Little Bird Values
Accessibility
I offer in network services with BCBSIL Blue Choice and PPO, Optum/United Healthcare, Aetna, and USHIP insurance plans. I understand that private pay sessions, even at reduced rates, can be unaffordable for many (myself included!). I’m very privileged as a therapist to be able to accept some of the major insurance plans in my practice. Insurance in the US is a wildly imperfect and at times, harmful & counterintuitive system, but if we have it, I’m an advocate of using it until healthcare for all becomes the standard of care. I do not believe that opting out of insurance is beneficial to my clients or mental health care overall.
I’m also solely a telehealth therapist at this time. It’s allowed both myself and my clients much more flexibility in carving out time for sessions, allowing both sides of the couch to show up to sessions in a more mindful and purposeful state. No road rage before sessions, no anxiety about trying to get off work on time to factor in traffic, and a space that you can create a comfortable, therapy space out of. Pets are always happily welcomed
Scope of Practice
I do not work outside of my scope of practice. I am very careful about the fit between myself and potential clients; I offer consultations prior to scheduling full assessments that I bill for (and you pay for) so I can address any possible contraindications. I am more than happy to provide referrals if I’m uncertain about the fit or feel like a colleague may be better suited.
I also do not practice modalities of therapy that I do not have training for or have been supervised under. Modalities that I have had training and supervision for include Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, crisis management for youth and victims of intimate partner violence, group therapy, Internal Family Systems, feminist therapy, and narrative therapy. I regularly attend ongoing training to provide evidence based interventions for my clients and always complete more than twice the amount of hours needed to maintain my license. I'm personally very passionate about education and it helps me greatly in this respect.
I seek out supervision and consultation with colleagues on a regular basis as I am a firm believer that even after supervision is no longer required for therapists, it is an ethical duty to regularly be consulting with others in my field.
Technology & Third Party Platforms
I take client privacy very seriously. I only utilize HIPAA approved platforms in my work and do not partner with any third party billing, credentialing, or AI fueled tools. I see all clients through Sessions Health and utilize a HIPAA approved workspace and email, Proton. I do not utilize AI to assist in clinical documentation and do not recommend my clients use any AI tools that market themselves as being supplementary to therapy. I am independently credentialed with all insurances I accept and do not credential with any “Venture Capital Backed” platforms such as Headway, Grow Talkspace, Cerebral or Alma. Little Bird Psychotherapy PLLC is owned and operated solely by myself, Christina Sun Oo.
Abolition
Abolition is the guiding principle I utilize both in my personal life and in my practice as a therapist. I deeply believe in the capacity for healing for all persons, and I extend compassion to all persons. I have worked with both survivors of interpersonal and state violence, and I have worked with people who have perpetrated interpersonal violence and/or worked in industries that have resulted in moral injury. This cycle of harm can be interrupted and broken at any stage, and I’m dedicated to interrupting that cycle where I am able to.
Abolition is also closely related to my interest in Internal Family Systems, which famously states that there are “no bad parts” to who we are. This doesn’t mean that there are no parts of us that have caused and can cause significant harm to others; instead, it asks that we understand and work with these exiled parts to decrease harm.
Abolition also means that I am committed to providing care aligned with anti-carceral principles. This mainly looks like not calling emergency services when someone discloses suicidal or self-harming related thoughts and working with my clients and their loved ones to establish safety. As a former therapist in a psychiatric facility, I am well aware of the harm caused by even voluntary admission to psychiatric hospitals and know that risks for suicide actually increase after discharge from psychiatric units.
The Personal is Political
As a feminist therapist, I believe there are parts of our personal lives that are inextricably linked to the way we move through and are seen in the world and vice versa. Little Bird provides space for all parts of who we are and how we can be impacted by our identity markers; everything from race, age, social class, education level, and social or professional group affiliations. This is not a space that shies away from clients bringing up issues that can be labelled “political.” Politics is a loaded word but simply put, the way in which we are governed is not separate from our mental wellbeing.