Often, in movies and cartoons in The New Yorker, therapists look bored, disengaged, analytic, and mysterious while patients may lie on a couch, passively.

In CBT therapies (including DBT, ACT, and MBCT), the therapist engages actively, nonjudgmentally, and collaboratively to teach you particular skills and understand your experience given your history, thoughts, feelings, and actions. This is not to say that therapists who do not specialize in CBT are judgmental or passive. Simply, there is a particular emphasis in these therapies on eliciting feedback on what is helpful and measuring progress in a clear way. CBT therapists aim to be genuine and open. As a client, you take an active role in treatment and participate in homework between sessions.

CBT, DBT, ACT, and MBCT differ from each other a bit in terms of issues they each address and the treatment strategies involved. For example, in CBT you may learn to challenge thoughts and notice errors in thinking, while in ACT you may learn to notice thoughts as mental events to gain distance from them. DBT is unique in the particular skills the treatment teaches. MBCT is a treatment that emphasizes practicing meditation or mindfulness formally, more so than CBT or ACT.

Both DBT and ACT emphasize, consistent with Dr. Taitz’s aspiration, that the goal of therapy is not to feel better, but to more holistically develop a life that matters to you.

CBT, DBT, ACT, MBCT, and MI have been researched extensively for particular problems using randomized controlled trials. Other forms of therapy may not share the same scientific foundation.

Individual therapy sessions are 45 minutes. People often meet for therapy once a week. Over the course of therapy, you will learn practical strategies to employ to progress and maintain your treatment gains. While the length of therapy may vary depending on the nature of your problem, the length of your treatment is up to you.

Dr. Taitz is happy to meet with you every other week or once a month if that makes sense clinically and scheduling permits.

If you participate in DBT treatment, completing the group takes approximately 5 months and most people find repeating the group quite helpful in solidifying learning.

When you schedule a first appointment with Dr. Taitz, you will receive an intake packet to provide additional useful information to facilitate therapy.  In your intake session with Dr. Taitz, you will have the opportunity to share your hopes for therapy, ask any questions you may have, and describe your past and current situation. After the intake session, you may decide whether you would like to pursue therapy.

Over the course of treatment, you may repeat brief measures and other forms of behavior tracking to objectively gage your progress.

Dr. Taitz is happy to provide appropriate referrals to psychiatrists, nutritionists, medical doctors, tutors and other professionals whose services would be helpful.

While Dr. Taitz does not accept insurance, you will receive receipts for insurance reimbursement.

Offering varying rates for different people may feel unfair. Dr. Taitz prefers to remain consistent. As such, her fees do not vary from person to person.

Every person deserves exceptional care. If you need to pay a lower fee, please visit Dr. Taitz’s resources page where you will find options for therapists of varying costs.

A Psy.D. describes a Doctor of Psychology while a Ph.D. describes a Doctor in Philosophy. Today, many Psy.D. and Ph.D. programs emphasize both clinical skill and appreciation for advancements within science so that this degree distinction does not necessarily reflect separate focus, though historically, Ph.D. programs trained individuals to not only offer clinical services, but to also conduct rigorous research.

One of Dr. Taitz’s professional values is to remain well versed in new research developments and to actively pursue ongoing training. Dr. Taitz applies the latest research findings to her work with clients.

You may meet with Dr. Taitz whether or not you are taking medications. Many clients find the combination of medication and CBT especially helpful. Depending on the particulars of your situation, Dr. Taitz may recommend scheduling a consultation with a prescribing psychiatrist. If you are working with a psychiatrist, Dr. Taitz enjoys collaborating with other treatment providers.

Leaders in the field increasingly question the benefits of diagnostic labels. Instead, experts are increasingly leaning towards thinking about underlying processes. Labels may make you feel categorized and people are so unique. For insurance purposes, Dr. Taitz is happy to provide a DSM diagnosis, though for treatment purposes, she hopes to help you make sense of a more nuanced view of how you came to struggle, what maintains your pain, and how to move towards living more freely.

People often say they hate therapy as a couple. It can feel like rehashing past problems instead of generating solutions to help, now. For couple’s who are reasonably content but looking for to establish better habits, Dr. Taitz is a Gottman Seven Principles Educator. She offers an 8-week class, helpful for engaged couples and long-married couples alike, to foster healthy communication patterns that you may have moved away from. The tools taught in this course address remedying patterns that predict divorce.

Dr. Taitz loves children but isn’t a child therapist. Her training and experience have centered around working with adults. Dr. Taitz does work with older adolescents and young adults.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Taitz, please call 310-270-5401. (If you need to modify your time, please do so 48 hours in advance.)
Then be sure to complete this paperwork for the first meeting.