FAQ

My office is in your living room, office, car, or bedroom through your computer. I offer telehealth, so you do not have to commute, worry about parking, or request time off from work.

If you are in Chicago, I am down to do a Talk and Walk session with you in a lovely park (only when it’s not below 50°F, please! I hate feeling cold).

Online therapy is as effective as in-person therapy for most issues.

In-person therapy is better for you if you are in crisis, feeling suicidal, or homicidal.

There are pros and cons to both in-person therapy and online therapy.

I have appointments available during the day and in the evening. On Mondays and Thursdays, I work in the evening. The last appointment available is at 9 pm CST/ 7 pm PST. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I work during the day. The last available appointment is at 5 pm CST / 3 pm PST.

Sessions are 53-55 minutes.

The answer is yes – if I have the availability. I would adjust the price accordingly.

I am in-netwrok with Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO and Blue Choice in Illinois and California. I am in network with Aetna, United Health, Oxford, and Oscar Health Care only in Illinois. If am out of network your insurance, I can give you a monthly superbill for you to submit for reimbursement for out-of-network services. Please note, however, that providing a superbill requires me to provide you with a mental health diagnosis that will be part of your permanent medical record.

Call me to set up your initial consultation.

We can reschedule canceled appointments as you need. I will try to reschedule your appointment for another day or time that works for both of us.

If you cannot make the appointment, please let me know 24 business hours before your appointment. Otherwise, I will charge you the full fee. Having said this, I know that emergencies happen. Talk to me; we will figure it out.

Let’s be honest; you are damn smart. You can get a self-help book or that mindfulness app, follow the advice on that podcast, and it will work! I will still provide you with some coping skills/exercises because I need you ready for the deep work and to be present in your everyday life.

But most of the work will come from sitting with your emotions, listening to what your body tells you, and challenging the meaning of the past that is no longer serving you.

You are also not a hermit, so we will carefully consider and challenge the outside forces, ideas, and expectations holding you back. I work by being me, being honest with you, and unconditionally love you no matter what you tell me.

For obsessive-compulsive disorder, I use Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy with an emphasis in teaching you how to stop rumination. Even ERP is cognitive behavioral based, I approach it through a trauma informed, relational, and systemic lense. What that means is that injustice, oppression and the past matters and we talk about that in session. In general, I am a culturally centered, emotional focused, relational, psychodynamic, trauma-informed, and eclectic Social Worker.

The most awaited answer is it depends.

Length of time depends on where you are and want to be. We could meet for as little as 4-8 sessions and still do some good work on one event or current single issue in your life. If that’s all you need to keep going happily, that is great!

Some people have accumulated so much over the years and had enough, so they want to invest months (most common) or even years. Healing is not a linear process.

You can take breaks and might be on a roll, so you ghost me. Then something happens, and you need to return to therapy. I am up for all of it. Just call me.

Ugggghhh!!! Did you say commitment? I like to be free!

I ask you to be fully committed one session at a time for the whole 50 minutes. I want you to be brave to do your best to be fully you and fully present.

I will help and want you committed to being challenged and knowing you are not always right. I will commit to the same because guess what? I am not always right either. Lastly, I want you to be committed to letting yourself feel compassion and love – I will do that until you learn to do that for yourself.

If participating in a group or workshop, please commit to the whole length. It helps everyone in the group but mainly enables you to get what you invested in monetarily.

No! It is my job to earn and honor your trust, and I am not entitled to your story. Only you decide who gets which of your gifts and experiences. Just tell me if I ask something you are not ready to discuss. Hopefully, I will earn your trust to work on what’s important to you.

I typically work with adults 20 to 40. However, Latin American immigrant women and men in their 50s or 60s – or even older – have enjoyed working with me because I understand the culture back home and the experience of migrating to the U.S.

I work will all gender identities, including male, female, transgender, and non-binary folks. I work with multicultural folks who identify as People of Color and are part of their family’s cultures and American.

I also enjoy seeing white folks and won’t tolerate blunt racism. I identify as a cisgender, heterosexual, Latinx, bi-cultural, immigrant, non-native English speaker, and a first-generation U.S.-born female. Although I work to learn more daily, my various identities influence how I understand the world and work.

I got my MSW from the University of Chicago while doing therapy at Proyecto Cuidate and running workshops for Family Bridges.

Then, mainly because I’m not too fond of the cold, I went to the Counseling and Psychological Services Department at the University of California Berkeley, where I worked with students to handle crises, trauma, eating disorders, substance use, COVID, and a ton of pressure to excel. It was crazy and scary, but l learned tons through my clients, amazing clinical supervisors, and trainers.

Finally, I worked in child welfare, writing about how attachment and trauma interplay with individuals over a lifetime.

Nope, not really. Let me tell you about my various identities. I identify as a cisgender, heterosexual, Latinx, bi-cultural, immigrant, non-native English speaker, first-generation U.S. born, female, and much more. I’m not too fond of spicy, tamborazo, or pozole, and I am still a very proud Mexican who grew up in Durango, Mexico.

#1 Salsa, #2 Bachata, #3 afro-influenced dances, and everything else is a yes. I also like reggaeton, merengue, and contemporary. I will move with you to the beat you play.

Selfishly, I grow with you with every single one of your successes. I love seeing you identify underlying beliefs and self-sabotaging behavior and free yourself from those. I love seeing you loving being you and making boss moves, like Joz Sida would say.

Surprise! Not really. You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate. The law requires me to give you an estimate of the expected charges for my services under the No Surprises Act.

As a client, you have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency healthcare services (like doing psychotherapy together.) Therefore, you can ask me for a Good Faith Estimate before scheduling a service or at any time during treatment.

If I give you a bill at least $400 more than the Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill. Make sure to save a copy of your Good Faith Estimate.

I said our time together is not predetermined, so I can’t tell you the exact number of sessions for all your treatment. So, the total cost of services will depend upon how many times we meet, your circumstances, and the type of services you receive. I will never keep you beyond what you are benefiting from in sessions.

For more info, go to www.cms.gov/nosurprises/.