Providing therapy for couples in a strong, supportive, and non-judgmental setting. |
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(License MFC #32389)
Providing therapy for couples in a strong, supportive, and non-judgmental setting. |
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(Please leave your name, phone number, and a good time to reach you.
I
shall return your call within 24 hours.)
I am a licensed psychotherapist, and I've been working with couples from a wide variety of backgrounds and orientations for over 16 years. I've also been in a committed, long-term relationship for 21 years; so I know that it takes work— plus knowledge of specific tools — to keep a relationship satisfying and healthy for each partner.
A lack of communication and understanding between partners can show up in a relationship as a sense of distancing, lingering resentments, expressions of anger, or a feeling of "falling out of love." In couples therapy, you will learn to really listen to your partner. You will be amazed at how little you have both actually listened to each other in the past!
You will:
The couples therapist does not "take sides," and nobody is "wrong." It is a bizarre fact of life that people take on the stresses and strains of living together (and often raising a family) without any training whatsoever. In Couples Therapy, you will learn simple but powerful tools to help you live and work together, and to love and appreciate each other.
If you have questions in addition to those below, please feel free to send email. (Email is monitored weekly.)
This depends greatly on the couple and the issues that you are dealing with. Issues such as poor communication, for example, may only require three months; deeper and more complex issues could require longer.
I am licensed to provide receipts for couples therapy to you to submit to your insurance company for reimbursement. Note, however, that all therapy sessions must be paid for by you at the time of the office visit.
I do not accept HMO clients. I prefer not to be on HMO panels because there is a possibility that my clinical judgment can be overruled and also that clients could lose client confidentiality.
This is a license issued by the Board of Behavioral Science of the State of California to therapists who have a Masters or Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology, who have passed both written and oral examinations administered by the Board, and who have completed 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience. An LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist) is licensed to provide psychotherapeutic sessions to individuals, couples, and families who experience problems in their relationships to family, friends, coworkers, and community.
I am also a clinical member of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists.
Perhaps you would prefer to work, for example, with a male couples therapist. The relationship that you establish with your therapist is very important; so it is important that you feel that you can relate openly and honestly to your therapist. I am part of an extensive network of psychologists, psychiatrists, and LMFTs who work in the Bay Area. Thus, if you have special needs, please call and I would be happy to give you appropriate referrals.
Are my health records confidential?
Any health provider, such as a doctor or a psychotherapist, who conducts any business electronically (such as billing insurance electronically, sending emails, keeping records on a computer) is required to abide by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). See the HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices for details on your legal rights in this regard.
Serving the Bay Area with offices in Berkeley and San Francisco. For both the Berkeley and the San Francisco offices, please call (510) 287-2677.
Copyright (c) 1997 -- 2009. Iris Stallworth-Grayling, MA, LMFT.