Focus

In addition to high sensitivity, specialty areas include:

• Dating, marriage, and breakups/divorce;
• Social and performance anxiety;
• Perfectionism, overcontrol, "impostor syndrome," and people-pleasing;
• ADHD, autism & neurodiversity; 
• Parenting, especially highly sensitive children;
• Trauma, including relational trauma, bullying, and neglect;
• Adult children of emotionally immature or narcissistic parents. 

Antiracist, sex-positive, and LGBTQIA+ affirming.

Please see my blog for straightforward takes on these issues: strongsensitivetype.com.

Approach

Treatment is customized for you but may incorporate the following evidence-based therapies: 

• DBT (dialectical behavior therapy) -- includes strengthening mindfulness, interpersonal, and emotional regulation skills;
• RO DBT (radically open DBT) -- excellent for increasing flexibility and decreasing loneliness; 
• CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) -- shifting thoughts and behaviors to feel better;
• ACT (acceptance and commitment therapy) -- identifying values and goals that make inevitable pain in life meaningful and worthwhile. 

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

Access and Fees

My practice is fully online, available in California and Pennsylvania.  Sessions are conducted via HIPPA-compliant video which you can squeeze in, commute-free, between meetings or pet snuggles.

Please get in touch to discuss current rates.

I accept debit/credit cards, including HSA/FSA cards.  I am in network with one insurance: 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'm happy to offer sliding scale appointments when available in order to help make therapy more accessible.

About Rebecca

A first-generation college graduate and National Merit Scholar, I earned my B.F.A. in drama and politics from NYU.  In my early 20s, while working in theater and film, the family history of depression and anxiety hit me hard, and perfectionism no longer helped.  I turned to therapy and personal psychological/existential/spiritual study to find my way out.  The experience was so profound that I decided to become a therapist, earning my master's in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University in Los Angeles.

I completed my clinical internship at the highly regarded Maple Counseling Center in Beverly Hills, treating adults and couples from a psychodynamic perspective.  I then fell in love with DBT, and its offshoot RO DBT, comprehensive, evidence-based methods for enhancing our ability to think and feel deeply and clearly.  Along with ACT, these third-wave cognitive behavioral therapies are powerful paths to both change and acceptance, particularly for people who tend toward overcontrol due to high sensitivity and/or a history of family dysfunction.  In order to help clients heal more deeply, penetrating beyond the thinking brain, I also offer trauma treatment through brainspotting and other modalities.

Prior to entering private practice, I worked for several years in rigorous, nationally recognized mental health 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 direct, collaborative, occasionally irreverent/f-bomb-y, and full of respect.  I'm passionate about well-timed, screen-shared nerdy handouts to help things sink in (as supported by research).  People who felt lost or frustrated in treatment previously often benefit from my approach.  Working with me can help you deeply validate your personal strengths, clarify values, and identify and change patterns that are holding you back.  If you're ready to try new things, I can help you feel safer, happier, and more empowered in the world.

In my spare time, I enjoy reading, hiking, rehabbing plants, art, and furniture, winning my cat's affection, and stepping on Legos (I have two young children). And no, I don't put that (see above) much effort into my hair on a daily basis. ;)

Many people need desperately to receive this message: I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people do not care about them. You are not alone.
—Kurt Vonnegut

​You have to know who you are, you have to know what it is that you do best, you have to be willing to sacrifice for that, and you take it as far as you possibly can. 
—Dolly Parton

FAQs

I've never tried therapy before.  Where do I start?
Therapy can be a truly life-changing investment of time, money, and intention.  But it can also be hard to pull the trigger (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 below to schedule a free 20-minute phone consultation.  You may also check out my blog.

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.  While it can feel intimidating to contemplate participating in a first session, clients almost always acclimate quickly; there may be a brief "vulnerability hangover" for folks totally new to therapy but the common fear that it will open "everything" up and feel overwhelming just isn't true, and in fact generally the reverse is: finally getting to share is an unburdening.  We can always work as slowly as desired.  Also for many people, especially introverts and shy people, talking about oneself so much can feel strange, but I promise, it gets easier, and can be a valuable skill to practice, in a very safe environment.

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.  It's much easier for people to hop on a video call vs. hop into their car.  I've also found that it can put clients at ease to be able to meet in the comfort and familiarity of their own space. Additionally, it sometimes affords other opportunities -- for example, 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 work with people living anywhere in California or Pennsylvania.  A central California native, I lived in L.A. for almost 15 years before moving my family to the leafy Philadelphia suburbs in 2022. 

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, overwhelm, and issues with boundaries).  (And yes, I <3 HSPs in part because I am highly sensitive myself, scoring like 26/27 on the assessment.)

Do you work with people who are not highly sensitive?
Yes.  I also work with partners of highly sensitive people, as well as those for whom sensitivity isn't a significant part of their identity/ies.  I see introverts and extroverts, folks from all religions or none, as well as those with religious trauma, BIPOC and multiracial folks, poly and ethically nonmonogamous folks, all genders, partnered parents, single parents, child-free people, and more. 

What is therapy like?
Find a preview of what generally happens in therapy here, or a taste of my personal therapeutic style 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.  In addition to standard DBT I practice RO DBT (radically open DBT), which is beneficial for folks who -- like many therapists! -- tend toward an overcontrolled coping style.

How do I know if I'm picking the right kind of therapy?  WTF with the acronyms.
First, I'm trained in many effective modalities and your treatment planning will be a process undertaken jointly between the two of us, with plenty of reflection on whether you need more space and flexibility to simply process or more structure and "tools" in order to progress.  Second, research suggests that one of the strongest predictors of success in therapy, at times stronger than treatment model, is therapist-client fit.  The relationship itself is part of the healing.  So be patient in finding a therapist and settling in to therapy, as building trust and comfort can take time, but also listen to your gut about therapist fit.  A felt sense of being seen, understood, and valued is key.

Do you treat trauma?
Yes.  I'm trained in an evidence-based treatment method called Brainspotting which uses eye position to facilitate grounded, mindful reprocessing of traumatic material.  I also incorporate methods from EMDR, Somatic Experiencing (SE), and Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM).  These treatments can help advance healing to a deeper level, targeting the root of issues in a safe, holding relational frame.

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. 

Rebecca Robinson, LMFT

rebecca@sensitiveandpractical.com
​blog: strongsensitivetype.com
​323-673-1603

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