FAQ

I see clients Tuesday – Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

My fee for a 1 hour intake appointment is $300. Ongoing sessions are 50 minutes at $250. 

You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical care will cost. However, please keep in mind that psychotherapy is not a linear process and the way I work with clients is from a non pathologizing and individualized framework. This means that it is not possible for me to assess you and the treatment required before we begin working together. Once we start working together we do not know what termination of treatment actually looks like, so the best way to estimate your cost is the cost of the fee x number of times a week we see each other (usually 1-2x).  

I don’t take insurance. I do accept HSA or FSA cards.

I can provide what is called a “Superbill” and you can submit that to your insurance company. You will have to contact your insurance company to see if they will reimburse you for services from an out of network provider.

Please keep in mind insurance companies require me to assign a diagnosis. 

You can email me at hello@christinaalgeciras.com or call or text me at (954) 532-8301. Please note that I currently have a waiting list for new clients. Please contact me for more information.

I require 48-hours’ advance notice of cancellations or requests for rescheduling.

You can cancel via your client portal or by notifying me via text or phone call to (954) 532-8301. You will forfeit the full fee for any appointments cancelled or rescheduled with less than 48-hours’ notice.

Simply put, therapy is a process of learning. In therapy, you’ll learn about yourself and how to cope with your problems. Therapy also helps you connect to your internal worlds to discover meaning and purpose in your life.

Therapy is not a quick fix process but a journey into personal growth and healing. You’ll learn who you want to be in this world and the steps to take to become your truest and most authentic self.

When you recognize the patterns of thought and behavior that have been holding you back, you can choose to change – and, with choice, you are free. You will see your strengths and feel empowered.

You’re free to cry, laugh, curse, and yell in therapy. There are also many awesome therapy memes out there. You can share your favorites with me, and we can laugh and talk about them.

First and foremost, you and I develop a working alliance (see above about those memes I mentioned) in which I approach you with authenticity, empathy, and caring.

Our working alliance allows for trust to develop from where we collaborate on goals and treatment.

I’ll also educate you about different conditions, skills, possible insights, and new thoughts or behaviors.

Certain styles of therapy may follow specific step-by-step protocols; however, you’re a unique individual. As such, I tailor our work to you as a whole person and not a specific issue or disorder.

The bigger question is this: are you ready to take charge of your life and try something different?

If you’re here, most likely, you’re ready for therapy. Trying to figure things out on your own can be exhausting, and having good support can help you take a load off and get some clarity. If the idea of gaining clarity and releasing the baggage you’ve been schlepping around makes you feel lighter, I’d say you’re definitely ready.

I use a combination of therapeutic techniques such as active listening and attuning to you, asking questions, providing alternate perspectives on situations, teaching you tools like breathing and other techniques, and specific writing or reading assignments.

Some of my clients have commented on my “Spidey senses” to pick up on their thoughts and feelings or connect dots that they never put together before.

I provide encouragement, reassurance, and support to help you release and explore your sadness, anxiety, and pain – while also helping you recognize your strengths, goals, and potential.

From a clinical and theoretical standpoint, I work with you from an eclectic, depth oriented model that includes existential-humanistic theory, psychodynamic theory, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), feminist and multicultural theories, as well as mindfulness-based practices.

That’s up to you. Generally, it takes several consistent sessions to see changes.

In our first four to five sessions, we’ll be getting to know each other and developing trust. I suggest that you commit to at minimum, three months of weekly sessions to begin to feel a shift. Then, we can evaluate how well therapy has been helping and consider exploring different directions if necessary.

You can choose to opt-in or out of therapy at any time. Many people benefit from long-term ongoing support. I generally work with clients on a long term basis, so if you are looking for brief therapy or a handful of sessions, I’m probably not the best fit for you.

I also don’t recommend “ghosting” your therapist because terminating or pausing the therapeutic relationship is also an opportunity for growth and healing.

I can assist you with a wide array of problems and situations.

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Trauma
• Life Transitions
• Women’s issues
• Coping with health issues
• Personal growth
• Identity exploration
• Performance anxiety
• Work stress
• Academic stress
• Relationship difficulties
• Isolation
• Burnout
• Exploring and integrating non ordinary states of consciousness

   

I work with a wide variety of people, including, but not limited to, the following:

Generations X, Y, and Z. Women, men, youth (age 9+), and seniors, including LGBTQIA.

People with medical problems and chronic health conditions.

People that identify as empaths or Highly Sensitive Persons (HSP).

Sure do! Kids like me, and I like them. Generally, the children I work with are over ten years old.

When working with children, I use a combination of talk therapy, play therapy techniques, mindfulness practices, and creative expression.

You are welcome to contact me to inquire further.

Sure do! If you are interested in learning more about my coaching and other services please visit my other website for my company Benestar Wellness here. 

A good therapist should inspire trust and make you feel safe, seen, and heard. The therapeutic relationship’s foundation is mutual respect, so it’s important that both you and your therapist value you and your time.

If you don’t feel like you can be yourself or if you feel judged, unsafe, or disrespected, then it’s time to look for someone else.

You bet!

Therapy helps me be the best version of myself. It helps me be the kind of human I want to be in the world, and it also helps me be a great therapist for you.

There’s a saying that most of the therapy work happens outside the therapy office. In other words, the more you put into the process, the more you get out of it.

This is a pretty cool idea because it also means you can pace how you want to work – you can go fast, or you can chill. I may give you suggestions and recommendations for homework and different activities outside our sessions, but you choose what works best for you. Often, I’ll act as your accountability partner to help motivate change.

Do I ever!? Some of my favorites are Home Cooking with Samin Nosrat and Hrishi Hirway, Huberman Lab, This is Love, Radiolab, Table Manners, The Guilty Feminist, and Desert Island Discs. I’ll probably give you podcast listening homework, too.