Starting therapy often comes with questions. At Mindful Guides Therapy Center in La Jolla, we help individuals, teens, couples, and families throughout San Diego and California find the support that fits their needs. Below, you’ll find answers about consultations, fees, insurance, online therapy, confidentiality, and the therapy approaches we offer.
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What would you like help with?
Getting Started
How do I know when it is time to start therapy?
It may be time to start therapy when stress, anxiety, sadness, relationship conflict, family challenges, or unresolved past experiences begin affecting your daily life. You do not need to wait until things feel unmanageable. Many people begin therapy because they want more clarity, emotional support, healthier relationships, or a better way to understand themselves.
Mindful Guides Therapy Center works with individuals, teens, couples, and families throughout San Diego and California. If you are unsure where to begin, a free 15-minute phone consultation can help you decide whether therapy may be a good next step.
Learn more about individual therapy, teen therapy, couples therapy, and family therapy.
What happens during the free 15-minute consultation?
The free 15-minute consultation is a short phone call to understand what you are looking for, answer initial questions, and help determine whether Mindful Guides Therapy Center may be a good fit.
Nicole personally helps match new inquiries with the therapist who may be the best fit based on the client’s needs, goals, availability, and preferred style of support. The consultation is also a chance to ask about scheduling, fees, online therapy, and which type of therapy may be most appropriate.
Do I need to know what type of therapy I want before contacting you?
No. Many clients are not sure whether they need individual therapy, teen therapy, couples therapy, family therapy, somatic therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based therapy, or another approach. That is normal.
During the consultation process, we can help you understand which service or therapist may be the best fit. Therapy is not one-size-fits-all, and the right approach depends on your concerns, goals, and personal preferences.
Learn more about our therapy approach and specialized therapy approaches.
Are you accepting new clients?
Yes, Mindful Guides Therapy Center is accepting new clients. Availability may vary by therapist, schedule, service type, and whether you are looking for in-person or online therapy.
The best first step is to request a free 15-minute phone consultation so we can learn more about what you are looking for and help match you with the right therapist.
Fees, Insurance & Payment
What is your fee?
Fees vary by therapist and service. We can discuss the current fee during your free 15-minute phone consultation so you understand the cost before scheduling an appointment.
Do you accept insurance?
Mindful Guides Therapy Center does not accept insurance directly. However, we are considered an out-of-network provider and can provide superbills that you may submit to your insurance company for possible reimbursement.
Coverage and reimbursement depend on your insurance plan, so we recommend contacting your insurance provider directly to ask about out-of-network mental health benefits.
Do you provide superbills?
Yes. We can provide superbills for clients who want to submit claims to their insurance company for possible out-of-network reimbursement.
Because every insurance plan is different, reimbursement is not guaranteed. Your insurance provider can explain whether your plan includes out-of-network therapy benefits.
Do you accept HSA or FSA cards?
Yes, HSA and FSA cards are accepted for therapy services when applicable.
Online & In-Person Therapy
Do you offer online therapy?
Yes. Mindful Guides Therapy Center offers online therapy for clients located anywhere in California. Online therapy is available for individual therapy, teen therapy, couples therapy, family therapy, and the therapy approaches offered by our clinicians.
Online sessions can be a good option for clients who prefer the convenience of meeting from home, have busy schedules, live outside San Diego, or want continuity of care when they cannot attend in person.
Learn more about online individual therapy, online teen therapy, online couples therapy, and online family therapy.
Do you offer in-person therapy?
Yes. In-person therapy is available at Mindful Guides Therapy Center in La Jolla, San Diego.
Office location:
2255 Avenida De La Playa, Suite 4A
La Jolla, CA 92037
Is online therapy private?
Online therapy is designed to provide a private and secure space for therapy. All online sessions are held on a HIPAA-compliant platform to support confidentiality and privacy.
We recommend attending sessions from a quiet, private location where you feel comfortable speaking openly and will not be interrupted. Your therapist can also answer questions about privacy, confidentiality, and what to expect before your first online session.
Individual Therapy
What can individual therapy help with?
Individual therapy can help adults work through anxiety, depression, stress, trauma, grief, self-esteem, relationship patterns, life transitions, emotional overwhelm, and personal growth.
At Mindful Guides Therapy Center, individual therapy is personalized to the client. Depending on your needs, your therapist may draw from psychodynamic therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based therapy, somatic therapy, Narrative Therapy, Internal Family Systems-informed work, or other approaches.
Learn more about individual therapy, psychodynamic therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy.
What happens in an individual therapy session?
Individual therapy sessions usually involve talking with your therapist about what is happening in your life, what you are feeling, what patterns you are noticing, and what you would like to change or better understand.
Depending on your goals, therapy may focus on insight, emotional regulation, coping skills, nervous system awareness, relationship patterns, trauma healing, or practical tools for daily life.
How often do clients usually attend individual therapy?
Many clients begin with weekly therapy, especially when they are working through active stress, anxiety, grief, trauma, or relationship concerns. Over time, session frequency may change depending on your goals, progress, and needs.
Your therapist can discuss what rhythm may make the most sense for you.
Teen Therapy
How do I know if my teen may need therapy?
Teen therapy may be helpful if your teen is struggling with anxiety, depression, stress, school pressure, emotional outbursts, withdrawal, low self-esteem, family conflict, grief, identity concerns, or difficulty coping with change.
Parents often seek teen therapy when they notice their teen seems overwhelmed, more isolated, unusually reactive, shut down, or unable to talk openly at home.
Learn more about teen therapy.
Are parents involved in teen therapy?
Yes, parents are usually involved in the overall therapy process, but the therapist also protects the teen’s privacy so trust can develop.
The exact level of parent involvement depends on the teen’s age, concerns, goals, and clinical needs. In some cases, parents may participate in periodic check-ins, parent guidance, or family sessions.
Learn more about family therapy for parent-teen communication.
Will my teen’s therapy be confidential?
Therapy gives teens a private space to speak openly and honestly. In general, what a teen shares with their therapist stays confidential. Parents are involved in the overall treatment process, but the therapist also protects the teen’s privacy so trust can develop.
There are important safety exceptions. A therapist may need to break confidentiality if a teen is at serious risk of harming themselves, threatening to harm someone else, or reports abuse or unsafe treatment. In those situations, the therapist will take appropriate steps to protect the teen’s safety.
Do you offer online therapy for teens?
Yes. Online therapy is available for teens located anywhere in California. Some teens prefer online therapy because it feels more comfortable, convenient, or accessible.
Your therapist can help determine whether online or in-person therapy is the better fit for your teen.
Couples Therapy
When should couples consider therapy?
Couples therapy may be helpful when partners are struggling with communication, recurring conflict, emotional distance, trust, intimacy, parenting stress, life transitions, or feeling disconnected from each other.
Couples do not need to be in crisis to begin therapy. Some partners seek therapy because they want to understand each other better, strengthen their relationship, or address patterns before they become more painful.
Learn more about couples therapy.
Do both partners need to attend couples therapy?
Ideally, both partners attend couples therapy together. However, if one partner is unsure or not ready, it can still be helpful for one person to begin individual therapy to better understand their patterns, needs, boundaries, and relationship concerns.
Learn more about couples counseling or individual therapy for relationship patterns.
Can couples therapy help with communication and conflict?
Yes. Couples therapy often helps partners slow down reactive patterns, understand what each person is really trying to communicate, and develop healthier ways to speak, listen, repair, and reconnect.
At Mindful Guides Therapy Center, couples therapy may be informed by relational therapy, mindfulness, somatic awareness, and Imago-informed principles.
Do you offer Imago Relationship Therapy?
Our couples therapy work is influenced by Imago Relationship Therapy principles, including communication, empathy, emotional safety, and deeper understanding between partners.
Because clinician training and certification can vary, we describe this as Imago-informed couples therapy rather than certified Imago Relationship Therapy for every therapist on the team.
Learn more about Imago-informed relationship therapy.
Can couples therapy help after betrayal or loss of trust?
Couples therapy can provide a structured space to talk about betrayal, emotional injury, conflict, or loss of trust. The process may involve slowing down blame, understanding the impact of what happened, clarifying needs and boundaries, and determining whether repair is possible.
Therapy cannot guarantee a specific outcome, but it can help partners communicate more honestly and make more thoughtful decisions.
Family Therapy
What can family therapy help with?
Family therapy can help families work through conflict, communication breakdowns, parenting stress, parent-teen tension, blended family challenges, grief, divorce, life transitions, boundaries, and repeated patterns that feel difficult to change.
The goal is not to blame one family member. Family therapy looks at how the family system is functioning and how each person can communicate, understand, and relate more effectively.
Learn more about family therapy.
Who attends family therapy?
Family therapy may include parents, teens, adult children, siblings, co-parents, or other family members depending on the concern. Sometimes the whole family attends. Other times, therapy may begin with one or two family members and expand as appropriate.
You and your therapist will work collaboratively to determine the most useful structure based on your family’s needs.
Can family therapy help with parent-teen conflict?
Yes. Family therapy can help parents and teens improve communication, reduce repeated conflict, clarify boundaries, and better understand what each person is experiencing.
For some families, teen therapy and family therapy may work together. Teen therapy gives the teen individual support, while family therapy helps improve the relationship and communication at home.
Learn more about family counseling and teen counseling.
Is family therapy only for families in crisis?
No. Family therapy can be helpful before problems become severe. Some families come to therapy because they want to improve communication, navigate a transition, strengthen relationships, or create healthier boundaries.
Therapy Approaches
What types of therapy do you offer?
Mindful Guides Therapy Center offers a range of therapy approaches, depending on the therapist and the client’s needs. These may include psychodynamic therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, Somatic Experiencing®, mindfulness-based therapy, Embodied Integration, Narrative Therapy, Internal Family Systems-informed therapy, and Imago-informed couples therapy.
Not every approach is used with every client. Your therapist will tailor the work based on your goals, concerns, and preferences.
Learn more about psychodynamic therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, Somatic Experiencing® therapy, mindfulness-based therapy, and Embodied Integration therapy.
What is Somatic Experiencing®?
Somatic Experiencing® is a body-based approach that helps clients notice and work with nervous system responses related to stress, trauma, and overwhelm. Rather than focusing only on thoughts or stories, Somatic Experiencing® also pays attention to physical sensations, regulation, and the body’s natural capacity to move toward safety.
Learn more about Somatic Experiencing® therapy.
What is mindfulness-based therapy?
Mindfulness-based therapy helps clients develop greater awareness of thoughts, emotions, body sensations, and patterns of reaction. It can support clients who are working with stress, anxiety, emotional overwhelm, self-criticism, or difficulty staying present.
Mindfulness in therapy is not about forcing yourself to relax. It is about learning to observe your experience with more clarity, compassion, and choice.
Learn more about mindfulness-based therapy.
What is Embodied Integration?
Embodied Integration is a mind-body therapy approach that helps clients connect emotional insight with body awareness. It may support people who want to better understand how stress, trauma, patterns, or emotions show up in both the mind and body.
Embodied Integration is related to somatic and mindfulness-based work, but it should be understood as its own approach within the broader body-based therapy options offered at Mindful Guides Therapy Center.
Learn more about Embodied Integration therapy.
What is Narrative Therapy?
Narrative Therapy helps clients explore the stories they have carried about themselves, their relationships, and their lives. It can help people separate themselves from problems, identify strengths, and create new meaning around painful or limiting experiences.
At Mindful Guides Therapy Center, Narrative Therapy may be especially useful for clients working through identity, self-worth, relationships, grief, trauma, or life transitions.
What is Internal Family Systems-informed therapy?
Internal Family Systems-informed therapy helps clients explore different “parts” of themselves, such as protective parts, anxious parts, critical parts, or wounded parts. The goal is to better understand these inner experiences with compassion rather than judgment.
Our clinicians may use IFS-informed concepts as part of therapy, but we do not describe every clinician as a certified IFS therapist.
How do I know which therapy approach is right for me?
You do not need to choose the perfect therapy approach before reaching out. During the consultation and early therapy process, we can help determine which therapist and approach may be the best fit.
Some clients benefit most from insight-oriented therapy. Others want practical skills, body-based work, mindfulness, relational support, or a combination of approaches.
Privacy & Confidentiality
Is therapy confidential?
Yes. Confidentiality is an important part of therapy. In general, what you share with your therapist is private.
There are legal and ethical exceptions related to safety, such as risk of serious harm to yourself or someone else, suspected abuse, or other situations where therapists are required to take protective action. Your therapist can explain confidentiality and its limits before or during your first session.
Is online therapy confidential?
Yes. Online therapy is confidential and takes place on a HIPAA-compliant platform, with the same general privacy standards as in-person therapy.
To support privacy, clients should attend sessions from a quiet, private location and use a secure internet connection whenever possible.
Is teen therapy confidential from parents?
Teen therapy includes both privacy and parent involvement. Teens need a private space to build trust with their therapist, and parents need enough communication to understand the overall treatment process.
In general, the therapist protects the teen’s confidentiality unless there is a safety concern, such as risk of self-harm, threat of harm to someone else, or reported abuse or unsafe treatment.
Scheduling a Consultation
How do I schedule a consultation?
You can request a free 15-minute phone consultation through the contact page. During the consultation, one of our therapists will connect with you to answer your initial questions, share more about their approach, and help determine whether it feels like the right fit.
The consultation is also an opportunity to begin building rapport and, if appropriate, schedule your first appointment.
What should I include when I contact you?
When you contact us, it is helpful to share whether you are looking for individual, teen, couples, or family therapy; whether you prefer in-person or online therapy; the main concern you want support with; any scheduling needs; and whether you are hoping to work with a specific therapist.
You do not need to explain everything in detail. The consultation is a place to begin.
Not Sure Where to Start?
Finding the right therapist or type of therapy can feel overwhelming. A free 15-minute phone consultation can help you understand your options and decide whether Mindful Guides Therapy Center may be the right fit.
Mindful Guides Therapy Center offers therapy for individuals, teens, couples, and families in La Jolla, San Diego, and online throughout California.