Office Locations:

My office is located at 1314 Westwood Blvd, Suite #211, Los Angeles, California 90024.  The office is situated on the East side of Westwood Blvd: it is North of Santa Monica Blvd and one and a half blocks South of Wilshire Blvd.  The closest southern street is Rochester and closest northern street is Wellworth.  The office is on the second floor of the building, there is a barber shop next door. The front gate appears locked but you just need to push it, please do not use the intercom system.

Driving tips:

if you are getting off the 405 north, exit on Santa Monica Blvd, there is a cool short cut that will save you a lot of time but is a bit tricky. As you exit the off ramp there are 5 lanes, the ones on the right will be turn only onto santa monica heading East, the ones on the left get back on to the freeway or onto Santa Monica heading West. But if you stay in third lane from the right and go straight you will see a strange street called Contner. You will need to make a small jig to stay on it, take it two full blocks until it reaches a dead end, this will be Ohio, turn right and you will cross a few traffic lights then you will get to Westwood, turn left and you are nearly there.

IF you are on the Santa Monica 10 Freeway, take the Overland Exit and head West for one block then turn right (north) and this will take you up towards my office.  If there is a lot of traffic, this might be a faster option than getting onto the 405

I can now offer my parking space behind the building for your use on  most days. This parking area is controlled really tightly and shared by a number of people so we will need to chat a minute or two about it first, just remind me if I forget. If you want to use it, take Westwood blvd to Rochester, go East 1/4 block to the one-way allay and turn left into the alley. The parking is close, but you will need to get the exact location from me on the phone as I dont want to post it here.

You might want to print a copy of this to bring with you.
 
Westwood is a high traffic difficult parking area, please allow extra time for this. The city tickets people very aggressively, it is likely that if you park incorrectly for even 5 minutes you will be tagged for a 60 dollar or more ticket...

Here are some parking options:

a.       Metered parking on Westwood Blvd.  I believe that many of the meters have been recently improved to now accept credit cards as well as quarters.  Some of the metered spaces close to my office are only for 30 minutes.  BE VERY CAREFUL OF THE STREET PARKING SIGNS, especially on Wellworth, the tow-truck hangs out there and at 4:00 PM each day starts to tow.  The meter maids are unforgiving in Westwood,  if you are at a one hour meter please let me know, because our session might run over.

b. Borders Bookstore CLOSED as of 4/2011... Should reopen by the end of September as a Ross Dress For Less and presumably the parking structure will be reopened at that time for your use.

c.  Free neighborhood 2-hour street parking My office is located on Westwood immediately north of Rochester, if you drive two full blocks East of Westwood Blvd on Rochester, just past Glendon you can park for two hours for free.  It is a short walk.  DO NOT PARK HERE ON WEEKENDS OR AFTER 6 PM, Please check the streets signs careful to verify it is not a permit only area you are in.  I just got dinged for 63 bucks parking here on a Saturday.

For Appointments at 7 PM: there is a loading space right in front of the eye glass shop, which is right near my office as well.  You can use this space AFTER 7 PM, the eye glasses guy was kind about this so. PLEASE do not park there more than a minute or so prior to 7 PM.  Also, in the back alley, behind the office (enter from Rochester) is another eye glass space. 

Session Fee/Cost: please call me for the current session rates if you want to pay for treatment directly instead of using the State program

Gambling therapy for the first 8 hours will be free if you enroll in the State program and additional block of sessions may also be available based on need.

Insurance: 

I can bill some insurance policies for partial payment, but not Kaiser Permanente or most HMOs.  There are a few other policies that I have stopped accepting as well. If you want me to bill your insurance please call your insurance directly and ask about outpatient mental health benefits for non-parity diagnosis with a Ph.D. level Psychologist.  My tax ID is 48-1303939 you will need this to see if I am in network. Please print this out for when you call them.

 PLEASE BE SURE TO ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:     

                                   1.  What is my deductible for the year?

                                   2.  Have I met my deductible yet?

                                   3.  Is there a maximum number of sessions per year?

                                   4. How much is my co-payment?

                                   5. What the benefits for Parity and Non-Parity treatment.

Parity means that the person has a Psychological problem that is severe enough to be considered a medical issue as well, this would include

Schizophrenia
Schizoaffective Disorder
Bipolar Disorder
Major Depression
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Panic Disorder
Eating Disorders (Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa)
Autism or Pervasive Developmental Disorder
Serious Emotional Disturbance in children and
adolescents

These mental health problems that might exist in addition to the gambling problem are covered differently by all insurance companies than the "non-parity" diagnoses. Please be sure to let me know if you have any questions about this.

This takes some time, but I need this information and I really appreciate your taking the time to do this in advance of seeing me.  If you are getting discouraged by the process please call me.

Length of session is 50 minutes, the additional 10 minutes is for note writing.  Extended sessions are sometimes available.  Most psychologists keep a very tight schedule, that is we start and end right on time, keeping it consistent between patients, so please try to arrive on time.

I am available Monday through Thursday for individual sessions, Forensic and legal evaluations are only conducted on Mondays and typically last for 4-6 hours.  Individual sessions are on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.  Phone sessions are usually on Fridays.  A few evening appointments MIGHT be available on Tuesday, Wednesday evenings, but this changes week to week.

 

Please call me if you would like to discuss any of this in more detail.

Feel free to use this form to contact me or to be added to my email list for updates and future information...