Solano Psychotherapy Associates

902 curtis street

Most of our work is psychodynamic psychotherapy with individuals, couples, families, and groups.  We also provide psychological assessment, parenting advice, and  symptom relief around post traumatic stress and loss.   The list of the psychological services we provide is under “Services” above.   Whatever the psychological needs are of the people who come to us for help, we are dedicated to finding the best treatment available for them, whether this means referral to other treatments or contracting to work with them ourselves.   Most people seeking psychological help have concerns about the treatment they are considering.  We believe this is not only normal, but crucial, due to the highly personal nature of this business.  We want you to feel free to bring up your concerns every step of the way in our work together.  We will take your concerns seriously, answer your questions as best we can, and be open and direct with you regrading our beliefs about the issues that bring you in.   We will not attempt to provide treatment that you do not want; however, we will be clear with you about the treatment we think will best meet your needs.

This means that we will first work with you to clarify your needs and goals, then identify the most effective means of meeting them.  This first step includes making sure your are informed of the full range of options, including those which we do not provide.   The second step will be to consult with you on the best treatment plan, given your personal limits on time, the financial resources you want to commit, and the degree of help you want.    If we do not believe we can be of help within those limits we will be open and honest with you in an effort to help you decide the best course of action.

We will listen and respect your psychological goals and we will not attempt to impose our own.   Of course, we will tell you if we think you are restricting your goals in a manner that is not in your best interest.  We will also inform you if we believe your goals are not reachable with the treatment plan we have established with you.     We believe that psychological help requires a good working relationship in which there is mutual trust.  For this to happen, we know we need to be open to all of your concerns, not only those about yourself that bring you into the office, but those concerns about the way we work, the fees we charge, the progress we’re making, and who we are as people.    If we believe you would be better served by someone else or a different modality than we practice, we will be happy to refer you.   Such referrals may include psychiatrists for medication, primary care physicians for health concerns, cognitive – behavioral therapy for phobias, hypnotherapy or EMDR for PTSD, etc. 

This mission statement also means we are committed to keeping ourselves as highly trained and educated in our profession as possible.  This requires us to regularly review the way we work, stay up on theoretical developments through reading the latest professional literature and learning new methods in workshops on a regular basis.    Those of us at the doctoral level also keep ourselves professionally sharp by teaching other mental health professionals.    Furthermore, we believe to be of the most help to our clients, we must know ourselves on a deep level.  In this regard we have all spent a good deal of time in our own psychodynamic therapies.  We also take any new experiences in our work to consultation (while, of course, keeping any personal or identifying information about our patients out of consultation).

We will also do everything we can to provide you with a safe and secure environment in which we can explore your psychological concerns together.  We will hold the relationship and the things you say in the strictest confidence.  Only when ordered by a judge in a legal matter involving your mental health, or under the extreme circumstances in which we believe you may be endangering your life or others life would we make contact outside our relationship with any details about you.  In these circumstances, we would contact the minimum number of people necessary and relate only the pertinent information.   There are occasionally circumstances under which you may request us to contact others about you.  This may include insurance companies for reimbursement for our services, other therapists with whom you are involved professionally, and courts who are requesting you to demonstrate that you are in therapy.  In these cases we will communicate the minimum amount of information necessary to meet the intent of your request.  We also request anyone with whom we communicate about you to keep our conversation confidential.

In addition to adhering to all the laws and regulations applicable to the California Board of Behavioral Science Examiners and the California Laws for Psychologists, we are committed to the ethics of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists and the American Psychological Association.