[Updated June 2024]
Are you accepting new clients?
I am currently full, but accepting clients on a waitlist basis. During the summer months, openings can typically become available within 3 weeks, sometimes sooner. Please fill out this form to be added to the waitlist, or email me directly at info@victoriaalberini.com to get the most up to date availability.
What type of therapist are you?
My work draws heavily from Attachment Theory, Narrative Therapy, and Psychoanalytic Therapy. Put simply, that means that I am more interested in systemic change and historical reference points for analysis, rather than putting a bandaid on our problems, the way CBT aims to strategize around here-and-now solutions. I look upstream at the source of our anxiety, depression, stress, and relationship issues, so that we can repair them from the inside out. We talk a lot about macro and micro traumas that you experienced as a child or young adult, invoking those memories to build a picture about why you became the person you are today. Once we begin to heal the deep-seeded wounds that have lived inside us for decades, we can pave a much more organized and levelheaded path towards healthy coping and connection.
As a mother of three, I rely on the profound understanding that all of us have an inner child who is deeply yearning to be witnessed, validated, and understood. As a retired Googler and East Coaster, I value efficiency and speed, meaning our sessions will move quickly and I will contribute when I see an opening. If you’ve been frustrated by the one-way nature of traditional psychotherapy, the lack of self-disclosure, and the sitting in silence, you can rest assured our work will be quite a departure from that experience.
Read reviews to learn more about my style here.
What are your fees?
For a 50 minute session, my fees are $255 for individuals and $275 for couples.
Do you see clients in person?
I have decided to take my practice permanently online, as I find that it provides the needed flexibility for my clients to prioritize their weekly therapy. Most of my caseload consists of busy working-professionals or parents, who benefit from using their WFH days to schedule therapy in the comfort of their home. I’ve also found that most clients are used to being on video calls, and that we can accomplish just as much as I used to in an office setting.
Do you accept insurance?
I do not accept insurance, and I am not in network with platforms such as Lyra and BetterHelp. However, I am happy to provide a monthly superbill that you can submit to your insurer for out of network reimbursement. I’ve also had several clients successfully use their FSA/HSA funds to pay for our sessions.
What is your cancellation policy?
I ask that clients give 48 hours notice when cancelling a session; otherwise I will treat it as a missed session and charge the full fee. Many therapists have strict policies around limiting the number of cancellations to 2-3 per year, but I find that setting stringent rules can make clients feel somewhat hostage to their own therapy. I want you to want to come to our sessions. If the therapy is working, you will prioritize it. If you are cancelling often, we will want to understand why that might be.
What are your hours of operation?
As a mother of 3, I try to keep my schedule to daytime appointments only. Weekdays I see clients from 10AM-4PM. I do not generally see clients during evenings or on weekends, save for emergencies.
Can I see you if I don’t live in the Bay Area?
Yes. I see clients from anywhere in California.
What is the time commitment?
I ask that clients come in once a week for therapy, typically for 50 minute sessions (eg. 1PM-1:50PM). I recognize this is a big commitment, but in order to ensure we see progress for our clients, it’s important to maintain some momentum in the therapy. We can accomplish much more in a more concentrated few months than we could in a sporadic year.
How long does therapy take?
We generally don’t put a time limit on therapy. Some forms of therapy, such as substance abuse or solution-focused brief therapy, place a cap on the number of sessions. But most other modalities assess progress throughout the course of therapy, and the therapist and client decide together when is a good time to pause or terminate. I believe that therapy is like working out - I encourage clients to stick with it as long as they can, and approach it like mental fitness rather than crisis management. The more you work your emotional muscles, the more stamina and resistance you build up, and the fewer crises come up, much the same way that conditioned muscles rarely tear.