Psychotherapy

Clinical Social Work focuses on the mental, emotional, and behavioral well-being of individuals, groups, families, and those in relationships, often in private practice, community mental health, hospital, school, substance treatment and agency settings. This specialty area of social work is social justice oriented, culturally-responsive, upholds ethical standards set by the National Association of Social Workers, and centers on a holistic approach to psychotherapy and the client's relationship to their environment. Psychotherapy within clinical social work helps to resolve symptoms of mental illness, psychosocial stressors, relationship issues, and difficulty coping in the social environment. Clinical social work behavioral health practitioners seek to involve the influence of the environment, communities and social systems on mental health and wellness. 

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Heather Valdez's, LCSW, psychosocial approach to therapy helps to identify and deconstruct oppressive systems and societal influences that can impact mental health and wellness. She is culturally-responsive, and has worked extensively with LGBTQIA+ populations and communities of color, both of which she identifies with. Heather incorporates trauma-informed, harm reduction, insight-oriented, relational, solution-focused, strengths-based, and mindfulness interventions into her practice, as well as the integration of non-ordinary states of consciousness.

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Services

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Heather offers *psychotherapy to individuals via telehealth (phone/video) in her private practice statewide in California. She also offers **Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) in partnership with an organization called Journey Clinical, which has a specialized medical team that determines eligibility for KAP, prescribes the ketamine, and supports in monitoring outcomes.

 

If you are interested in psychotherapy or Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, please inquire by one of the following: 

 

Heather is only accepting individual therapy clients at this time. She currently does not have availability for relationship therapy.

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Note: Heather does not offer or provide illegal substances, guided sessions with illegal substances, or referrals to underground practitioners. 

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Fees

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*Current fees for telehealth psychotherapy services:

  • Free 15-minute phone consultation

  • $250 for intake session

  • $210 per 45-minute psychotherapy session thereafter

For those with more limited financial means, please inquire about sliding scale availability.

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**Current fees for Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy:

  • Free 15-minute phone consultation

  • $275 for intake session

  • $225 per 45-minute preparation and integration psychotherapy sessions

  • $900 per 2.5-3 hour Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy sessions

For those with more limited financial means, please inquire about sliding scale availability.

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Notice on Good Faith Estimates for Self-Pay Clients

 

Background: The "No Surprises Act" entitles you to receive a "Good Faith Estimate" when establishing care and at any time during your treatment when your cost/fee for services is adjusted. At the time of this notice, this only applies to clients who are self-pay, pay out-of-pocket, and who do not intend to submit an insurance claim for reimbursement.

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Psychotherapy Disclaimer: Regarding the nature of receiving psychotherapy services, it may not be possible to predict the exact number of sessions or length of treatment, as this may vary or change based on your treatment goals and progress. If/when the frequency of treatment, length of treatment, or fees for treatment change, an updated Good Faith Estimate will be provided.

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Notice on Your Right to Receive a Good Faith Estimate: You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your health care will cost.

 

Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who don’t have certain types of health care coverage or who are not using certain types of health care coverage an estimate of their bill for health care items and services before those items or services are provided.

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  • You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any health care items or services upon request or when scheduling such items or services. This includes related costs like medical tests, prescription drugs, equipment, and hospital fees.

  • If you schedule a health care item or service at least 3 business days in advance, make sure your health care provider or facility gives you a Good Faith Estimate in writing within 1 business day after scheduling. If you schedule a health care item or service at least 10 business days in advance, make sure your health care provider or facility gives you a Good Faith Estimate in writing within 3 business days after scheduling. You can also ask any health care provider or facility for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule an item or service. If you do, make sure the health care provider or facility gives you a Good Faith Estimate in writing within 3 business days after you ask.

  • If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more for any provider or facility than your Good Faith Estimate from that provider or facility, you can dispute the bill.

  • Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate and the bill.

 

For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises/consumers, email FederalPPDRQuestions@cms.hhs.gov, or call 1-800-985-3059.

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