Therapy
This page offers a closer look at what therapy can support, how I approach the work, and what it takes to get started when you're ready.
“If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else?”
— RuPaul
Accepting New Patients
HMSA (PPO/HMO/QUEST) • HMAA (HWMG) • PRIVATE-PAY
What is Therapy?
Therapy is a confidential space to build capacity for safety, insight, and change.
In this space, we focus on connection, context, and choice.
Connection to yourself and others.
Context for what you’re carrying and where it comes from.
Choice in how you move forward. Not from pressure, but from a place that feels aligned and true.
Therapy is different from coaching or mentorship.
As a licensed clinical social worker, I’m trained to support emotional and psychological concerns through evidence-based, trauma-informed care. Therapy may address deeper wounds, relational patterns, or mental health conditions. Depending on your coverage, it may be eligible for insurance reimbursement.
Challenges & Shifts
Here are some of the patterns, pressures, and pain points that often bring people to this space, as well as the shifts we might begin cultivating together.
These experiences can take a toll on your body, your relationships, and your sense of self.
These patterns often run deep and can quietly shape how you move through your days.
Together, we get clear on what’s showing up and start tending to what you need now.
How Change Happens
Change doesn’t come from one approach alone. In this space, I draw from foundational frameworks, practical tools, and cultural wisdom. Together, we integrate what feels meaningful and supportive for you.
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These core frameworks shape how I understand healing and growth:
Humanistic: Healing happens in safe, affirming relationships
Systemic: Our struggles are shaped by the systems and relationships we live within
Integrative: Healing takes root when we combine reflection, somatic awareness, and real-life application.
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These are tools and approaches we might use. We adapt them to your needs, your energy, and your pace:
Inner Child / Parts Work: To reconnect with and heal wounded or silenced parts
CBT / DBT: For shifting thinking patterns, manage intense emotions, cope with challenging situations, and improve relationships
Somatic Tools: To support nervous system regulation and body connection
Narrative Therapy: For reclaiming voice, meaning, and identity
Mindfulness: To foster awareness, presence, and self-compassion
Motivational Interviewing: To explore ambivalence and strengthen your inner motivation for change
Solution-Focused Techniques: To identify strengths, set goals, and move toward what’s working
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If the lens is how we understand your healing, and the methods are what we do together, then the context is the ground that holds it all.
As a Filipino therapist practicing on Kanaka ‘Ōiwi land in Hawai‘i, I offer therapy that honors your full story. This includes your body, identity, relationships, and culture.
In this space, healing is:
Cultural: shaped by your history, your people, your survival
Political: shaped by systems, power, and resistance
Relational: shaped by attachment, land, family, and belonging
These practices help create the context where healing unfolds:
Liberation Psychology: Centering social justice, cultural identity, and systemic trauma
Ancestral Healing: Making space for intergenerational grief and inherited strength
Land & Body Connection: Supporting nervous system regulation and place-based healing
Decolonial Story Work: Reclaiming identity from internalized narratives
Spiritual Integration: Respecting intuitive and non-Western ways of knowing
The Nitty-Gritty
This is where I share the practical details like insurance, rates, payment options, and policies so you can feel informed without feeling overwhelmed.
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I currently accept:
HMSA (PPO, HMO, QUEST)
HMAA (through HWMG)
If your plan includes mental health coverage, I’ll bill insurance directly. You may still be responsible for part of the cost (a copay, deductible, or coinsurance).
If you’re unsure about your mental health benefits, call the number on the back of your card and ask:
Do I have coverage for outpatient therapy (CPT codes 90791 and 90837)?
Does it include telehealth?
How many sessions are covered?
What are my out-of-pocket costs?
Do I need prior approval or a referral?
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You’re welcome to pay out-of-pocket for therapy. Some clients choose this for more privacy or flexibility, especially if they don’t want to go through insurance or if their plan doesn’t cover mental health care.
Standard session rates:
Intake session (53-60 mins): $200
Individual therapy (53-60 mins): $150
Individual therapy (38-52 mins): $125
Sliding Scale:
A limited number of reduced-fee spots are available based on financial need. If cost is a concern, let’s talk during our discovery call. I’ll let you know if I have any sliding scale spaces open or help connect you with other options.Good Faith Estimate:
If you're not using insurance, you’ll receive a Good Faith Estimate outlining the expected cost of services, as required by the No Surprises Act. This is part of your right to transparency in care. -
All payments go through your secure client portal
A valid payment method is required on file before your first session
I accept:
Credit/debit cards
FSA/HSA cards
HRA (you submit receipts)
Checks (made out to Cages to Wings Wellness, LLC)
Payment via Stripe on SimplePractice (electronic health record) may charge a 2–3% processing fee
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Here’s a quick summary of what to know before we begin:
Sessions are typically 53-60 minutes
24-hour notice is required to cancel or reschedule
Late cancels or no-shows may be charged the full fee (exceptions for Medicaid/Medicare or emergencies)
Payment is due at the time of service
General Excise Tax (GET) applies to private pay and commercial insurance payments
You must be physically in Hawai‘i during sessions
This practice does not provide emergency services. Call 911 or 988 in a crisis
Please join telehealth sessions from a private, quiet space
Social media is not used for client communication or as therapeutic services
You can contact me through the secure client portal, phone, or text for scheduling and administrative needs
Mentorship is a separate services from therapy. I do not offer both to the same person at the same time.
Presentations and workshops are for educational purposes only. They are not therapy.
You’ll receive the full practice policies before your first session, and I’ll walk you through anything you have questions about.
Our Process