Psychological Services
for the Bay Area and Beyond
Currently Accepting New Clients
(707) 340-7443
dr.berney@abpsyd.com
California License # 33212
About Dr. Amanda Berney, PsyD
“My approach to therapy fits with my belief that patients have within themselves the knowledge and ability to bring about their own healing. My role is to be an attentive guide who supports self-exploration, teaches techniques for managing distress, and encourages overall wellness as clients pursue meaningful change.”
Accepting New Clients
About Teletherapy
As circumstances of daily life continue to evolve, telehealth services have emerged as a way to continue caring for ourselves, even as the demands on our time change. The teletherapy format is great for busy professionals with limited availability, individuals with transportation challenges, and anyone who might prefer therapy from the comfort of their own home. Sessions are held via HIPPA compliant, secure and confidential video chat or via telephone call.
On-site sessions are not being offered at this time, but may become available in the San Francisco Bay Area in the future.
Why Engage in Therapy?
Increase Happiness, Improve Functioning, and Make Lasting Changes
Are you living the best version of your life? We often move through life reacting and responding to new experiences in old ways that don’t quite work anymore. Repetition of old patterns can lead to feeling stuck, unhappy, and unfulfilled. This might look like procrastination with school or work, a lack of motivation for what we once enjoyed, a series of bad decisions, or a cycle of unfulfilling or difficult relationships.
However this is showing up in your life, therapy can help you explore your thoughts, feelings and emotions, learn from your past and current experiences, and make meaningful changes to increase happiness and improve functioning.
Improve Relationships with Others in your Life
Relationships are work. Whether with friends, family, colleagues, or partners, relationships evolve out of the complex thoughts, feelings and behaviors of, not only ourselves, but other people as well. It can get complicated.
Knowing more about your own functioning in relationships can positively impact your interpersonal interactions with others.
Improve your Relationship with Yourself
Discover your Real Self and Build Self-esteem
Do we ever really have a choice? Throughout our lives, we are influenced by the people and circumstances of our development. These experiences might have made us resilient and strong. They might have made us wary and cautious. They might have impacted our self-concept, self-esteem, and confidence.
Good or bad, our past experiences continue to influence our lives long after we’ve moved on. Therapy can help you recognize these influences and choose how to respond, rather than having automatic reactions that don’t fit with who we are and how we want to be.
Learn to Cope with Distressing Symptoms
Something is not quite right. Maybe you’re worrying more, feeling more anxious or afraid. Your mood has changed and you’re often sad, irritable or angry. You can’t concentrate, have little energy, and are having trouble keeping up with the numerous demands in your life. Maybe you’ve experienced something that has you feeling unsettled, upset or ashamed. Perhaps you’ve been feeling this way for a while and are ready for a change.
Therapy can help you to see these distressing feelings as symptoms that can be alleviated or eliminated. Together, we will explore your symptoms, identify your triggers and discover which grounding techniques and coping skills work best for you. We can also work together with your medical provider to determine if medication therapy would be a helpful addition to your treatment.
What to Expect
Consultation
We will have a brief 15-20 minute phone call to determine if we are a good fit to begin work together.
Assessment
In our first few sessions we will use written assessments and an initial interview conversation to assess your needs, explore your symptoms, and identify any suitable diagnoses required for insurance purposes.
We will also develop a plan for our work together.
Consistent Periodic Sessions
After the initial consultation and assessment, we will have consistent appointments were we work toward your goals. We will build valuable insights about your experiences, relationships,
and any other areas were you seek change.
Length of Treatment
Length of treatment is determined by what will be most helpful and appropriate for clients. This will be discussed in the first few sessions to allow you to make an informed decision about your treatment plan. Length of treatment can be extended or shortened based on my clinical judgment and your ability to commit to treatment.
Fees for Services
Therapy for Adults of All Ages
Individual Therapy
$200 / session
Couples Therapy
$250 / session
Adult Families
$250 / session
Parent/Guardian Consultation
One-time session with parents of non-client
$125 (30 minutes)
$200 (50 minutes)
Payment
I am an Out-of-Network provider for most insurance companies.
This means that I do not contract with most insurance carriers. Fees can be covered a few different ways:
You can use Health Savings Accounts (HSA), Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), or Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRA)
Self-pay methods
Out-of-pocket expenses may be reimbursed to you by your insurance carrier. I will provide a monthly superbill-a document you will submit to your insurance company, and reimbursements will be sent to you directly. All insurance carriers handle claims differently. You will need to check with your carrier to learn more about the reimbursement process.
Questions to ask your insurance carrier:
Do you reimburse for out-of-network providers?
If so, at what rate or percentage?
I accept the following insurance:
Aetna, including Allied Benefit Systems, Meritain and Nippon
Optum, including All Savers (UHC), Harvard Pilgrim, Oscar, Oxford, United Healthcare, United Healthcare Shared Services, UHC Student Resources, UMR
