Frequently Asked Questions

About the Approach

  • Psychodynamic therapy examines the patterns, defenses, and relational templates that shape your emotional life, often outside your awareness. Unlike approaches focused on teaching skills or managing symptoms, psychodynamic work explores how you became who you are, why certain patterns persist, and what keeps you from accessing what you actually want. The goal is structural change—shifts in how you relate, understand yourself, and navigate patterns that have felt immovable.

  • CBT and similar approaches typically focus on changing thoughts and behaviors to reduce symptoms. Psychodynamic therapy goes deeper—examining the underlying structures that generate those symptoms in the first place. Rather than learning coping strategies, you develop insight into the unconscious patterns, relational templates, and defensive operations that organize your emotional life. Symptoms often shift as a result of this understanding, but the work aims for lasting structural change rather than temporary relief.

  • Intensive therapy typically means meeting more frequently than once weekly—often twice per week or more. This frequency creates continuity that allows patterns to emerge and be worked with in real time. Weekly sessions can feel supportive, but they often don't provide the depth needed for transformative work. The increased frequency isn't about more therapy—it's about deeper, faster progress. Many clients find that twice-weekly sessions accomplish in a year what might take two or three years at once weekly.

  • Psychodynamic work typically unfolds over months to years, depending on what you're working with and how deeply you want to go. There's no predetermined timeline—the work continues as long as it feels generative and meaningful. One benefit of increased frequency is that treatment often progresses more efficiently. Twice-weekly sessions can accomplish in a year what might take two or three years at once weekly.

  • The work happens through examining what's occurring between therapist and client in the room, not just what you report about your life outside of it. How you relate to your therapist often mirrors how you relate to others. These patterns become visible in the therapeutic relationship, where they can be understood and eventually shifted. This isn't advice-giving or problem-solving—it's a process of developing insight into patterns you may not have been able to see on your own.

Who is this for

  • Jack works with men navigating intimacy and relational patterns, young adults working through questions of identity and direction, and couples seeking to understand the deeper dynamics that shape their relationship. The common thread is readiness for depth work—people who want to understand why patterns persist, not just manage symptoms.

  • Yes. Many of the men Jack works with are capable and successful in their professional lives but find themselves shut down or withdrawn in their relationships. The work explores how masculine socialization creates particular pressures—the expectation to be a certain type of man that often comes at the cost of emotional honesty and intimate connection. There's often a deep gap between who you are publicly and who you are privately, and closing that gap is hard, important work.

  • Yes. Couples therapy at Beacon Psychotherapy examines the relational patterns and unconscious dynamics that create recurring conflicts or distance. This isn't skills-based couples counseling—it's depth-oriented work that explores how each person's history, defenses, and needs interact to create the relationship's particular challenges. Both partners need to be willing to examine their own contribution to the patterns, not just point to what the other person is doing.

  • Yes. The work with young adults focuses on identity formation—the questions of direction, authenticity, and self-definition that feel urgent and complex during this developmental stage. This isn't about adjustment or coping; it's about thinking deeply about who you're becoming. The disorienting work of becoming someone requires more than symptom management—it needs space to explore the complexity of that process.

  • This approach works best for people who have tried standard weekly therapy and found it helpful but insufficient, who are curious about why things keep happening (not just what to do about them), who are willing to examine their role in the patterns they want to change, and who can commit to regular attendance and the financial investment. It's less suited for people seeking crisis intervention, concrete advice, short-term work (under 6 months), or skills training.

Practice Details

  • Individual therapy is $400 per session. Couples work is $600 per session. This investment reflects the intensive, specialized nature of the work and the limited caseload structure that allows for depth and continuity.

  • Beacon Psychotherapy doesn't accept insurance directly, but superbills are provided for out-of-network insurance reimbursement. Many clients receive partial reimbursement from their insurance companies for out-of-network mental health services.

  • Frequency is determined collaboratively based on what your work requires. Many clients meet twice weekly, which creates continuity that allows the work to progress more efficiently. Some clients begin once weekly and adjust frequency as the work deepens. Sessions can also be scheduled more than twice weekly when clinically indicated.

  • Sessions are 50 minutes.

  • Both. Sessions are available in-person in Los Angeles (Carthay Circle area) or via secure telehealth throughout California. Many clients do a combination—meeting in-person when possible and using telehealth as needed for scheduling flexibility.

  • In-person sessions are held in Los Angeles in the Carthay Circle area.

  • 48-hour notice is required for cancellations. Late cancellations and no-shows are charged the full session fee. This policy exists because the time is reserved specifically for you, and late cancellations prevent others from accessing that time.

Getting Started

  • Call (310) 774-0517 or email therapy@beacon-psychotherapy.com to schedule a brief phone consultation. You can also use the Request Consultation on this site.

  • The initial consultation is a 15-20 minute phone conversation to discuss what you're looking for and whether this approach makes sense for your situation. There's no charge for this consultation. If it seems like a good fit, we'll schedule your first session.

  • If we decide to move forward, we'll begin meeting regularly at the frequency we've determined works for your situation. The early sessions involve getting to know you—your history, your patterns, what brings you to this work now. From there, the therapy unfolds organically based on what emerges in the work.

  • Yes. If you're working with a psychiatrist or other healthcare providers, Jack coordinates care to ensure everyone is aligned. For clients who aren't yet connected with a psychiatrist or other providers but would benefit from medication or additional support, Jack can provide referrals to trusted colleagues. This integrated approach is part of how depth work functions best—not in isolation, but as part of a coherent treatment framework.

About Jack Irmas, LCSW

  • Jack Irmas is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) who completed his MSW at USC and a two-year fellowship in psychodynamic psychotherapy at the Wright Institute Los Angeles, where he trained in contemporary relational and psychoanalytic theory. Beyond his clinical practice, Jack supervises other therapists and teaches clinical supervision, which keeps him engaged with the theoretical foundations of psychodynamic practice.

    Read Jack's full background.

  • Jack practices contemporary psychodynamic therapy informed by relational and psychoanalytic theory. The approach is collaborative—not about the therapist being the expert on your life, but bringing a particular way of listening and thinking that helps you see things you haven't been able to see on your own. The work examines patterns as they emerge in the room, not just as you describe them, allowing for understanding and eventual structural change.

  • Intensive therapy typically means meeting more frequently than once weekly—often twice per week or more. This frequency creates continuity that allows patterns to emerge and be worked with in real time. Weekly sessions can feel supportive, but they often don't provide the depth needed for transformative work. The increased frequency isn't about more therapy—it's about deeper, faster progress. Many clients find that twice-weekly sessions accomplish in a year what might take two or three years at once weekly.

  • Jack was drawn to psychodynamic therapy because it takes seriously the complexity of how we become who we are—the family histories, the internalized pressures, the ways people unconsciously hold themselves back from what they actually want. The work combines intellectual rigor with genuine intimacy, structured by a coherent theory of mind and change while remaining deeply personal.