My office is virtual. Every session happens online.
I work from one room in my home that exists for this and nothing else. The door locks.
Nobody wanders through, and nobody hears your side of it except me.
Think of using Zoom to talk to friends. Subtract the friends and add me.
Now we have online therapy. It really is just two people talking.
The technical part is a video call. You've handled harder things on your phone.
If you're not sure a video call counts as real therapy, you're in good company. Plenty of people show up here thinking exactly that.
The talking is what does the work, and talking travels over video without losing much.
You skip the drive. You skip the waiting room and the chance of seeing somebody you know in it.
The honest cost is on your end. You have to find an hour where nobody walks in on you, and then hold onto that hour.
Only if you want to.
I'm partial to my office chair. Find something comfortable on your end and we're set.
Fully your choice. Keep cleansing pads or a cloth nearby to avoid looking like a raccoon.
Tissues are your department. The only kind I can hand you is virtual.
Email me at sgutkn@gmail.com and ask for an appointment. We'll find a time from there.
If you'd rather start with the free consultation, say so in the same email.
It's free and it's short. We can do it online by video, or by phone.
The point of it is to let you hear how I talk before you commit a full hour to me. Ask for one by email and I'll set it up.
Some of it, yes. Not all of it.
Whether yours is one I take is a short conversation. Bring it up at the free consultation and you'll have your answer.
A session is scheduled for an hour. I tend to wrap it up about five minutes before the end.
Shorter is on the table if that suits you better. You decide that, not me.
Case by case. There's no house schedule everybody gets put on.
We'll set the rhythm once I know what we're working on, and change it when that changes.
Monday through Friday, 6:00 am to 6:00 pm PT.
Early enough to fit one in before work, late enough to catch the end of the day. Pick whichever end costs you less.
Give me as much notice as you can and we'll just move the appointment.
Inside 24 hours there may be a small fee. Come to me about rescheduling instead, and that's the conversation we have.
Teenagers and up. Men, women, and couples.
Younger children aren't my work. Someone trained for that will do a better job of it than I would.
Most of my clients land somewhere in their thirties and forties.
I'm a licensed psychologist in several states. California is my primary one.
My doctorate is in clinical psychology, earned at the California School of Professional Psychology, in a program accredited by the American Psychological Association.
That's the paperwork. It counts for less in the room than whether the two of us can actually talk.
You're the boss, so ask anything you want answered and I'll do my best with it.
Some of it I'll answer straight. Some of it I'll tell you why I'm not answering. What you won't get is a blank stare and a question about how that makes you feel.
I prefer a big stick!
Can't we all just get along?
The free consultation exists so you can size me up first. It costs you one email.
Send it.
You've been using it on people who decided what you meant before you finished. Use it on somebody whose whole job is hearing the end of your sentence.
Send me an email. Tell me what's going on, in whatever words you've got. Ask how I can help you.
If you'd rather talk first, say so. The consultation is free, by video or phone.