Services and FAQ

Brightways Psychology provides both in-person and virtual individual therapy for school age children, adolescents and adults. Individual therapy with adults can be focused on individual functioning (e.g. trauma processing) or parenting concerns.

In-person individual therapy can be conducted on California Ave in Palo Alto on Thursdays; however, availability is limited and Accelerated Resolution Therapy® sessions for adults and children are prioritized.

Please note that due to the potential need for technological support by an adult and its impact on rapport-building and privacy, virtual therapy is often more effective for older children (10 and up) and adults.

Brightways Psychology is focused on providing the best care that is customized to your needs. Insurance typically includes restrictions (e.g. on the number of sessions provided) and requires extensive unpaid administrative work. In some cases, billing issues or clawbacks may arise. As a small practice, we also do not have the administrative support to manage submitting and following up on the reimbursement of claims, which is very time consuming and ultimately reduces the number of individuals we can help; therefore, Brightways Psychology is not “in network” with any health insurance providers. Being “out of network” also allows us more flexibility to determine together the number of sessions and the manner in which sessions are provided (e.g. via telehealth vs in-person).

Please check with your health insurance provider to determine your “out of network behavioral health coverage” and whether you will need to meet your annual deductible before any coverage is provided (e.g. CPT codes: 90791 for the first information gathering session; 90834 for 50-minute sessions; 90837 for 60-90 minute sessions)

If you have a PPO plan and a percentage of the “out of network” fees for behavioral health treatment is covered, Brightways Psychology will provide you with a “Superbill” to submit to insurance for reimbursement. A “Superbill” is typically a monthly statement that lists the clinical services provided and that can be used to obtain reimbursement from the insurance for the fees you have already paid out of pocket. 

For more information, download this document for suggestions and questions you can ask your insurance provider to verify your mental health out-of-network coverage.

Fees for 50 minute psychotherapy sessions are $225.00, based on usual and customary rates for psychologists in the San Francisco Bay Area. Acceleration Resolution Therapy usually requires at least 90 minutes so the fee is prorated to $405.00. Brightways Psychology does not offer sliding scale.

If you cannot make your appointment and do not cancel or reschedule your appointment more than 24 hours in advance, you will be responsible for the full fee, unless your clinician can find someone to fill your spot.  Please keep in mind that unlike other medical appointments, the session time is reserved specifically for you and typically the spot cannot be filled at the last minute.

I recognize that many families of children with complex medical illnesses prefer not to meet in person due to the potential risk of exposure to illness. For residents of California, I am able to meet virtually via an HIPAA compliant video-conferencing platform (Zoom). I will provide you with a link for the session in advance and ask that you find a confidential space to join the session. 

If you would prefer to meet in-person because you are unable to find a private space to join a virtual therapy session, I am able to meet in person on California Ave in Palo Alto on Thursdays. 

If you decide that therapy is a good fit for your needs after our phone consultation,

you will be sent an email invitation to set up an account with the patient portal of the electronic medical record system Brightways Psychology uses to keep all paperwork private and confidential.

Once you accept the patient portal invitation you will be asked to provide background information and sign forms stating that you consent to therapy policies and fees. These forms may take time to read because they are focused on providing the information you need in a clear and transparent manner so you can make an education decision to engage in therapy.

Once you have completed all the paperwork, you will be contacted to schedule your first session.

The first session will be an information gathering session which is focused on obtaining an understanding of your medical and mental health history, your family history and your current symptoms or concerns. This information will be kept confidential (unless you are at risk of harming yourself or others) and used to determine the most beneficial approach for treatment. You will also be provided an opportunity to ask any questions about the practice policies so this session may take up to 90 minutes to complete.

Typically to provide enough opportunity and consistency for both identifying and meeting the goals you would like to use therapy to accomplish, we will meet once a week, for at least 4-6 weeks.  If you are in need of additional support, during an acute crisis for example, we may meet twice a week. As you are more able to use skills learned in therapy on your own, we will often switch to meeting every other week.