Quick answers about how telehealth therapy works at Better Thoughts. Don't see your question? Book a free 15-min consult and ask.
Book a free 15-minute consultation. There’s no pressure — we use the call to see if we’re a fit. If we are, we’ll schedule a 90-minute initial assessment session where we review any measures and inventories you completed beforehand, talk through your history, and clarify what you’re hoping to accomplish in therapy. Ongoing sessions after that are 50 minutes.
Rose Markotic, LMFT is licensed in California, Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont. All sessions are conducted online via a HIPAA-compliant secure video platform. You need to be physically located in one of those five states at the time of session.
Research consistently shows telehealth psychotherapy is as effective as in-person treatment for most concerns, including anxiety, depression, and perfectionism. TEAM-CBT in particular suits telehealth well — its measurement-based, structured methods translate cleanly to video sessions.
TEAM-CBT (Testing, Empathy, Paradoxical Agenda Setting, Methods) is an evidence-based form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy developed by Dr. David Burns at Stanford. It is structured, measurement-driven, and built around specific tools you can use outside of session.
Yes — perfectionism is a signature focus of Rose’s practice, both as a presenting concern and as the quiet driver behind anxiety, procrastination, social anxiety, and burnout for many clients.
TEAM-CBT is designed to be brief and goal-oriented. Many clients see meaningful change within a few months, though length depends on what you’re working on. We track your mood and progress every session so we always know what’s working.
A 50-minute telehealth session is $220. Initial 15-minute consultations are free.
Better Thoughts is an out-of-network practice. Email us to request a superbill, which you submit through your insurer’s member portal for out-of-network reimbursement (typically 60–80% on PPO plans). For step-by-step submission instructions and per-state insurer links, see our reimbursement guide at /insurance-reimbursement.
Yes — therapy is a qualified medical expense and most HSA and FSA accounts can be used to pay for sessions. We can provide receipts for your records.
All three are licensed mental-health providers, but they train differently. A Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) holds a master’s degree in counseling or marriage and family therapy and is licensed to provide psychotherapy for individuals, couples, and families. A psychologist (PhD or PsyD) holds a doctorate, can administer psychological assessments, and in most states can also provide therapy. A licensed counselor (LPC, LMHC) similarly holds a master’s and provides therapy. None of the three can prescribe medication — that requires a psychiatrist (MD/DO) or prescribing nurse practitioner. For most therapy concerns, the distinction matters less than the clinician’s training and fit. Rose is an LMFT trained in TEAM-CBT.
It depends on what you’re working on. A psychiatrist evaluates and prescribes medication; an LMFT (or any psychotherapist) does talk therapy. For most anxiety, depression, perfectionism, and life-transition concerns, therapy alone is the standard first-line treatment. For more severe presentations — active suicidality, severe persistent depression, bipolar disorder, psychosis — medication evaluation is usually part of the picture, and we work alongside your prescriber. If you don’t have one and we think medication might help, we discuss referrals.
It’s a quirk of the licensure name, not a description of who LMFTs work with. The Marriage and Family Therapist license originated in mid-20th-century training programs that emphasized relational and systemic approaches to mental health — the idea being that individuals exist in a context of relationships, and treatment is more effective when that context is taken into account. In practice, most LMFTs see plenty of single individuals with no family-systems work involved at all. The license simply authorizes the full range of psychotherapy for individuals, couples, and families.
The initial assessment session is 90 minutes — we review any measures or inventories you completed, go through your history, and clarify the outcomes you’re hoping for in therapy. Ongoing sessions after that are 50 minutes. Most clients meet weekly to start; some shift to biweekly or monthly later in treatment.
As an adult (18+), your sessions are confidential. Even if your parents are paying, what you discuss in session is not shared with them or with your school.
If you move between California, Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, or Vermont, we can continue working together — you just need to be physically located in one of those five states at the time of each session.
A 15-minute video call with Rose. We'll talk about what's bringing you in and see if I'm the right fit. No pressure to book sessions afterward.
No credit card · 15 minutes · Talk directly with Rose