Therapy for Highly Sensitive People
If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by the world, therapy can help you turn that sensitivity into a strength.
You’re not broken or defective
Highly sensitive people (HSPs) may see themselves as fundamentally flawed, but that’s not accurate. They’re simply wired differently — they feel things more deeply, notice things that others miss, and experience the world with a greater degree of intensity than the average person does.
HSPs rarely get the help or support they need to learn how to work with their sensitivity, which is why it ends up feeling like a weakness, instead of the strength it’s capable of being.
That’s where therapy comes in.
How therapy helps HSPs
Through therapy, my goal is to help you learn the tools & strategies you need to thrive in in this noisy world and transform your relationship with your sensitivity.
Therapy isn’t ‘one-size-fits-all’, it’s customized to meet you where you are and help you move from there to where you want to be. While the process looks different for everyone, here’s some of the benefits past clients have experienced from our work:
Increased self-awareness and self-acceptance.
Greater ability to manage feelings of overwhelm.
Learning how to set boundaries that are simple, effective, and kind.
Closer connections and deeper relationships.
The ability to experience life and the world more fully.
"By working with you I have been able to move my life forward, stop fearing failure and judgement, and feel like myself again for the first time in a long time."
-GB
The logistics (when, where, and how)
I see clients virtually (via phone or video) throughout California. (In-person 'walk & talk' sessions are also available if you're in the Sacramento area.)
Generally, we’ll have weekly or bi-weekly calls, and there are also options for asynchronous support via secure messaging if that fits what you need.
While I'm not contracted with any insurance panels, I can provide a superbill for out of network reimbursement.
HSA funds can also generally be used to pay for sessions.
'What if this is just how I am?'
If you find yourself having feelings of doubt about your ability to change, you’re not alone — it’s something a lot of my clients experience at the start of our work together.
Maybe you’ve tried to change in the past and failed. Maybe you’ve gone to therapy before and it didn’t work.
That doesn’t mean you can’t change. It just means you haven’t succeeded yet.
One of the great things about my work is that I get a front row seat to witness human transformation on a daily basis — it’s inspiring and has taught me just how much humans are capable of when it comes to change.
I’m also pretty darn persistent (ok, fine, stubborn), which means I’ll believe in you until you’re ready to believe in yourself, however long that takes.
"I can’t think of one time in the last two years that I didn’t walk away from a session with Steve without some gem of an insight. Old limiting patterns that have plagued me my entire life have finally begun to dissolve. At first, I wondered if the cost would be worth it. Looking back, I find it hard to overstate the value of those sessions."
-DT
FAQ
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It depends (I hate the vagueness of that answer, but it's the honest one.) For some clients, it's just a few months while they tackle a specific challenge. For others it's longer-term, because they value the ongoing support of having a trusted advisor help them navigate through life.
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The research done on this topic indicates they’re equally effective. For phone sessions, some people find it more comfortable to open up and dig into challenging topics than they would in a face-to-face situation.
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At the risk of sounding vague, the reality is that it can vary quite a bit, depending on a number of factors (frequency of sessions, asynchronous support, out-of-network coverage). Pricing is always something we discuss in a consultation call so you have a clear idea of what to expect before you commit.
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Under California law, everything in our sessions (including the fact that we're having them) is confidential unless there are safety concerns or you give me permission to share information about our sessions with someone else.
Meet Steve
As someone who grew up thinking I was defective because I felt things so much more intensely than everyone else, I’ve long understood the challenges of being sensitive in a world that can be pretty darn insensitive.
Self-isolation and repressing my feelings were strategies I adopted to try and deal with this, but by my late 20’s that just left me angry, depressed, and isolated.
It was my own journey through therapy that helped me learn how to navigate the world and ultimately inspired the career pivot that took me from 'tech guy' to psychotherapist.
Since making that shift in 2002, I’ve had the privilege of supporting hundreds of people on their journeys of healing and growth.
Outside of work, you can probably find me reading, playing games with my family, helping the dogs at our local animal shelters, making music, or out on the lake, floating on my paddleboard.
"I am a far more confident person that has learned to accept myself more than I had ever hoped to do so when we started working together."
-DR
Is therapy for you?
If what you’ve read here resonates and you’re tired of feeling overwhelmed by the world, I'd welcome the chance to help. I know it’s challenging to find a therapist who's a good fit, and you can only tell so much from a website — so if you're interested in exploring further, send me an email or schedule a consultation. No expectation or obligation, just a chance to connect and explore what makes sense for you.