health Net), Optum, and United.
They are also accepting the following Employee Assistant Programs (EAPs): BDA/Morneau Shepell, Carebridge EAP, E4 Health, Empathia, Employee Resource Systems (ERS), and Wellspring.
We will be happy to check eligibility and benefit options for you prior to your first appointment. Please email us a picture of the front and back of your insurance card along with your date of birth, and we will respond with an email explaining your coverage and fees. We will also directly bill your insurance company so there is no additional paperwork for you to complete.
The PPO plans for most health insurance carriers allow you to choose an out-of-network provider for therapy services and will reimburse you for a portion of the fee. We can provide you with a statement to submit to your insurance provider for reimbursement.
What is the length of treatment?
This is a collaborative decision and depends on your needs, satisfaction with your current level of functioning, as well as practical issues such as time/availability, finances, etc. Some people may attend for a relatively brief period while others may attend longer.
What is an LMFT? What is a Psychologist?
An LMFT, or MFT, is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. An MFT has completed a Master’s Degree in Clinical or Counseling Psychology, 3000 hours of supervised experience, and has passed two examinations given by the state of California’s Board of Behavioral Sciences.
A Licensed Psychologist has completed a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, 3000 hours of supervised experience post-doctorate, and has passed two examinations given by the state of California's Board of Psychology.
LMFT’s and Psychologistsdo not prescribe medication. If you feel psychotropic medication is needed, we can provide a referral to a Psychiatrist, or with your consent, collaborate with your Primary Care Physician.
What is a “Relational Gestalt” therapist?
A therapist who has been trained in Gestalt Therapy, or particularly Relational Gestalt Therapy, believes that healing occurs within a genuinely supportive, empathic, and authentic encounter with another human being. Within these supportive encounters, we can learn to access our awareness process. This awareness–of thoughts, feelings, senses, and patterns of interacting with others–is an invaluable tool in recognizing our needs and utilizing the support present in our environment. Present focused, in-the-moment awareness can lead us to understand ourselves, our motivations, and our needs, and allow us to make the choices necessary in order to grow and thrive. It also allows us to leave behind ways of being which are no longer useful and move forward on our natural and inherent path towards growth and realization of our full potential. Relational Gestalt Therapy focuses extensively on dialogue, but may also include experiential components including: "empty chair" work, psychodrama/role play, drawing, writing, and focus on the breath and body awareness.
Relational Gestalt Therapy is an existential-humanistic therapy that was influenced by the relational philosophy and dialogic approach of Martin Buber, the filed theory of Kurt Lewin, the holistic organism theories of Kurt Goldstein, the existential philosophy of Soren Keirkegaard, the psychoanalytic theories of Wilhelm Reich, the psychodrama of J.L. Moreno, and some aspects of Jungian psychodynamic theory, Gestalt Psychology, post-Newtonian physics and Zen Buddhism, among many other intellectual and spiritual parents. Fritz and Laura Perls were early pioneers in Gestalt Therapy,with therapists such as Carl Rogers, Rollo May, Jim Bugenthal, Otto Rank, and Abraham Maslow also providing much inspiration. Recent influential Relational Gestalt therapists and theorists include Arnold Beissser, Gary Yontef, Lynn Jacobs, Erving and Miriam Polster, and Gordon Wheeler.
What is an "Interpersonal Psychodynamic" therapist?
Interpersonal psychodynamic therapy focuses on the therapeutic relationship in order to assist clients with recognizing patterns in their relationship with themselves and the world around them. This type of psychodynamic therapy may include extensive exploration of past relationships, including the important parent-child relationship, but does so in a present-focused encounter with another human being. Unlike Freud's psychoanalysis, in which the therapist is a "blank slate," this more modern approach, like Relational Gestalt Therapy, sees the therapist as a collaborative partner who also shares their personal reaction to the client when therapeutically appropriate. The therapist also recognizes the client as the expert on themselves, in contrast to a Freudian analyst who takes a more detached stance and makes interpretations based on his or her hierarchical "expert" status.
Modern psychodynamic therapy has its roots in the Object Relations theories of Melanie Klein and D.W. Winnicot, the Self-Psychology of Heinz Kohut, the Depth Psychology of Carl Jung, and the psychoanalytic therapy of Sigmund Freud and Otto Rank. Influential contemporary psychodynamic practitioners and theorists include Wilfred Bion, John Bowlby, and Robert Stolorow.
How do I get started?
Give us a call or email us to set up an initial consultation appointment: