The best way to contact me is through my email address, KevinFaustCounseling@gmail.com.

My office number, 808-720-EMDR (3637), typically goes straight to voice mail since this is a private practice and I am typically in sessions with clients all day. You may also text my office number if you like, but email is best for many reasons. Email gives you a lot more space to give me the information I will need. I need to know what your presenting issues are, how you plan to pay for mental health services (such as using HMSA insurance or paying out of pocket), what your expectations are for therapy, and what you are hoping to get out of therapy.

I offer mental health counseling for adult individuals in Hawai’i and Pennsylvania who have HMSA insurance or who choose to pay out of pocket for services.  I mainly see adult womxn as clients, but may occasionally take on children or men, depending on the circumstances. I primarily use telehealth (video) sessions currently. I am trained in EMDR therapy, but also use techniques involving somatic experience therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), motivational interviewing, feminist theory, sand-tray, and many others.

I specialize in working with womxn who have been through narcissistic/psychopathic abuse by men, but every client is different and I realize similar abuse can come from many different places. It’s not just men, and it’s not always just people. Similar abuse can come out of institutions or even larger cultural or government systems. If you identify as a womxn, have been the victim of domestic violence or narcissistic abuse, or think you may have been in a pathological love relationship (PLR), please reach out.

I am licensed in two different states (Hawai’i and Pennsylvania), have a national board certification, and hold liability insurance to cover my practice. 

I am only able to accept HMSA (and HMSA Quest) insurance at this time. Otherwise clients would need to pay out-of-pocket for services.

My full rate for service is $180 per session, but I am able to offer rates as low as $90 or less depending upon the client’s household income and my availability. The American Counseling Association Code of Ethics encourages counselors to “contribute to society by devoting a portion of their professional activity to services for which there is little or no financial return.” I do my best to work with clients to fit their financial needs. If you would like to know more, email me at KevinFaustCounseling@gmail.com for more information.

The short answer is that there is not one of these that is always the best choice. Perhaps what is most important is finding the right clinician for you and your needs.

The terminology can be confusing and I totally understand that, so let me try to clear this up for you a bit…

A psychiatrist is a medical doctor  who specializes in psychiatric (mental health) medicine. This person can help you with the medical side of mental health. It is extremely rare that a psychiatrist would do counseling, but a good psychiatrist should be highly recommending that their clients who take mental health medications also find a counselor. Research is clear that counseling done with medication shows the best outcomes.

A psychologist is someone with a non-medical doctorate degree in the field of psychology. A psychologist may also be credentialed as a therapist, but may primarily be trained more in research, assessment, or education rather than therapy. So don’t fall into the thinking that a psychologist is going to be a better counselor. Counselors are trained specifically in mental health counseling. 

A therapist is anyone credentialed to provide therapy. This could be a counselor, social worker, marriage and family therapist, or psychologist, as long as they are trained in providing therapy. 

A marriage and family therapist (MFT or LMFT) is specifically trained at a masters level to provide therapy for couples and families and the issues that accompany these. 

*Some states do allow people to be therapists without a masters degree, but this is usually just in specialized fields that are difficult to staff, such as substance abuse counselors. To my knowledge, a therapist that does not have a masters degree cannot be licensed as a therapist in the United States, but would have to work under, and bill under, someone who is licensed. 

A social worker is someone who has a degree in social work or something similar. If a social worker is a therapist, they should have a masters degree at minimum in the United States and credentials after their name to indicate a clinical aspect to their training such as LCSW (licensed clinical social worker). 

Counselors are not as easy to define due to different states having different credential designations. It may be best to look at the letters after their name and plug them into a search engine to find out what they mean.

I am officially “Kevin Faust, MS, LMHC, LPC, NCC, NATC, CCTP-II” at this moment.

It is not advised to put more than 3 credentials after one’s name in many cases so I typically do not list the “MS” after my name. One can safely assume that if a counselor is licensed, they have a masters degree at least. And since I live in Hawaii, I tend to leave the Pennsylvania “LPC” off as well.

My credentials explained…

MS = master of science degree
LMHC = licensed mental health counselor (Hawai’i)
LPC = licensed professional counselor (Pennsylvania)
NCC = national certified counselor (board-certified)
NATC = narcissistic abuse treatment clinician
CCTP-II = certified clinical trauma professional level 2

I am licensed in Hawai’i and in Pennsylvania. According to licensure rules as well as regulations of the American Counseling Association (ACA), I can only serve clients who are physically located in states where I am licensed to practice, although these laws are loosening up nationally and I may be able to soon see clients in most states. But for now, I may have to continue seeing clients through telehealth (video) sessions only if a client is in a different state or on a different island than I am. I am currently based out of Hilo, Hawai’i.