Therapy With Esther

I offer trauma-informed, collaborative psychotherapy for adults and couples navigating emotional intensity, identity, relationships, and life transitions. My work is grounded primarily in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), with a strong emphasis on choice, consent, and helping clients build lives that feel more livable—not just more “managed.”

I work especially well with clients who are insightful, self-reflective, and struggling with patterns of self-judgment, emotional overwhelm, or feeling “stuck,” even when they understand why those patterns exist. Therapy with me is active, relational, and practical, while still making room for depth, grief, and meaning.

I provide therapy via secure video sessions to clients throughout California.

My Approach

There is great power in safe and non-judgmental spaces where people can explore their thoughts, feelings, and experiences without fear of rejection. My commitment to helping people on their own terms is at the heart of my therapeutic philosophy.

DBT is my primary framework—my “mother tongue”—and it shapes how I understand emotions, behavior, and change. I integrate DBT with trauma-informed care, attachment-based work, Motivational Interviewing, and postmodern approaches such as Narrative and Feminist therapy.

In sessions, we focus on:

  • Understanding the function of behaviors and emotional patterns

  • Building skills to reduce suffering and increase agency

  • Making space for trauma responses without pathologizing them

  • Strengthening values-based decision making

  • Balancing acceptance and change in realistic, sustainable ways

I take a collaborative stance and regularly invite client choice around session focus, pacing, and homework. I believe therapy works best when clients are treated as experts on their own experience, and when interventions are transparent rather than prescriptive.

All of my work is trauma-informed. When trauma treatment is appropriate, I draw from evidence-based approaches such as Written Exposure Therapy (WET) and DBT-Prolonged Exposure (DBT-PE), while carefully attending to consent, readiness, and nervous-system capacity.

Clients I Often Support

I frequently work with adults, adolescents, and couples who are experiencing:

  • Anxiety, panic, or emotional dysregulation

  • Depression, shame, or chronic self-criticism

  • Borderline personality traits or emotion-intensity patterns

  • Trauma and PTSD, including religious trauma

  • ADHD and executive-function challenges

  • Identity exploration related to gender, sexuality, faith, or life direction

  • Relationship distress, attachment wounds, and/or communication difficulties

I am LGBTQIA+ affirming, sex-positive, kink-aware, and experienced working with clients who have felt misunderstood or harmed by prior systems of care.

Modalities and Training

My clinical work may draw from:

  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

  • DBT-Prolonged Exposure (DBT-PE)

  • Written Exposure Therapy (WET)

  • Motivational Interviewing

  • Attachment-based therapy

  • Narrative and Feminist therapies

For couples, I integrate principles from Emotionally Focused Therapy and the Gottman Method, while remaining attentive to power, context, and lived experience.

I do not take a one-size-fits-all or “just think positive” approach to therapy. Change can be challenging, and meaningful progress often involves practicing new skills both in and outside of session. I aim to create a supportive, respectful environment that also invites honest reflection and intentional effort.

Insurance & Rates

I accept many major insurance plans through my work with Rula and Creative Insights Counseling, including Aetna, Cigna, Kaiser Permanente, MHN, Optum/UnitedHealthcare, and Adventist Risk Management (Loma Linda Healthcare Plan). Insurance coverage, copays, and deductibles vary by plan, and eligibility is verified prior to your first session. If you have questions about whether your insurance is accepted, I’m happy to help you determine coverage and next steps.

Many clients opt for client-pay rates. For individual sessions, my rate is $165 and for couples/poly/family sessions my rate is $195. Limited sliding scale availability may be offered based on financial need and availability. Payment is due at the time of service. For insurance clients, any copays or deductibles are the client’s responsibility. I believe in transparency around fees and am happy to discuss options during an initial consultation.

For adolescents, insurance coverage and billing are discussed with parents or guardians prior to the first session, including copays, deductibles, and consent requirements. We also discuss confidentiality, parental involvement, and your teen’s rights to privacy under California law. I aim to be clear and collaborative with families around logistics while keeping therapy focused on supporting your teen’s emotional well-being and development.

 
 
 

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Esther is currently practicing as an Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (CA LMFT #159064). She is in private practice at Creative Insights Counseling, Rula, and The Scott Hines Behavioral Health Clinic at the LGBTQ Center of the Desert in Palm Springs.