BrainHealth Solutions provides psychotherapy at our Costa Mesa clinic for Los Angeles adults living with depression, anxiety, OCD, trauma and grief, inside a psychiatrist-led practice built for people who already have a diagnosis and still are not well.
Psychotherapy, or talk therapy, is a structured, confidential process of working with a trained clinician to understand what you are experiencing and build practical skills for managing it. Our clinicians draw from cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), psychodynamic therapy and mindfulness-based approaches. What makes therapy at BrainHealth Solutions different from a standalone counseling office is the setting: a psychiatrist-led practice where therapy can be combined with medication management, TMS, SAINT® or Spravato® when talking alone is not enough.
Sessions identify the thoughts, behaviors, relationships and stressors that keep symptoms in place, then work deliberately to change them: examining unhelpful thought patterns, practicing new coping strategies and processing painful experiences at a safe pace.
Progress is measured by daily function, not by how the hour felt: sleep, work, relationships and motivation. If something is not working after a reasonable trial, the approach changes; "wait and see" is not a treatment plan here.
Because the practice is led by psychiatrist Dr. Robert Bota, your therapist and your prescriber are on the same team, and a diagnostic second opinion is available when the original diagnosis does not fit.
Weekly therapy works best close to home, so be realistic: BrainHealth Solutions has one clinic, at 3151 Airway Ave, Bldg R, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, about an hour south of Los Angeles on the I-405 depending on traffic, and no Los Angeles office. The LA patients for whom the trip makes sense are usually those whose depression, anxiety, OCD or PTSD has persisted despite treatment, who want therapy coordinated with a psychiatrist, or who are already coming to Costa Mesa for TMS, SAINT® or Spravato®. Dr. Bota founded UC Irvine’s first TMS program and has led more than 20 clinical trials; that research culture shapes how progress is tracked in therapy too.
A short call introduces the clinic, answers your questions and helps determine whether psychotherapy alone or combined with other treatment is the right next step, and whether regular visits to Costa Mesa are practical for you. You can also simply text the office first.
A thorough, non-judgmental conversation at the Costa Mesa clinic covering symptoms, prior diagnoses and treatments, medications you have tried, medical and family history, relationships, sleep, substance use and goals. A diagnostic second opinion can be part of this visit.
You and your clinician set specific, realistic goals and agree on a cadence, often weekly or biweekly at first. If the plan also includes medication, TMS, SAINT® or Spravato®, it is coordinated within the same practice, which can mean fewer separate trips.
Sessions typically run 45 to 60 minutes. Between visits you may practice skills or track patterns so the next session is more productive.
Progress is revisited at regular intervals, your feedback is welcomed, and the approach is adjusted when something is not working.
The first appointment is a conversation, not a questionnaire marathon. You are asked what has already been tried and what you want to be different, and you leave with a plan rather than a vague next step.
Sessions are structured around goals. CBT work might involve examining a specific thought pattern and testing a new response during the week; psychodynamic work might trace a recurring relationship pattern to its roots. Between-session practice matters more when visits involve a longer drive.
From Los Angeles, a 45 to 60 minute session plus about an hour each way on the I-405 is a half-day commitment. Patients who manage it often pair therapy with a medication or treatment visit on the same day, or move to a biweekly cadence once they stabilize. One patient wrote that Dr. Bota “talks to you, and takes his time on every visit.”
Typical psychotherapy scheduling at the Costa Mesa clinic:
Therapy has no physical side effects, but it does have predictable rough patches. Knowing them in advance keeps people from quitting at the wrong moment.
Common and expected
These are discussed openly, and pacing is adjusted so that processing stays within what you can tolerate.
Signs the plan needs to change
Because the practice offers those options itself, a plateau in therapy leads to a conversation with your psychiatrist, not a referral into another waitlist.
Decades of research show that structured psychotherapies such as CBT are effective for depression, anxiety disorders, OCD and PTSD, with many patients improving within 12 to 20 sessions. Combining therapy with medication outperforms either alone for moderate to severe depression.
The goal is lasting skills rather than dependence on the therapy hour. Patients leave with tools they use after sessions end, and with a team they can return to if symptoms recur.
Psychotherapy at our Costa Mesa clinic may be a strong fit for Los Angeles adults if:
Psychotherapy at BrainHealth Solutions is for adults. Child and adolescent psychiatric care is available through Dr. Mahtab K. Yousefi.
Therapy may be combined with
Los Angeles patients who come to BrainHealth Solutions have often been told to “give it more time” by providers who never had time for them. The practice was built to be the opposite of that experience.
CBT, psychodynamic therapy and mindfulness-based approaches, matched to your diagnosis and goals rather than one method for everyone.
Sleep, work, relationships and motivation are the yardsticks, and progress is reviewed at regular intervals.
Medication questions, side effects and diagnostic doubts are handled inside the practice, with shared records, and visits can be coordinated to save trips.
TMS, SAINT® and Spravato® are available from the same clinicians, so a plateau is a decision point, not a dead end.
If your diagnosis or plan has never felt right, a diagnostic review can be built into your evaluation.
Many plans are accepted, including Medicare and Anthem, and the team verifies coverage before your first visit.
If therapy and medication have both been tried and you are still not well, that history matters: it is the definition of treatment-resistant depression and the entry criterion for TMS, SAINT® and Spravato®. At BrainHealth Solutions, psychotherapy continues alongside those treatments, helping consolidate gains once the biology of the depression has shifted.
Psychotherapy sessions at BrainHealth Solutions generally range from $175 to $275 per session, with initial evaluations at the higher end. Final fees depend on appointment length, the clinician you see, how often you meet, and whether therapy is part of a broader plan that includes medication management or advanced treatment. With insurance, patients typically pay a mental-health copay or coinsurance per session. BrainHealth Solutions accepts many plans and offers CareCredit for self-pay; we quote only after reviewing your benefits.
Insurance and financing
BrainHealth Solutions accepts insurance and self-pay. Many major plans are accepted, including Medicare and Anthem, and CareCredit financing spreads self-pay costs over monthly payments. Submit your plan through the insurance-check form on our site, or ask on your 15-minute screening call, and our team confirms what your plan covers before you commit to anything.
Dr. Robert Bota, MD, MSG, DFAPA is a board-certified psychiatrist and Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He trained in TMS at Harvard University and the University of South Carolina, founded and directed the first TMS program at UC Irvine, and has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications.
Dr. Bota has been principal investigator on more than 20 clinical trials in depression, schizophrenia, PTSD and Alzheimer’s disease, and the practice participates in brain-imaging research with Kernel neurotechnology. Treatment plans are informed by that research and reviewed as your symptoms change.
Care at BrainHealth Solutions is delivered by a team that includes psychiatrists Dr. Tina Allee and Dr. Mahtab K. Yousefi (child and adolescent care in English and Farsi), Spravato® specialist Dr. Dragos Serseni, TMS technician Anna Venezio and office manager Peter Bota.
Many plans are accepted, including Medicare and Anthem, and CareCredit financing is available for self-pay. One parent wrote that the team “even helped get insurance coverage when others said it wasn’t possible.” Use the insurance check on our site or ask on your screening call.
No. BrainHealth Solutions has one clinic, at 3151 Airway Ave, Bldg R, Costa Mesa, beside John Wayne Airport, about an hour south of Los Angeles on the I-405 depending on traffic. All therapy sessions take place there.
It depends on your schedule. Weekly sessions plus the drive are a real commitment, and many LA patients start weekly and move to biweekly as they stabilize. If you are already coming to Costa Mesa for medication, TMS or Spravato®, pairing visits on the same day helps.
Yes. Therapy and medication visits are coordinated within the same practice with shared records. The clinic is open Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM; ask on the screening call about combining visits.
Tell your clinician. At BrainHealth Solutions that conversation leads directly to options: medication management, a diagnostic second opinion, or TMS, SAINT® and Spravato® for treatment-resistant depression, all within the same practice.
Many structured therapies show results within 12 to 20 sessions; longer work is appropriate for complex trauma or long-standing patterns. Cadence is adjusted as you stabilize.
Sessions at BrainHealth Solutions generally range from $175 to $275, with initial evaluations at the higher end. With insurance, most patients pay a mental-health copay or coinsurance.
Most plans cover outpatient psychotherapy with a mental-health copay. Many plans are accepted at BrainHealth Solutions, including Medicare and Anthem, and the team checks your benefits before the first session.
Schedule a 15-minute screening call with BrainHealth Solutions and find out whether psychotherapy at our Costa Mesa clinic, alone or with other treatment, is the right next step for you.
BrainHealth Solutions, 3151 Airway Ave, Bldg R, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 · (949) 441-5542 · Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. Same-day appointments may be available. The screening call asks only for your name, contact information and a callback time; there are no long intake forms before you speak with us.
