About The Hearth

The Hearth opened in response to a gap in mental health services for individuals who are not eligible for non-profit or government-funded services, and/or have private insurance with such high deductibles that they would end up paying 100% of therapy costs, sometimes for the full year. With average fees of $150-$300 per session, this simply is not an option for most of us.

About Mia

I became a social worker because it was the only choice I could have made. In college, I was sure of what I loved most to learn, but wasn’t certain where that might lead professionally. I took a social work course on a whim and that dilemma was resolved. I was drawn to its view of people as existing within environments and contexts - geographical, financial, political, racial, cultural, structural - which must be accounted for in order for mental health treatment to be effective. Its tenet of and emphasis on social justice as a guiding principle speaks to how I navigate the world. It was the only choice I could have made, because once I understood what it was, it was where I knew I belonged. To be very clear, social work is wildly imperfect and certainly does not always function according to those values, but it’s what brought me here, and it’s what I commit myself to every day.

I received my master’s in social work from Loyola University Chicago where I specialized in mental health and leadership and development of social services. My background includes therapy with individuals of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, abilities, racial and ethnic identities, and with varying access to financial and other resources. Primarily comprised of non-profit mental health services for individuals with moderate to severe psychiatric diagnoses, individuals in psychiatric crisis including psychosis, self-harm, and suicidality, as well as those with past or current experiences of intimate partner and sexual violence, I value an eclectic approach to therapy. I tailor treatment using elements of psychodynamic, feminist, narrative, and existential therapies, with infusion of Dialectical Behavior and Cognitive Behavioral skill building, as well as Exposure and Response Prevention, through an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy lens.

During and following graduate school I became a certified rape crisis counselor and certified domestic violence advocate in Illinois, and a certified domestic violence advocate in California. I consider the active engagement with new information and perspectives to be foundational to my job, and have pursued additional training on the neurobiology of trauma, treatment for minor-attracted individuals, clinical interventions for personality disorders, treatment for anorexia and binge-eating disorders (I am not an eating disorder therapist), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, letter writing for gender affirming surgery, among others.

Outside of work I do floral design, am learning American Sign Language, take on maybe one intensive embroidery project and then refuse to think about another one for a year, and get overly engaged with the news. My five-year-old niece is my favorite person, and my current podcast recommendation is Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc. (I’ve listened twice.) I have a collection of pink sneakers, don’t understand how The Bachelor is still a thing (no judgement!), and look forward to learning more about you.

This is my niece. This is also what you can expect our sessions to feel like.

Common Questions

  • The Hearth is entirely sliding -scale, which means fees are negotiated and based on what a client can comfortably afford. Several factors are taken into consideration when we establish a fee, and they can be revisited if or when needed.

    Please note that all sessions are under $100.

  • I will be accepting Medicaid/Medi-Cal shortly and will have openings for a limited number of clients with that insurance. If you think you might be interested in working together, please reach out and I will let you know the statuses of those spots.

  • Sessions are 50-55 minutes and are structured based on a client’s goals and needs. Sometimes sessions are fully free-association, other times we may establish more of a format or routine. Therapy can be a challenging space, and with that in mind I am intentional in creating an atmosphere where you can let go and be yourself. I am very informal, am a direct communicator, and while the work is serious, I value humor and and a conversational approach to sessions.

  • I only provide services if I believe that what I can offer is what someone might need. I do not work with people whose goals or diagnoses are outside of my scope of practice: I would not work with someone whose goal is to recover from a substance use disorder, for example, as I am not trained in that area and therefore would not provide them with the best help. I do not work with people who do not want to receive therapy, including minors. If a parent brings their child to therapy, and that child absolutely does not want to be there, I will not force them to engage as this has the potential to cause harm. (If your child has severe psychiatric needs and is opposed to services, there are ways to access them and times when that may be appropriate, but this would not be the case for weekly, virtual, outpatient therapy.)

  • It depends! For some people, it’s easier to engage in sometimes heavy conversation in a familiar space; it can be a comfort to have your own music in the background, a favorite blanket on you, or your pet around. Telehealth is also great for people with long or hectic school/work hours, caregivers, people with chronic pain/health conditions, or people who encounter barriers to in-person services due to mobility, ability, or transportation concerns. In-person sessions may be more effective for others, such as people who tend to feel less motivated at home and more energized and focused when out of the house, people with moderate to severe ADD/ADHD or other concentration-impacting disorders, and young children. Ultimately, it is a matter of personal preference.

  • I am not in-network with private insurance at this time. In transparency, I wrestle with whether to begin accepting private insurance plans and am happy to discuss the differences in service requirements for therapy that is and is not covered by insurance during a free consultation. My goal is not to persuade or dissuade you from pursuing a therapist that accepts your policy - you pay a lot of money for it - but to offer information on how your plan may shape your experience.