Yes, I am currently accepting a limited number of new clients for in-person therapy at my office in Hermosa Beach, California, as well as virtual telehealth sessions for residents throughout the state.

Because availability changes weekly, the most reliable way to check current openings is to view my live calendar directly through the "Work With Me" link at the top of this page. If a convenient time slot is open, I recommend booking it immediately to secure the appointment, as these windows tend to fill quickly. Should you find that the available options do not align with your schedule, please email me directly at info@reginaabayev.com. Shifting schedules and cancellations frequently create unadvertised openings, and I can place you on my priority waitlist.

In-person: I provide both options. For local clients, I offer in-person therapy at my office in Hermosa Beach, California, which is easily accessible from Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, and the Palos Verdes peninsula.

Virtual: For busy professionals residing anywhere throughout the state, I provide secure, HIPAA-compliant virtual therapy that allows you to access high-level care from the privacy of your home or office.

Evening & Weekend Hours: To accommodate demanding professional schedules, I also offer select evening and weekend hours for clients who cannot easily step away during the standard workday.

• Individual Therapy: $300 per 50-minute session.

• Couples & Family Therapy: $350 per 55-minute session.

• Intensive Therapy Sessions: $450 per 75-minute session. This extended format is highly recommended for initial intake appointments to ensure comprehensive ground is covered from the outset.

• For customized half-day or full-day intensive session pricing and current scheduling availability, please contact me directly at info@reginaabayev.com.

I do not accept insurance directly, and this is a private pay practice. I do not submit claims to insurance companies.

If you carry a PPO insurance plan with out-of-network mental health benefits, you may be eligible for partial reimbursement from your provider. To facilitate this, I issue monthly superbills that you can submit directly to your insurer for processing. Prior to booking your initial session, I recommend contacting your insurance carrier to confirm your specific out-of-network mental health coverage, deductible requirements, and reimbursement rates.

My approach is warm, direct, and deeply focused. Because I am genuinely invested in the clinical progress of the individuals and couples I work with, you will experience an active, engaged presence from our very first session.

Rather than sitting in passive silence, I share immediate observations, ask challenging questions, and address underlying dynamics directly, even when those insights are uncomfortable. This rigorous accountability balances with profound containment. Clients frequently note that they feel understood here in a way they have not experienced elsewhere, creating a secure environment where they can articulate thoughts they have never spoken aloud.

We work with clear intention so that sessions move toward concrete resolution. You will leave each appointment with a clearer comprehension of your relational or psychological landscape, paired with tangible insights to apply immediately outside the room.

I work best with driven, high-functioning individuals and couples who excel in demanding professional roles and are prepared to bring that same level of commitment to their personal growth and relational health. My practice is designed for executives, corporate founders, business owners, and leaders operating within high-stakes environments such as law, finance, and technology. I help these professionals systematically navigate burnout, complex career transitions, high-conflict workplace dynamics, and the acute anxiety that often accompanies exceptional performance expectations, providing both individual therapy and specialized relationship counseling.

Passive therapy that merely recycles weekly narratives without moving toward resolution can be deeply frustrating. My practice is structured to be distinctly different. Rather than acting as a passive sounding board, I maintain an active, consultative presence in every session. We do not simply process the events of your week; we systematically isolate the underlying patterns, defense mechanisms, and relational dynamics that drive those events.

I share immediate observations, highlight blind spots that are difficult to see from the inside, and hold you accountable to the specific behavioral changes and professional or personal goals you establish. If you are seeking a supportive space to vent without being challenged, this clinical approach will not align with your needs. If you are prepared to understand the root causes of chronic patterns and implement deliberate, structural changes, this practice is designed for that exact purpose.

While I bring executive experience to the room, our work goes deeper than strategy. Coaching often focuses on future performance and tactical goals. Therapy with me addresses the root causes of your behaviors, your relational patterns, and the emotional blocks that keep you stuck. We don't just solve the work problem; we solve the underlying dynamic so it doesn't keep happening.

Dr. Mike Collins and I co-facilitate an in-person co-ed adult process group at our offices in Hermosa Beach. The group is limited to 10 members and meets at 6:15 every Wednesday for 90 minutes. There is currently one opening in the Wednesday group and we are forming a waitlist for a Monday night group. Reach out to info@reginaabayev.com for details.

Most couples enter treatment trapped in repetitive behavioral loops, essentially staging the same core conflict with varying circumstantial details. My objective is to help partners identify the underlying systemic dynamics driving the conflict, moving beyond the surface argument to understand exactly why the cycle recurs.

My clinical approach integrates Relational Life Therapy (RLT), Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and depth-oriented psychological frameworks, tailored to the specific needs of the couple. I maintain an active, direct intervention style in the room, interrupting and highlighting maladaptive dynamics as they occur in real time rather than reviewing them after the fact. Clients frequently report achieving greater structural clarity during the initial evaluation than through months of unassisted resolution efforts.

Together, we analyze what each individual contributes to the relational system, tracking chronic patterns, psychological defenses, and unmet core needs to establish a more transparent, securely attached connection. This process bypasses generic communication scripts in favor of deliberate, structural change.

I have completed Level 1 and Level 2 clinical training in the Gottman Method and highly respect its data-driven diagnostic frameworks. However, I am not exclusively a Gottman Method therapist. In my couples therapy practice, my primary approach draws from Relational Life Therapy (RLT) and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT).

While Gottman frameworks offer exceptional metrics for conflict management and identifying destructive communication patterns, I find that RLT and EFT allow us to go deeper into the underlying individual mechanics and systemic dynamics that stall a relationship. Instead of simply teaching partners how to manage active arguments, this integrative approach targets the root causes of reactivity. This shifts the focus from superficial behavior modification to deep individual accountability, allowing couples to dismantle chronic defensive patterns and restore genuine, structural intimacy.

Yes. Co-founder dynamics function as foundational professional partnerships, and they are susceptible to the same systemic communication breakdowns and misalignments that impact high-stakes personal relationships. Whether you are navigating a strategic stalemate, a division of operational control, or a critical erosion of trust, I utilize my background in legal mediation and Relational Life Therapy (RLT) to help partners de-escalate acute conflict.

Rather than offering superficial team-building exercises, this clinical framework targets the underlying behavioral patterns and power struggles stalling your organization. We work systematically to restore psychological safety, establish transparent communication protocols, and rebuild a functional, highly profitable partnership aligned with your operational goals.

Yes. I specialize in helping clients navigate the profound disorientation of betrayal trauma resulting from infidelity, high-conflict divorce, or professional breaches of trust. Within high-functioning populations, trauma rarely manifests as a overt collapse; instead, it typically presents as chronic hyper-vigilance, rigid controlling behaviors, or emotional detachment and shutting down.

Utilizing evidence-based somatic and cognitive approaches, I assist clients in processing the initial shock, stabilizing the nervous system, and systematically rebuilding the capacity to trust both external relationships and their own internal judgment.

Absolutely. Many couples I work with function perfectly as "business partners" running a household, but have lost the thread of intimacy. This isn't usually a communication problem; it's a safety and vulnerability problem. I help couples move past the "roommate phase" by identifying the emotional blocks that kill desire. We will work on restoring not just the friendship, but the erotic and emotional aliveness in the relationship, moving you from functional to connected.

Yes. Whether you are navigating a high-conflict co-founder, a narcissistic parent, or complex blended family dynamics, the resulting interpersonal stress can feel paralyzing. While we cannot alter the behavior of others, we can fundamentally restructure the way you engage with them.

I assist clients in mastering the clinical principle of differentiation, which is the operational capacity to remain securely anchored to your own values and reality in the presence of external chaos. Together, we develop targeted, actionable boundary strategies designed to prevent you from absorbing systemic anxiety, allowing you to protect your psychological peace and maintain professional or personal efficacy.

I believe in maintaining absolute transparency regarding where my clinical framework offers the highest value and where it is limited. To ensure ethical, safe, and effective care, I do not provide treatment for the following populations or clinical presentations:

• Children and Young Adolescents: My practice is specifically dedicated to adults, families, and couples. I do not treat children, though I evaluate older adolescents aged 16 and above on a strict case-by-case basis.

• Active Physical Violence or Coercive Control: I do not provide couples therapy when active physical domestic violence or severe coercive control is present within the relationship. In these dynamics, joint systemic therapy is clinically contraindicated because it can actively compromise partner safety.

• Acute Crises Requiring a Higher Level of Care: As a private practitioner, I do not operate with the intensive institutional infrastructure required to safely manage active, untreated substance dependency, severe eating disorders, or acute suicidality requiring stabilization or continuous monitoring.

• Custody Dispute or Legal Evaluations: While I hold a Juris Doctor (JD) degree, I do not provide legal counsel, child custody evaluations, forensic assessments, or court testimony for active therapy clients. My professional role is strictly insulated and limited to your clinical care.

Discretion is a foundational pillar of my practice. Because I operate on a strict private-pay structure and do not interface with insurance corporations, your clinical records, diagnostic tracking, and personal data remain entirely outside the centralized Medical Information Bureau database.

My office in Hermosa Beach is intentionally selected to offer a private, low-profile entry, minimizes wait-room crossover, and ensures maximum confidentiality for public figures, corporate executives, and prominent families. For virtual clients, I utilize proprietary, end-to-end encrypted, HIPAA-compliant telehealth platforms to guarantee your security from any location.

For individuals navigating high-profile professional roles or circumstances that demand an exceptional tier of discretion, administrative accommodations can be made to ensure absolute containment.

Individual therapy sessions focus on processing and resolving complex personal and professional challenges. Common areas of clinical focus include navigating high-pressure careers, managing identity and burnout, processing grief and loss, and working through behavioral patterns that impact leadership effectiveness and personal fulfillment.