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Frequently Asked Questions
Therapy with Sara Lichstein across California
Billing & Insurance
Q:What are your therapy session fees?
Individual therapy: $225 for 45 minutes
Couples Therapy: $300 for 60 minutes
Consultation: For Associates and Interns $150, For Licensed Professionals $200
Groups: Group fees will be dependent on the type of group, please the the group page here for more information
Q: Do you accept insurance?
No, but I do provide statements of payment called Superbills that you can submit to your insurance to receive partial reimbursement.
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You can contact your insurance to ask them what percentage of reimbursement you will receive for an out-of-network provider. Clients are responsible for verifying and understanding the limits of their insurance coverage.
To determine if you have mental health coverage, the first thing to do is check with your insurance carrier. Check your coverage carefully and find the answers to the following questions:
What are my mental health benefits?
What is the coverage amount per therapy session?
How many therapy sessions does my plan cover?
How much does my insurance pay for an out-of-network provider?
Is payment subject to meeting my deductible?
Is approval required from my primary care physician?
Q: Do you offer a sliding scale or discounted services?
There is a designated number of slots in my practice devoted to serving families/people in need. Low fee slots are reserved for people in need of trauma treatment that would otherwise not be able to have access to therapy services. They become available sporadically, so please email me to be added to a waitlist so you can be notified when a slot becomes available.
Q: What are acceptable forms of payment?
Sessions can be paid by all major debit and credit cards. Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) are often accepted, depending on your provider. A credit or debit card is required to be kept on file and will be charged at the time of service.
Q: Do you offer a good faith estimate?
You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical care will cost.
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Under the federal No Surprises Act, healthcare providers are required to provide clients who are not utilizing insurance with an estimate of the anticipated costs for medical services, including psychotherapy services. You are entitled to request a Good Faith Estimate for the complete expected expenses of any non-emergency healthcare services, including psychotherapy, either before scheduling a service or at any point during your treatment. If you receive a bill that exceeds your Good Faith Estimate by at least $400, you have the option to contest the bill. It's important to retain a copy or a photo of your Good Faith Estimate. For inquiries or more details regarding your right to a Good Faith Estimate and how to challenge a bill, please visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises or call 800-985-3059.
General Questions
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The best first step is to schedule a free 15-minute phone or video consultation. This gives us an opportunity to briefly discuss what you’re looking for in therapy, address any questions you have, and see if my clinical approach is the right fit for your needs.
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A first session is known as an intake session. This is an introductory is an opportunity for us to get to know each other and begin understanding what brings you to therapy. We'll talk about your current concerns, what you've already tried, and what you hope to gain from our work together. I'll also ask about your personal history, relationships, and experiences that may be contributing to what you're going through today.
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Individual therapy sessions typically run for 45 minutes weekly. For optimal therapeutic momentum and deeper nervous system work, I generally recommend meeting on a weekly basis, especially when we are beginning our work together. As time progresses we may decide we can reduce frequency. Frequency is typically deduced by intensity and severity of symptoms.
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I maintain a 24-hour cancellation policy. If you need to cancel or reschedule your session, please provide at least 24 hours' advance notice to avoid being charged the full session fee.
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I offer both! I provide in-person therapy sessions out of my office hubs in Santa Monica and Thousand Oaks, California. I also provide secure, HIPAA-compliant online therapy (telehealth) to teens, adults, and professionals living anywhere within the state of California.
Therapy Questions
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Somatic therapy is a body-centered approach to healing. Traditional therapy often focuses primarily on your thoughts and story, but trauma, anxiety, and stress are stored directly in your physical nervous system.
Through gentle body awareness, breathwork, and tracking physical sensations (like tightness in your chest or tension in your shoulders), somatic therapy helps release trapped fight-or-flight energy. This allows your nervous system to return to a state of safety, regulation, and ease rather than just coping with symptoms intellectually.
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No. One of the biggest misconceptions about trauma therapy is that you need to revisit painful experiences immediately. In my practice, we move at a pace that feels safe and manageable for your nervous system. Before processing difficult memories, we focus on building a strong foundation by helping you develop coping skills, increase your sense of safety, and strengthen your ability to regulate emotions. This helps you to build more capacity to be with the trauma.
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Yes, absolutely. Online therapy can be remarkably effective for somatic work—and for many clients, doing body-centered therapy from the comfort and safety of their own home actually makes it easier to drop into their body and feel grounded.
As long as you have a private space, a reliable internet connection, and a comfortable place to sit or lay down, we can track bodily sensations, do guided nervous system regulation, and process deep emotional patterns virtually anywhere in California.
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Many of my clients come to me after spending months or years in traditional talk therapy saying, "I understand my patterns intellectually, but I still feel stuck."
What makes my practice different is that we don't just talk about your experiences; we address how those experiences live in your body and nervous system right now. By integrating Somatic Experiencing (SE), EMDR, and IFS-informed parts work, we move past cognitive insight to create deep, felt shifts in how you react, feel, and show up in relationships.
