The work
The work I do is relational and pattern-focused. I don't run intake checklists or assign homework between sessions; I pay attention to what happens in the session, the moments when something shifts or goes flat, and the recurring pattern underneath the presenting problem. Most people already know the story of their situation and keep landing in the same place. What's missing is someone watching in real time who can name what's invisible from inside it. More on how I work, and how I work with couples.
Therapy in Manila: a real market with real friction
Private therapy in the Philippines concentrates in Metro Manila, in Makati, Taguig, and Quezon City, and sessions generally run 1,500 to 5,000 pesos, with experienced specialists at the upper end. Public care through hospitals like the National Center for Mental Health is free or low-cost but psychiatry-oriented and slow, and PhilHealth's outpatient mental health benefit and HMO coverage are limited and uneven. The full picture of the Philippine system is on my Philippines page.
The Manila patterns
The people who come are Manila's particular mix. The BPO and corporate professionals, the returning Filipinos who built careers abroad and came home to something both familiar and changed, the foreign expats and remote workers, and the partners adjusting to life here. With strong stigma and tight family and workplace circles, a private space well outside them is often the whole point.
Why people in Manila pick online work with me
Three reasons recur. Privacy: I am not on the Philippine register, bill no insurer, and write nothing into a record family, an employer, or an HMO can reach. Fit: my whole practice is people living across cultures and borders. Logistics: a Manila evening sits in my US morning, and therapy is widely conducted in English here, so the work needs no translating. If you need PhilHealth-covered care, medication, or a PRC-registered local psychologist, I will point you toward it.
Questions people ask from Manila
What people bring to online therapy
The people I work with in English come for a wide range of reasons: anxiety, depression, stress and burnout, anger management, grief and loss, relationship difficulties, loneliness, self-esteem issues, procrastination, sleep problems, attachment patterns, self-sabotage, perfectionism, identity questions, and existential concerns. Online counseling makes this work possible from wherever you are, whether you need an English-speaking therapist, a virtual counselor, or simply someone who can work in your language at a depth that matters.
How it works
Sessions are online via secure video call. I work with individuals and couples (60 minutes). Before your first session, we have a free 15-minute call to see if this feels like the right fit for you.
Selected research on this approach
My work is psychodynamic and depth-oriented. These are some of the studies on the effectiveness of that kind of therapy. They describe research on the method in general, and are not claims about any individual outcome.
- Shedler, J. (2010). The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy. American Psychologist, 65(2), 98-109. doi:10.1037/a0018378
- Steinert, C., Munder, T., Rabung, S., Hoyer, J., & Leichsenring, F. (2017). Psychodynamic therapy: as efficacious as other empirically supported treatments? A meta-analysis testing equivalence of outcomes. American Journal of Psychiatry, 174(10), 943-953. PMID 28541091
- Leichsenring, F., Abbass, A., Heim, N., Keefe, J. R., Kisely, S., Luyten, P., Rabung, S., & Steinert, C. (2023). The status of psychodynamic psychotherapy as an empirically supported treatment for common mental disorders: an umbrella review based on updated criteria. World Psychiatry, 22(2), 286-304. PMC10168167