You shouldn’t have to leave out parts of your story to get help

What does affirming psychotherapy mean to us?

affirming therapy & coaching services

affirming psychotherapy & coaching

We are committed to being neuro-inclusive and neurodiversity-affirming, because all brains deserve respect. Unfortunately, not all brains have been appreciated. We exist purposefully to create a welcoming and therapeutic space where we can name and discuss differences without

seeing people or their neurologies as problems to be solved.

We work toward a better understanding of both self and other to create a richer and more meaningful human experience. Our vision is for everyone to become other wise.

Services

Therapy & Coaching

We’re here to support you and your complex humanity.

Support & Affinity Groups

You are not alone.

Consultation

Individual and group

FAQs

You—whether singular or plural—are invited to become other wise. While we specialize in neurodiversity, we want to emphasize that diversity includes everyone, not only the neurodivergent. We work with all individuals, couples, families, and constellations. We’re happy to answer any questions you have about us during a no-cost consultation.

Therapy: We are licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFTs) in the State of California, so if you will have your sessions while in California, this will make sense for you.

Coaching: As coaches, we work slightly differently than we do as therapists, in that we focus almost exclusively on the here and now and your current and future goals. As coaches, we do not offer diagnoses, and we cannot provide Superbills for insurance. Some clients have used Health Savings Accounts to pay for coaching.

Our sessions happen in person in the Los Angeles area (offices in Santa Monica and mid-city Los Angeles) as well as via telehealth locally, nationally, and internationally.   We also offer a “walk and talk” option.  Let’s discuss during a consultaton.

We will schedule times to meet via our private, secure, client portal. Frequency will be determined by your needs and goals.

We are here to provide the kind of support and understanding we wish we had as younger, neurodivergent adults. As adults who identified our neurodivergence later in life, we have learned to understand ourselves and others curiously and compassionately—in neurodiverse relationships—and to build lives that are more aligned with our nervous systems. We know it is possible to feel more at home in the world and to find community and connection that once seemed impossible. We want to offer understanding, hope, and support. Life can be difficult. But you don’t have to be alone as you find your way forward.

There is no one way to do therapy or coaching, and treatment is specific to your needs and goals. But hearing about theoretical approaches to therapy or specific methodologies (which often are bombardments of acronyms such as EFT, DBT, ACT, CBT, IFT, etc.) are needlessly technical and obscure more than they reveal. Some people have had negative experiences with therapy and want to have some sense of what they may be getting into this time. We are happy to address these questions individually, in our no-cost consultation as well as throughout our sessions.

Here are some examples of what our collaborative conversations comprise:

We are curious and non-judgmental. We ask questions to deepen our shared exploration. You may have feelings that don’t seem to make sense. You may have goals that you can’t seem to reach. You may keep having the same, painful experiences in relationships no matter what you do. You may have secrets that feel like burdens.

We are here to listen—and witness—with compassion.

We listen with care, to what you say.

No cost: Initial 15-20 minutes meeting to discuss needs and goals. We hope we are a good fit, but if not we will also try to provide referrals.

Cost: our fees depend on scheduling times and whether you are in individual therapy or working with others.

Insurance: we’re private-pay clinicians, which means that we do not work with insurance companies. We are happy to provide Superbills to our therapy clients, which some insurance policies may reimburse at varying rates for out-of-network psychotherapy.

Therapist/coaches, Kristin and Julie walking on Santa Monica beach, a possible location for walk and talk therapy and coaching.

“Good Faith Estimate” Disclaimer:

You have a right to a “good faith estimate” under federal law (section 2799B-6 of the Public Health Service act). This estimate is regarding expected costs for therapy or coaching with other wise. You will receive this estimate both verbally and in writing when you begin with other wise. The good faith estimate is only an estimate and your actual medical costs may differ. However, if there is a significant discrepancy between your estimate and your actual costs, you have the right to initiate the patient-provider dispute process. For more information about good faith estimates you may visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises.

“The more you know yourself, the more patience you have for what you see in others.”

“Our wounds are often the openings into the best and most beautiful part of us.”

That statement is often credited to psychologist Erik Erikson, but it was actually his wife and collaborator Joan Erikson discussing becoming wise, “You don’t have to accept what people do, but understand what leads them to do it. The stance this leads to is to forgive even though you still oppose.”