Consultation Service
A one-time consultation with Dr. Ginny Estupinian Phd, ABPP, is a single 50-minute meeting for people who need professional guidance about a difficult situation, decision, or concern about someone they care about. It is not psychotherapy and does not begin an ongoing treatment relationship. The goal is to understand the situation, identify realistic options, and determine appropriate next steps.
What a One-Time Consultation Is
A one-time consultation is a single appointment in which you bring a real situation to an experienced clinical psychologist and leave with a clearer understanding of it.
Most people who book a consultation are in the same position: they know something is wrong, something has changed, or they need to make a decision, and they don’t know what their options are or where to begin. They are not looking to start therapy. They want professional judgment applied to their specific circumstances.
In the session, you describe what is happening. Dr. Estupinian asks the questions that clarify it, tells you how she understands what you are describing, and works through the practical picture with you: what the options are, what each involves, what usually happens next, and which professionals or resources are worth contacting and in what order.
You leave with clarity, perspective, and direction. Most people need only one session.
Who is a one-time consultation for?
People book consultations for a wide range of reasons. The categories below cover the most common ones; the underlying situation is always the same: an important matter that needs a professional perspective before you take the next step.
Concerns about an adult child or family member
- Concern about an adult child. A son or daughter is struggling emotionally, socially, academically, financially, or professionally, and you want guidance about how you can best help.
- Young-adult launch difficulties. Your adult child has left college, cannot hold a job, has moved back home, remains financially dependent, or is having difficulty becoming independent, and nothing you have tried is changing it.
- College difficulties. Your college-age child is failing classes, withdrawing from school, overwhelmed, isolated, considering a leave of absence, or struggling to return — and you are not sure when to step in, when to step back, or what the school can and cannot do.
- Concern about a spouse, sibling, parent, or other adult family member. You have noticed significant changes in someone’s behavior, emotional well-being, judgment, or functioning, and you want help understanding what you can realistically do.
- Someone who refuses therapy or professional help. A family member is clearly struggling but will not accept assistance. A consultation helps you understand your options, set appropriate boundaries, and decide how to approach the situation.
- Preparing for a difficult family conversation. You need to raise a sensitive issue with an adult child, parent, sibling, or spouse and want guidance on how to approach it constructively rather than reactively.
- Family conflict around an important decision. Family members disagree about how to handle a significant problem, and you want an objective professional perspective before deciding what to do.
Aging parents, cognitive concerns, and caregiving
- Deciding whether an older adult needs a cognitive assessment.
You have noticed changes in memory, judgment, organization, attention, personality, decision-making, or daily functioning and want guidance about whether formal testing is warranted. Neuropsychological and Psychological Assessments - Deciding what type of cognitive assessment is appropriate. If testing appears warranted, Dr. Estupinian can clarify which type is likely most useful for cognitive screening and evaluation.
- Concerns about possible cognitive decline. You are unsure whether what you are observing reflects normal aging or warrants further evaluation.
- Knowing where to begin when memory problems arise. Families are often unsure whether to start with a primary care physician, neurologist, neuropsychologist, psychologist, geriatric specialist, or someone else. Starting in the wrong place can cost months.
- Determining appropriate care for an aging parent. Your parent needs increasing assistance, and you need to understand what options actually exist. Geriatric Services
- A parent who is resisting help. Your parent insists everything is fine despite concerns about safety, health, memory, finances, medications, driving, or the ability to live alone.
- Whether a parent can continue living independently. You want help thinking through safety, functioning, support needs, and the realistic alternatives.
- Family disagreement about a parent’s care. You and your siblings have very different views about what Mom or Dad needs and how much help is appropriate.
- Caregiver decision fatigue. You are managing too many competing decisions at once and need help organizing the situation, identifying priorities, and determining what needs attention first. Caregiver Support Services
- Understanding caregiving resources and options. You do not know what professional, community, residential, medical, or care-management resources exist.
- Navigating a family member’s serious illness. You need guidance about communication, responsibilities, boundaries, decision-making, or the disagreements that surface when someone becomes seriously ill.
You have noticed changes in memory, judgment, organization, attention, personality, decision-making, or daily functioning and want guidance about whether formal testing is warranted. You’re not in this alone.
If you need to navigate things…
…weigh your options…
…or just talk…
I’m here to help you tackle this crossroads with confidence
Dr. Ginny Estupinian PhD, ABPP
Figuring out what kind of professional help you need
- “What kind of professional do we need?” You know there is a problem but do not know whether the right person is a psychologist, psychiatrist, neuropsychologist, neurologist, geriatric specialist, therapist, care manager, physician, or someone else.
- Whether psychotherapy is appropriate at all. You are unsure whether the situation calls for therapy or whether a different kind of professional help fits better.
- What type of therapy or specialist to pursue. You know professional help would be useful but cannot determine which clinician, treatment approach, or specialty is the right match.
- A professional perspective before committing to treatment. You want to understand your options before starting an ongoing therapeutic or assessment process that will cost significant time and money.
Business owners, executives, and professionals
Some situations you can’t discuss with employees, colleagues, partners, or friends. A consultation provides a confidential setting with an experienced psychologist and no organizational stake in the outcome.
- A confidential consultation for a business owner. You are facing a difficult situation and want an experienced professional to help you think it through objectively.
- A difficult employee situation. You are not sure whether the problem is performance, communication, interpersonal conflict, burnout, leadership, unclear expectations, or something else.
- Leadership challenges. Morale, engagement, trust, accountability, communication, organizational change, or team performance is not where it needs to be.
- Business-partner difficulties. Communication is deteriorating, expectations conflict, trust is eroding, or you and your partner want different things for the company.
- Conflict between key employees. Two people whose cooperation matters are in conflict and you need to think through how to address it.
- A difficult personnel decision. You are weighing a change involving an employee, manager, executive, or the structure itself, and want a confidential place to work through the implications.
- Succession or transition concerns. You are considering retirement, transferring leadership, selling the business, bringing in family members, or changing your own role.
- An executive or professional crossroads. As a physician, attorney, executive, or entrepreneur, you are facing something sensitive that you cannot raise with colleagues, employees, or friends.
- A career or professional crisis. You have been fired, passed over, placed on a performance plan, drawn into a workplace investigation, or are considering leaving an organization.
- Preparing for a high-stakes professional conversation. You need to speak with an employee, colleague, partner, board member, or client about a difficult issue and want to prepare properly.
- Burnout and professional decision-making. You are questioning whether to stay in your profession, reduce responsibilities, change roles, step back, or make another significant career decision.
For organization-level engagements, assessment, leadership development, and consulting for companies, click here
Major life decisions and transitions
- A major life decision. Retirement, relocation, a career change, shifting family responsibilities, or another significant transition where an objective professional perspective would help.
- What to do after a major setback. Something unexpected has happened, and you need to organize your thinking before making decisions you cannot easily undo.
- Divorce-related decision support. You are considering separation or going through a contentious divorce and want guidance on communication, boundaries, decision-making, and managing difficult interactions without entering ongoing psychotherapy.
- Changing family responsibilities. You have suddenly become responsible for an aging parent, an adult child, an ill spouse, or another family member, and need help determining how much you can reasonably take on.
- Preparing for a difficult personal conversation. You want professional guidance before raising a high-stakes issue with a spouse, family member, or friend.
Retirement, relocation, a career change, shifting family responsibilities, or another significant transition where an objective professional perspective would help.What if my situation doesn't fit any category?
Many consultations do not fit neatly into a category. Often, the person knows something is wrong, something has changed, or a decision must be made, but doesn’t know what the options are or where to begin.
These are the kinds of things people say when they call:
- “I don’t know how to help my adult child.”
- “I’m worried about my mother’s memory. What should we do?”
- “Does my father need cognitive testing?”
- “What kind of cognitive assessment would be appropriate?”
- “My parent refuses help. What are my options?”
- “My siblings and I cannot agree about our parent’s care.”
- “I don’t know what kind of professional my family member needs.”
- “I have a serious problem at work and need an objective perspective.”
- “I need to make an important decision and want to think it through with someone experienced.”
- “I don’t think I need therapy. I just need professional guidance about what to do next.”
If any of those sound like something you have said out loud, or thought at two in the morning, this consultation is built for exactly that.
What happens during the consultation?
Before. When you call, the office staff will ask a few brief questions so Dr. Estupinian knows the general shape of the situation in advance. Nothing lengthy.
During. You describe the situation in your own words. Dr. Estupinian will ask focused questions, often the ones people do not think to ask themselves. She will then explain plainly how she understands what you are describing: what appears ordinary, what warrants attention, and what, if anything, is urgent.
The conversation then turns practical. What options exist. What each one involves. Which professionals or services are worth contacting, and in what order. What tends to work in situations like yours, and what tends to backfire. What to watch for over the coming months.
After. You leave with a working understanding of the situation, concrete next steps, and referrals or resources where they apply. Most people find one session is enough. Some return later when circumstances change. There is no package to buy and no obligation to continue.
What the consultation does and does not include
The consultation provides professional guidance to the person attending the appointment. Dr. Estupinian can help you understand the situation, identify your options, determine possible next steps, and understand what professional resources may be appropriate.
When the concern involves another person who is not present and has not been evaluated by Dr. Estupinian, the consultation does not constitute a diagnosis, psychological evaluation, or clinical opinion about that individual.
The purpose is to provide clarity, education, professional perspective, and direction. The objective is not to establish an ongoing psychotherapy relationship.
Specifically:
- It is not psychotherapy. No treatment relationship is established, and no course of care begins.
- It is not an intervention. Dr. Estupinian does not conduct or direct interventions or confrontations with the person you are concerned about.
- It is not a diagnosis of an absent person. Dr. Estupinian can explain the range of explanations for what you are describing and what kind of evaluation would answer the question properly.
- It is not an emergency service. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. If someone is in crisis, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
- It is not legal, financial, or medical advice. Dr. Estupinian can tell you which professionals to consult, such as elder law attorneys, care managers, physicians, and specialists. However, she does not advise in those fields.
Why Consult With Dr. Estupinian?
Dr. Ginny Estupinian PhD, ABPP, holds a PhD from Palo Alto University and is board-certified in Clinical Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). Only a small percentage of practicing psychologists hold this credential. Earning this distinction requires peer review of clinical work, an extensive examination, and years of practical experience.
Dr. Estupinian spent ten years at Santa Clara Valley Hospital System, where she worked with individuals, families, and professionals facing some of the hardest moments of their lives. That experience helps her quickly tell how serious a situation is and what needs to happen first.
Over the last sixteen years of work with individuals and families, she has consulted on aging parents, struggling adult children, cognitive decline, family conflict, and the private professional crises that executives and business owners cannot discuss anywhere else. She is a member of the Forbes Business Council and is licensed in California, Oregon, Illinois, and Florida.
A consultation with Dr. Estupinian offers an impartial approach to your situation. For over a decade, she has worked with individuals from all walks of life and in a variety of situations. can tell you what the road ahead usually looks like.
I wish I had done this sooner.
Common client comment
How the consultation works
| Length | 50 minutes |
| Fee | $300, due at the time of service |
| Scheduling | Appointments are booked on the hour |
| Who may attend | Up to four people, in person or by telehealth |
| In person | 987 University Ave #20, Los Gatos, CA 95032 |
| Telehealth | Available to residents of California, Oregon, Illinois, and Florida |
| Payment | Private pay. Major credit cards, HSA and FSA accepted. Insurance is not billed. |
| To book | Call 844-802-6512 |
Because this is a consultation rather than treatment, insurance is not involved and no diagnosis is submitted to any insurer.
One Call Starts It
Call 844-802-6512.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a single 50-minute appointment with a board-certified clinical psychologist for people who need professional guidance about a difficult situation, an important decision, or a concern about someone they care about. It is not psychotherapy and does not begin an ongoing treatment relationship. The purpose is to help you understand the situation, identify your options, and determine appropriate next steps.
Therapy is an ongoing treatment relationship aimed at change over time. A consultation is a single meeting aimed at clarity and direction. No treatment relationship is established, nothing continues after the session unless you choose it, and the focus stays on your situation and your options rather than on a course of care.
The fee is $300 for a 50-minute consultation, due at the time of service. The office accepts major credit cards and HSA and FSA cards.
Fifty minutes. Appointments are booked on the hour.
No. The service is designed to answer the question in a single meeting, and most people leave with what they came for. Some return later when circumstances change or a new decision arises, but there is no package, no series, and no obligation to continue.
Call the office at 844-802-6512. Staff will ask a few brief questions about the situation and find a date and time that works for you.
No. This is a private-pay service and insurance is not billed. One practical consequence is that no diagnosis is submitted to an insurer.
Yes. The appointment is treated with the same discretion as any professional appointment with a licensed psychologist, within the limits the law places on all licensed clinicians.
Yes, for residents of California, Oregon, Illinois, and Florida. These are the states in which Dr. Estupinian is licensed. Anyone able to travel to the Los Gatos office may meet in person.
Not at this time. Psychologists may practice only in the states where they hold a license, and consultations are limited to California, Oregon, Illinois, and Florida.
Yes. Up to four people may attend, in person or by telehealth. This is often the most useful way to do it when the people involved see the situation differently.
Yes, provided each person is physically located in California, Oregon, Illinois, or Florida at the time of the appointment.
Yes. This is one of the most common reasons people book. A consultation can help you distinguish a difficult transition from a genuine clinical problem, understand what your your loved one's situation suggests, and identify a way to respond. We will discuss what tends to help, what tends to backfire, and what kind of professional support to consider.
Consultation gives you an outside read on the situation and a practical plan to consider. You will be given what your realistic options are, which boundaries actually help, how to have the conversation, and whether the difficulty suggests something that needs professional attention.
That depends on what is happening, and it is exactly what a consultation is for. Dr. Estupinian can help you gauge the seriousness of what you are seeing, understand what the school can and cannot do, and decide whether to step in, step back, or pursue an evaluation or leave of absence.
A consultation cannot make someone accept help, and any service promising otherwise should be treated with skepticism. What it can do is help you understand why the person is refusing, which approaches tend to work with which kinds of resistance, what boundaries are appropriate given your situation.
Yes, and this is a good reason to bring more than one person. Up to four people may attend. Everyone hearing the same professional assessment at the same time frequently provides the insight necessary to help resolve the disagreement itself, which is often the real obstacle.
A consultation can help determine whether the changes you are observing warrant formal cognitive testing and what level or type of assessment may be appropriate. Dr. Estupinian can also help you understand what kind of professional should perform the evaluation and where to begin.
A consultation walks you through the landscape: in-home support, care management, community resources, residential options, medical and specialty referrals, and how families typically sequence these decisions.
Start by getting the situation organized. A consultation helps you separate what is urgent from what is not, identify what needs attention first, and understand which resources exist for the parts you should not be carrying alone.
Yes. Business owners, executives, physicians, attorneys, and other professionals book consultations regularly to think through situations they cannot discuss with employees, partners, colleagues, or friends. Dr. Estupinian has no stake in the organization and no relationship with anyone in it.
Yes. Terminations, being passed over, performance plans, workplace investigations, and decisions about leaving an organization are all common reasons professionals book a consultation before making a decision they cannot reverse.
No. When the concern involves a person who is not present and has not been evaluated, the consultation does not constitute a diagnosis, psychological evaluation, or clinical opinion about that individual. She can explain the range of possible explanations and what kind of evaluation would answer the question properly.
No. In most consultations that person is not present. The appointment is for you because you are the person carrying the concern and making the decisions.
No. This service provides guidance only. Dr. Estupinian does not conduct or direct interventions or confrontations with the person of concern.
Do not wait for an appointment. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. If someone is in crisis, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. A consultation is for planning and understanding, not for emergencies.
A clear understanding of the situation, the options realistically available to you, the specific next steps worth taking, and referrals or resources where they apply.
Dr. Ginny Estupinian holds a PhD from Palo Alto University and is board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). She spent ten years in the Santa Clara Valley Hospital System and has fifteen years of experience working with individuals and families. She is licensed in California, Oregon, Illinois, and Florida and is a member of the Forbes Business Council.
If you have been thinking about a situation long enough to read this page, that is generally reason enough. Call 844-802-6512 and describe it to the staff; they can tell you whether a consultation fits or whether another service would serve you better.