FAQs About SF LBGTQ Therapy
Selecting the best San Francisco LBGT/Queer Individual Psychotherapist, Relationship Coach, Couples Counselor or Sex Therapist to connect with is a tremendously important decision, but it doesn't have to be overwhelming. We will help you find the right person to support you.
To help you decide if you would like to work with a counselor at California Relationship Centers (and San Francisco Queer Couples & Sex Therapy Center or our other San Francisco Bay Area Branches), we will promptly connect you with a therapist or counselor to get you started and answer any questions you may have.
Meanwhile, below we’ve included some of the answers to the most common questions we receive.
San Francisco Bay Area's Leading LGBTQ Psychotherapy Center
You Are Worth It
WHAT IS THE COST PER SESSION?
Our fees at San Francisco Queer Couples & Sex Therapy Center (California Relationship Centers, LLC) vary by clinician's expertise and experience. We offer a diverse array of services and individuals to best meet your unique needs, so fees vary accordingly. To learn more, please check out our Insurance & Fees page.
We Can Help
DO YOU ACCEPT INSURANCE?
No, here at San Francisco Queer Couples & Sex Therapy Center (California Relationship Centers, LLC) we currently do not accept insurance directly, but do offer services as Out of Network Providers. Don't worry, we can make this work for you! We are happy to to provide itemized medical receipts (called Super Bills) for your insurance company for partial or full reimbursement for your out-of-network therapy benefits. For more information on this, please read our insurance and fees page.
We Speak LGBTQ. We Speak relationship. We Speak Sex.
San Francisco Queer Couples & Sex Therapy Center is uniquely a safe space for LGBTQ+ individuals and partners to receive appropriate therapy and coaching for our community's particular needs.
THERAPY (& Coaching) COSTs MONEY. IS IT WORTH IT? WILL IT HELP? How?
Therapy is a financial and emotional commitment. It’s an investment in yourself, your relationship(s) and your ability to gain insight and skills to stop problematic communication and relational patterns. Therapy helps you become more capable of practicing new, more effective ways of communicating and identifying feelings, thoughts and behaviors. This ability to understand yourself and your partner more effectively can profoundly and positively impact your current and future relationships, your emotional, sexual and physical health, your work, your creativity and even your finances. So, yes, we absolutely believe investing in your self and your relationship is worth it. All of our psychologists, MFTs, psychotherapists and coaches at San Francisco Queer Couples & Sex Therapy Center have been carefully selected as folks who have also done self-work through therapy and other means. All of our clinicians at San Francisco Queer Couples & Sex Therapy Center are LGBTQ identified and have specialized training in working with the Queer community via therapy and coaching. We truly appreciate the importance of your explorative journey and are honored to work with you.
Cultivate & expand Emotional & Sexual Intelligence & Intimacy
I ONLY WANT TO COME INTO THERAPY EVERY OTHER WEEK. IS THAT SOMETHING I CAN DO?
We get this question a lot. We understand that you have a busy life and that the weekly financial and emotional commitment to therapy can feel big. While we can appreciate the urge to come to therapy every other week, here at San Francisco Queer Couples & Sex Therapy Center (California Relationship Centers) we typically only see clients on a weekly basis at least for the first stage of therapy in order to build a solid foundation for the work you do. You may discuss it with your practitioner. Otherwise, the session may be spent feeling like playing catch-up and giving an overview instead of continuing the flow of the process. Psychotherapy and coaching works best within the context of a trusting and supportive relationship and, in our experience, it takes weekly sessions to create a strong rapport and to create a new routine that allows for us to deepen the work, and for you (and your partner if in couples or partnered sex therapy) to replace negative patterns with positive and effective ways of relating.
We want you to experience the personal change you desire and in order to best facilitate that, we have found that the weekly continuity (at least at first) is necessary.
Working on an every other week basis simply doesn’t allow the healthy change to happen as effectively. After the initial stage of therapy, you and your San Francisco Queer Couples & Sex Therapy Center therapist can talk about what frequency of sessions might be most appropriate for you then.
HOW DO I KNOW IF CALIFORNIA RELATIONSHIP CENTERS, LLC HAS THE RIGHT COUPLES COUNSELOR, INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOTHERAPIST, SEX THERAPIST OR RELATIONSHIP COACH FOR ME?
Choosing a therapist or coach is a highly personal decision. Studies have shown that therapy is only as effective as the relationship between therapist and client. We understand how vital it is to connect with the best fitting therapist or coach for your unique circumstances, so offer a complimentary 15-minute consult call with anyone who reaches out to us so we can learn more about your personal situation. We then set you up with the counselor who will be best equipped to help you meet your goals. So go ahead and book a complimentary consult session online, give us a call, or send us a message and we’ll help get you set up with someone who we think will be a fabulous match for you.
DOES IT MATTER WHAT DEGREES OR CERTIFICATIONS MY THERAPIST OR COACH HAS?
Yes and no. Confusing, right? Let us explain:
It is important you ask yourself:
“Can I see myself feeling safe and comfortable with this person?
Do I feel like they *get me'?”
"Do they have the experience and training to help with my particular needs?"
"Is my therapist LGBTQ/Queer Identified?" - YES.
RELATIONSHIP AND FIT MATTERS- A LOT.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how many degrees a therapist or psychologist has under their belt, if you don’t feel good about sitting in a room with that person; it is vital to the positive outcome of your therapy or coaching experience that you feel comfortable enough with your therapist to be vulnerable and open.
HOWEVER, TRAINING, DEGREES AND EXPERTISE DO HOLD A GREAT DEAL OF IMPORTANCE AS WELL.
A clinical psychologist for example (Doctor of Psychology) goes to school on average for over a decade with undergrad, master and doctorate, in addition to thousands of clinical hours (face time with clients). Then to become an expert in something such as trauma, or couples therapy or sex therapy, many more years and thousands of hours are required. You wouldn't see a general medical physician if you had a heart condition, right? You would see a highly specialized cardiologist. Our certified sex therapists, couples counselors, individual psychotherapists and even our relationship and sexual empowerment coaches have extensive specialized training. We will connect you with the right fit for your needs. This is also why our rates vary from clinician to clinician.
We understand the importance of safe, QUEER SPACE and our LGBTQ relationship therapists & individual psychotherapists welcome monogamous, poly or open partnership configurations, kink, BDSM, and unique LGBTQ individual needs.
We are trauma and diversity informed, social impact/social justice aware and highly trained in the nuances and complexities of underserved and under-represented populations. You will be in the best care available with our practitioners. We Can Help. You Are Not Alone.