Meet Ingrid Oliansky, LMFT of Sherman Oaks

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ingrid Oliansky.

Ingrid, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
In 2006, I graduated from Antioch University, Los Angeles with a Master’s in Clinical Psychology. I completed my Internship at the Hollywood Sunset Free Clinic in Silverlake in late 2009 and became licensed in August of 2010. In February of 2011, I started renting therapy rooms by the hour in Sherman Oaks. As a new therapist and not being on any insurance panels, I found it very difficult to get my business off the ground. So, in 2013, I became an independent contractor with a Group Psychotherapy practice that services locations in the San Fernando Valley and Mid-Wilshire. I am still currently seeing clients with the group practice in their Encino, Burbank and Santa Clarita locations as well as seeing clients in my Sherman Oaks private practice.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not been a smooth road. Becoming licensed after the financial crash of 2008 made it virtually impossible to find a job with an agency. When I decided to take the leap and open my private practice, I soon found that most clients were unable to pay full rates for therapy and so I would have to offer dramatically lower costs for my services. I also found it very difficult to add myself to insurance panels since most of them do not have the need for additional individual therapists. It was not until I joined the Group practice that I was able to actually start seeing a profit from my work.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
In both my private practice and in the group practice, I work with individuals and couples. I specialize in Anxiety, Depression, Relationships, Life and Career Transitions and the LGBT community.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I’m being perfectly honest, I probably would not have gone back to school in the first place. I would have opted to continue in my previous work milieu of being an Administrative Assistant/Office Manager. In the therapy world, I would have taken a different internship that would have better prepared me for the types of jobs that are available for therapists.

Pricing:

• Full Cost for individuals not using Insurance is $100 per session.
• Full Cost for Couples not using Insurance is $150 per session.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.IngridOlianskyLMFT.com
• Phone: 818-927-3855
• Email: IngridOlianskyLMFT@yahoo.com

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