Frequently Asked Questions
How long are sessions?
Individual sessions are 45 minutes. Couples sessions are 50 minutes. Group sessions may vary slightly.
How do I meet with my therapist?
Our practice is fully remote, so you will meet with your therapist via a HIPAA compliant video chat platform that does not require a download. You will receive a direct link to your appointment each week via email.
Do I have to be in NY?
Our therapists are licensed in NY state to work with NY state residents. Although the practice is fully remote, we can only treat you if your residency is in NY state. Students who are enrolled in a NY state college or university are eligible.
Can I come to sessions every other week (bi-weekly)?
We do not offer any other frequency of therapy besides weekly.
What is your cancellation policy?
We ask for 48 hours notice for any cancelling so we can attempt to fill the appointment time. All appointments that are cancelled with less than 48 hours notice or missed will be charged the regular fee for that appointment via the credit or debit card on file for you. Please note that the work of therapy requires a commitment to your healing and because of that we limit the number of cancelations within one year to five. After five canceled sessions you will be charged for each missed/canceled session thereafter.
Can I take a break from therapy?
If you need to miss a week or two you can cancel sessions in advance, any cancellations beyond the annual limit will be charged a fee. If you need to take a longer break from treatment you would be removed from the calendar and reach out to us when you’re ready to return. Unfortunately we cannot hold appointment days & times since we have a wait list of folks looking to work with our therapists.
What is your fee and payment policy?
Our fee is $175. We also offer a sliding scale fee structure, you may choose to pay $70, $90 or $125 per session based on what’s available. We do not ask for proof of income when deciding the fee. We ask that you pay at the rate you can afford and feels right to you, doing so allows us to provide psychotherapy to a diverse array of folks and continue to provide sustainable psychotherapy to the community at large. The fee is due at time of treatment and payable by credit/debit card.
Is psychotherapy confidential?
Yes, what you talk about is confidential and we will take every measure I can to safeguard your information. It is unethical for us to disclose information about our work together with a few exceptions listed below where we are required by our profession to break confidentiality.
-In the event there is clear and imminent danger to yourself or another person.
-If you disclose information that provides evidence of current abuse or neglect of a child or an older adult.
-You authorize your therapist to disclose information (e.g., to another treatment provider or family member).
-In certain legal proceedings, which is very rare, and we are under court order.
Do you keep notes about what I say in session?
Yes. The laws and standards of our profession require that we keep clinical treatment records. We can prepare a summary for you if you request it within a reasonable time frame. Because these are professional records, they can be misinterpreted and/or upsetting to untrained readers. If you wish to see your records, we recommend that you view them in our presence so that we can discuss the contents. We do charge an appropriate fee for professional time spent in responding to this request.
Why is the practice closed for a week in June?
One of the tenets embedded in NYC Affirmative Psychotherapy’s philosophy is a commitment to serving queer communities of color. We express that commitment by not only providing psychotherapeutic services to historically marginalized populations, but by also creating job opportunities for those same communities that we serve. We continuously strive to ‘practice what we preach’ and in our 5th year in operation we want to center and celebrate our staff through the lens of rest and celebration. Annually our practice will be closed from the Saturday before Juneteenth until the Monday after NYC Pride (June 18th – June 27th). For more information see here.
