Rebecca Robinson, LMFT

Sensitive and practical therapy.

Welcome. If you're looking to soothe difficult emotions, improve connection and security in relationships, gain relief from depression or anxiety, or confidently navigate life and career transitions, please reach out. I specialize in treating highly sensitive people (HSPs). I also work well with folks in the arts, sciences, health care, academia, and tech who want to cultivate greater self-compassion, resilience, and peace with their emotional world.

Access

My practice has migrated fully online. Sessions are conducted via secure video or phone platforms which you can access from the commute-free location of your choice, pet cameos optional.

I work exclusively with adult individuals.

Approach

Treatment is customized for you but may incorporate evidence-based therapies such as DBT (dialectical behavior therapy) and RO-DBT (radically open DBT), CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), and ACT (acceptance and commitment therapy).

We may also explore attachment theory, psychodynamics, and evolutionary psychology.

Additional specialty areas include social and performance anxiety, phobias, ADHD, autism & neurodiversity, perfectionism, "impostor syndrome," people-pleasing, parenting highly sensitive children, and adult children of emotionally immature or narcissistic parents. Antiracist and LGBTQIA+ affirming.

Fees

Sessions are $190 per 50 minutes.

I accept debit/credit cards, including HSA/FSA cards. I am in network with one insurance in California: Optum/United Healthcare. Upon request, I can provide a "superbill" which you may submit for partial reimbursement from other participating insurance plans. Not all conditions are reimbursable.

I have a limited number of sliding scale appointments available to help make therapy more accessible. Please don't be shy about inquiring; "a closed mouth doesn't get fed."

About Rebecca

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and earned my master's in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University and my B.F.A. in drama and politics from New York University. To me, these interests are about understanding and serving people.

I completed my clinical internship at the Maple Counseling Center in Beverly Hills, treating adults and couples from a psychodynamic perspective. I then worked with chronically emotionally dysregulated individuals in residential treatment, where I fell in love with DBT, a profound, evidence-based method for enhancing our ability to think and feel deeply and clearly. DBT gave me a rich framework for understanding and empowering my (highly sensitive) self as well. Prior to entering private practice, I worked for several years in rigorous, nationally recognized mental health and addiction treatment centers such as Clearview in Los Angeles, served on the Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center crisis hotline, and was a supervisor on the Teen Line crisis line at Cedars Sinai Medical Center.

My style is collaborative, warm, humorous, and full of respect for those courageous enough to share their hurts and hopes with me. I'm passionate about well-timed, screen-shared nerdy handouts, in part because they help combat the phenomenon of folks forgetting what was talked about in therapy. People who felt lost in treatment previously often benefit from my approach. I'm happy to provide recommendations for things to read, think about, and try between sessions. Working with me can help you highlight personal strengths, clarify values, and identify and change patterns that are holding you back. If you're ready to be active in shaping your life, I can help you find greater meaning and satisfaction.

Originally from a small town in Central California, I'm a first-generation college grad. After fifteen years in sunny Los Angeles, I recently relocated to a leafy Philadelphia suburb. In my spare time, I enjoy rehabbing plants and furniture, and stepping on Legos (I have two young children).

It takes two to speak the truth: one to speak, and another to hear.
--Henry David Thoreau

FAQs

I've never tried therapy before. Where do I start?
Therapy can be a life-changing investment of time, money, and intention. But it can also be challenging, even intimidating, to get started (although I have been told that I'm quite approachable). If you would like to inquire about how I may be of service or just get a sense of what it would be like to work together and if we may be a fit, please contact me to schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation at rebecca@sensitiveandpractical.com or 323-673-1603. You may also fill out the form below.

How can I prepare for my first session?
Once we've scheduled a session, I'll send you intake paperwork to complete online which will help to guide our work. Other than that, just be yourself.

Will our sessions be in person in the future?
Not likely. Due to popular demand and with accessibility and affordability in mind, I will continue to provide teletherapy only.

Is telethealth as effective as in-person therapy?
In general, teletherapy has been shown to successfully impact issues of access, quality, engagement, coordination of care, and cost effectiveness. I have found that it often puts clients at ease to be able to meet in the comfort and familiarity of their own home or office. Additionally, it sometimes affords opportunities for in vivo exposure to feared events in the case of anxiety (e.g., if you're experiencing dread of opening work emails, we can work through you opening work emails in session).

Which areas do you serve?
I'm licensed to conduct therapy with clients living anywhere in California or Pennsylvania.

What is a highly sensitive person (HSP)?
An individual with an innate trait or predisposition to process information more deeply than many others (read: feel, think, and sense more deeply). Found in 15-20% of the population, and also referred to as sensory processing sensitivity, HSPs may notice subtleties that others miss, become more easily overstimulated, and tend to observe before taking action. HSPs are often but not always introverts (approximately 30% of HSPs are extroverts). You can learn more, and take a self-assessment, at psychologist Elaine Aron's website, hsperson.com/test. Here is an example of HSPs in popular media. My work focuses on maximizing the incredible gifts that HSPs often possess (such as creativity, curiosity, caring, and dedication) while managing common vulnerabilities (such as moodiness, loneliness, overwhelm, and issues with boundaries).

Do you work with people who are not highly sensitive?
Absolutely. One of the joys of my life is listening and talking to people with diverse experiences and identities. I work with Christians, Buddhists, and atheists, BIPOC and multiracial folks, trans clients, nonmonogamous folks, autistic people, ADHDers, urban- and rural-dwelling clients, parents, child-free people, and more.

What happens in therapy?
Find a preview of what to expect here.

Do you do DBT?
I incorporate DBT skills and principles when it will be beneficial and of interest. Although I'm intensively trained and practiced high-fidelity DBT for several years (including all modes of treatment: individual therapy, skills training group, telephone skills coaching, and consultation team), in private practice my work is DBT-informed.

Do you treat trauma?
Yes. I am trained in an evidence-based treatment method called Brainspotting which uses eye position to facilitate reprocessing.

What if cost is a barrier?
Feel free to inquire about sliding scale spaces. If these are taken, and you're unable to find other care, here are some resources to consider. And here is a straightforward breakdown of why therapy costs so much.

How do I get in touch?
Rebecca@sensitiveandpractical.com or 323-673-1603.