Frequently Asked Questions About Therapy in Los Angeles

do you take insurance? are you “in-network”?

We are not currently in-network with any insurance panels, but are most likely able to provide you with a monthly superbill to be submitted to your insurance company for reimbursement for out-of-network mental health services. Though most of our clients navigate this process with ease, we cannot guarantee that your insurance claims will be approved.

Learn more about our stance on insurance and sample questions to ask your insurance company to verify your benefits and coverage.

do you offer sliding scale therapy services?

We believe in affordable access for all who feel they will benefit from therapeutic support and thus, reserve twenty percent of our practice caseload for clients needing reduced session fees. We are proud to have Associate level therapists on our team who are working towards licensure and can offer more reduced fee therapy services.

Reduced fees and availability are based on clients’ income and offered on a first-come, first-served basis. We often have an active waitlist for prospective clients waiting for spots to become available. If we are not able to accommodate your need for reduced-fee therapy at this time, we hope you will consider our group therapy offerings as a more accessible option.

do you offer phone and/or video sessions?

We recognize that some clients’ schedules preclude them from being able to consistently make weekly in-person visits and we do not want this to be an impediment to getting the support you need. We are often able to work with clients in pre-arranged, special circumstances by providing secure video sessions to promote continuity of care. Click to read more about online counseling.
 

do you provide free consultations?

We believe the best way to determine if a therapist is the right fit is to actually experience the work together. Because the therapeutic relationship is so vital, we customarily encourage clients to dive straight into their first few full sessions. It often takes a few meetings to get a true feel for the connection and to begin making progress.

To ensure we start you on the right path, the process begins with a free Therapist Match Call with one of our Care Coordinators. On this call, we’ll discuss what’s bringing you to therapy and provide more details about our relational approach to ensure we are the right practice for your needs. Our coordinators will then pair you with the therapist who is the best fit for your specific experience.

While most clients find they are ready to jump into the work after this match call, we can occasionally offer a 20-minute complimentary phone consultation with your paired therapist if you have specific questions before your first full session.

can I bring my dog?

We are big fans of all things furry and uphold the research that demonstrates the emotional support and healing that a pet can offer. As long as Fido is potty-trained, will get along with our office dog, Weezie, and can keep relatively quiet for our therapist neighbors next door, we are thrilled to have them participate! Please let us know in advance if you will be bringing your dog.

I see lots of different letters after the names of your therapists. what’s the difference between an LMFT therapist and an LCSW therapist?

There are many paths towards becoming a therapist! The paths (and respective letters) denote what kind of education/degree, training, areas of focus, etc. the therapist is likely to have. There are marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers, clinical psychologists, professional counselors, psychoanalysts, and more!

At Kindman & Co. most of our therapists tend to be marriage and family therapists (MFTs) or clinical social workers (CSWs). You may be wondering what the difference is between the two? Surprisingly, they are quite similar.  MFTs and CSWs are both mental health practitioners that require Master’s degrees and 1-2 years of practicum experience during their degree programs. Both marriage and family therapists and social workers can provide individual, couple, family, and group therapy.

Both MFT and CSW education utilizes systems theory that teaches students to consider the person in their environment (relationships, work, family, society, culture, etc.) and to examine how the environmental context may be contributing to individual and relationship distress.  This is a little different from early forms of psychotherapy and medical models that tend to locate the problem within the individual, offer diagnoses and assessment, and work to fix or change the individual’s experience. Social workers not in private practice often work in agency and medical settings (though many MFTs do as well!) and likely provide additional services of case management, discharge planning, and helping clients connect to community resources. (information from https://www.mft-license.com/articles/mft-vs-clinical-social-worker.html)

At Kindman & Co. we adopt a perspective that there is nothing wrong with you; you are not the problem.  If you are feeling challenged or experiencing mental health issues we want to look at what is and isn’t working in your immediate environment, including examining traumatic circumstances, unsupportive contexts, and systemic forces of oppression. Both our LMFT therapists and LCSW therapists are primed to help you to make changes to your external context where possible, learn to better cope with areas you cannot change, and support you to engage in activism to move our society forward.

so what’s the difference between your associate therapists and licensed therapists?

Licensed MFT therapists and licensed CSW therapists have completed their degree programs and the 3,000-3,200 supervised clinical training hours required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) to sit for the licensure exam.  Once they have passed the exam and are issued a BBS license, they can provide therapy services without supervision and are able to open their own practices.

Associate MFT therapists and Associate CSW therapists have completed their graduate education and are collecting supervised clinical training hours towards their licensure. This does not mean that an associate therapist has no experience though! 

Associates have 1-2 years of practicum that is required to initially obtain their Master’s degree and then they must work for a number of years to complete the 3,000-3,200 supervised hours.  It can regularly take up to 6 years post-graduation to qualify for licensure. Essentially, associate therapists are equivalent to doctors in their residency program.  They have the formal education needed to practice in the field and are now working under the supervision of a licensed therapist at Kindman & Co. to help them continue to learn and build experience to best serve their clients.

We assure you that all of our associates are handpicked by our team—they go through a rigorous application process and are then trained to practice our relational therapy approach with a social-justice lens. A key benefit of working with an associate therapist is that their session fees may be more affordable for you and because they’re working under supervision, it’s like getting two therapists for the price of one!

Got more questions? We’ve got answers.

You can always email us at hello@kindman.co with any other questions, or the best way to get started is to schedule a complimentary Therapist Match Call. We’ll help pair you with the right therapist for your needs so you can begin the work together.