Is therapy right for me?

Seeking out therapy is an individual choice. There are many reasons why people come to therapy. Sometimes it is to deal with long-standing psychological issues, or problems with anxiety or depression. Other times it is in response to unexpected changes in one's life such as a divorce or work transition. Many understand the value in seeking the advice of a Certified Life Coach, as they pursue their own personal exploration and growth. Working together with Claudia can help provide insight, support, and new positive strategies for all types of life challenges. Using this combination of Clinical Hypnotherapy, Behavioral therapy & Life Coaching can help with many types of issues including depression, anxiety, conflict, grief, stress management, body-image issues, negative thought patterns and general life transitions. Therapy is right for anyone who is interested in getting the most out of their life by taking happy & positive responsibility, creating greater self-awareness, and moving towards change in their lives to get happy.

Do I really need therapy?  I can usually handle my problems.

Everyone goes through challenging situations in life, and while you may have successfully navigated through other difficulties you've faced, there's nothing wrong with seeking out extra support when you need it. In fact, getting Hypnotherpy, Behavioral therapy & Life Coaching is for people who have enough self-awareness to realize they need a helping hand, and that's something to be admired. You're taking responsibility by accepting where you're at in life and making a happy commitment to change the situation in a positive direction by seeking a qualified professional who can help you. Claudia's combination therapy technique provides long-lasting benefits and support, giving you the tools you need to avoid triggers, re-direct damaging thought patterns, and overcome whatever challenges you face. It's an enjoyable & empowering process!   :)

How can Claudia's therapy approach help me?

A number of benefits are available from this revolutionary technique offered to you. Claudia can help remove those hidden blocks & obsticles that are in the sub-conscious mind, using non-suggestive hypnotherapy, to finally break you free of it's bondage and negative habit patterns.  While this is going on, Claudia will also helps you by changing your negative behavioral patterns & negative thought patterns.

Claudia will provide support, problem-solving skills, and enhanced coping strategies for issues such as depression, anxiety, relationship troubles, moving beyond childhood issues, grief, stress, body image issues, blocks and so much more. Many people also find that Claudia's Life Coaching can be a tremendous asset to managing personal growth, interpersonal relationships, family concerns, marriage issues, and the hassles of daily life. Claudia can provide a fresh perspective on a difficult problem or point you in the direction of a solution. The benefits you obtain from her, depend on how well you use the process she suggests and put into practice what you learn. Some of the benefits available from this highly unique therapy & coaching technique include:

• Attaining a better understanding of yourself, your goals and values
• Developing skills for improving your relationships
• Finding resolution to the issues or concerns that led you to seek therapy
• Learning new ways to cope with stress and anxiety
• Rethinking & managing anger, grief, depression, and other emotional pressures
• Improving communications and listening skills
• Changing old negative behavioral patterns and developing new ones
• Discovering new ways to solve problems in your family or marriage
• Improving your self-esteem and boosting self-confidence
• Frequent episodes of smiling

What is therapy like? 

Every therapy session with Claudia is unique and she caters to each individual and their specific goals. Claudia has found that most people already know what the problems are, now they need to stop dwelling on that, and focus on the solutions and moving  past them in a positive, enjoyable way.  Almost all clients see Claudia  two sessions a week for 6-8 weeks, where each session lasts thirty minutes. Keep in mind that it takes 6-8 weeks to change ANY habit. Therapy can be short-term (6-8 wks) focusing on a specific issue, or longer, addressing more complex and multiple issues or ongoing personal growth. 

Claudia will suggest you take certain positive actions outside of the therapy sessions, such as listening to an inspiring audio cd, eating more organic foods, taking up a hobbie that you enjoy etc. It's important to process what's been discussed and integrate it into your life between sessions. For therapy to be most effective you must be an active participant, both during and between the sessions. People seeking real & positive results with Claudia, must be willing to take responsibility for their actions, move/play towards self-change and create greater awareness in their lives. Here are some things you can expect out of therapy:

• Compassion, respect and understanding
• Perspectives to illuminate why you've experienced persistent negative patterns and negative feelings
• Real strategies for enacting positive change
• Effective and proven techniques along with practical guidance
  

Is medication a substitute for therapy?

In some cases a combination of medication and therapy is the right course of action, although this is believed by Claudia to be not nearly as neccessary as regularly suggested by the medical field. Claudia does advise that you work with your Naturapathic/Medical doctor to help you slowly reduce & eliminate the unneccessary medications, after you have been seeing her for awhile.

It's well established that the long-term solution to mental and emotional problems and the pain they cause cannot be solved solely by sleep aids, anti-depressant and medications etc. Instead of just treating the symptom, Claudia addresses the cause of your distress and the behavior patterns that have been curbing your progress. You can best achieve sustainable growth and a greater sense of well-being with an integrative approach to wellness. Although Claudia does not focus on the problems (most people already know what they are), her main focus is on solutions and the positive changes neccessary to get you feeling good about yourself and life again.

Do you accept insurance? How does insurance work?


At this time, Claudia does not take any insurances, the client pays her at each session, and then they submit the receipts to their insurance carriers to be reimbursed.  HOWEVER many of Claudia's past clients have been reimbursed by Blue Sheild, Blue Cross, Medicare and others. It all depends on the type of individual policy the clients have.

To determine if you have mental health coverage, the first thing you should do is check with your insurance carrier. Check your coverage carefully and find the answers to the following questions:

• What are my mental health benefits?
• What is the coverage amount per therapy session?
• How many therapy sessions does my plan cover?
• How much does my insurance pay for an out-of-network provider?
• Is approval required from my primary care physician?
• Would getting a prescription from my doctor, help me get reimbursed?
• If they ask for a license # of the hypnotherapist, this is a sign that you are speaking to someone who you shouldn't be. THERE IS NO LICENSE in California for hypnotherapist.

Is therapy confidential?

In general, the law protects the confidentiality of all communications between a client and their therpist. However, there are some exceptions required by law to this rule. Exceptions include:

• Suspected child abuse or dependant adult or elder abuse. Therapists are required to report this to the appropriate authorities immediately.
• If a client is threatening serious bodily harm to another person. Therapists are required to notify the police.
• If a client intends to harm himself or herself. Claudia will make every effort to work with that individual to ensure their safety, including giving them her personal cell phone number and being on call 24 hours, until she feels they are beyond needing it.  Claudia has never lost a client to suicide!  However, if an individual does not cooperate, additional measures may need to be taken.