Do you accept insurance? What’s the deal with your sliding scale?

I’m glad you asked. Currently we do not accept insurance. Part of the reason is because few insurance companies accept LMFT-Associates who are working under supervision. That said, it is common that most couples and family therapy cannot be billed through insurance because the treatment is considered relational not due to a mental health diagnosis which is required for insurance billing in the current state of managed health care. At Yee Therapy we also respect your right to privacy by not sharing your information with third-parties. We also maintain the ability to offer you psychotherapy without the rules and regulations of insurance companies. But this is all sticky intricate stuff. This is why we offer a sliding scale fee based on your ability to afford treatment. Reach out to us if you interested in working with us to make arrangements.

What is a “not-knowing” stance? What’s all this “existential” talk? Is that about Climate Change?

A “not-knowing” stance simply means that the therapist, while having training in interventions, process, and modalities does not see themselves as the expert on your life. It means that the therapist will meet you in your reality to the best of their ability. That is to say, perhaps in your reality the sky is green and alligators are clouds. We want to understand the world through your eyes not impose ourselves into it. Yee Therapy adopts an existential approach, viewing the client as having ultimate autonomy over their actions and the development of personal meaning that drives those actions. It is tied into having a non-pathologizing approach — we believe that your symptoms are a normal reaction to human existence, not something that is wrong with you. Our job is to find a way for you to exist in the world in a way that works for you. So while Climate Change may be an “existential” threat, it has nothing to do with existential psychotherapy.

What is the “here-and-now” approach to therapy?

Instead of pathologizing you or finding a scape-goat (your relationship with your mother, the time your father missed Christmas…) we listen, deeply. We attune to your experience, and examine it with compassion and gentle curiosity. The here-and-now is about being in the room with the person as they are with as much honesty, congruence, and compassion as possible. This concept is known as a person-centered approach and was developed by psychiatrists such as Carl Rogers and Fritz Perls. This idea was brought to a fuller vision by Irvin Yalom — a psychiatrists who interacts with his clients as if the therapy room were a ‘microcosm’ (or tiny version) of the client relationships with others outside of the therapy room. With this perspective, the therapist is honest with the client about things that are happening relationally between the client and the therapist. Yalom’s intervention requires the therapist to develop a very keen sense of the client’s experience — lifting the lid on patterns we have been unable to see.

What if I need to make an appointment outside of regular hours?

Contact us to make arrangement for morning and afternoon appointments. The reason we have particular hours is because “we” (Shannen Yee) is a mother as her first and most important duty. But we are happy to arrange to meet you if at all possible.

I like your approach. Are you interested in adding more therapists or mental health specialists to the Yee team?

We are very interested in working with like-minded therapists who have a unique and passionate focus. If what you see here resonates, get in touch. Types of therapist we are interested in collaborating with include — but are not limited to — exposure therapy, emotions-focused therapy, experiential modalities, play therapy, motivational interviewing for addiction, holding space for grief, and existentialists.