Frequently Asked Questions

Our office is in Arlington, Massachusetts.

We offer both in-person and virtual therapy, with telehealth available to clients located in Massachusetts. Some of us are licensed in New Hampshire as well.

We genuinely like having a physical office. There is something useful about leaving your normal environment, putting the rest of life on hold for an hour, and having an actual room devoted to the work.

Send us a consultation request and tell us a little about:

• What has been going on
• What you would like help with
• What you may have already tried
• Whether you prefer in-person or virtual therapy

You don’t necessarily have to.

Our clinicians have different specialties, personalities, and approaches, so we take matching seriously.

We may recommend someone based on the kind of problem you are dealing with, the type of therapy you are looking for, your schedule, and whether you prefer virtual or in-person care.

We would rather put some thought into the match than simply send you to whoever happens to have an opening Tuesday at 3.

Insurance participation varies by clinician and service.

Some clinicians currently work with insurance, while some of our specialized services and clinicians are private pay. We are also continuing to expand our private-pay options so that treatment can be shaped around what is clinically useful rather than what an insurance company happens to authorize.

If you contact us, we’ll tell you clearly what applies to the therapist or service you’re considering.

For eligible private-pay services, we can also provide documentation you may use to seek reimbursement from out-of-network benefits.

Fees vary depending on the clinician and type of service.

Standard psychotherapy, couples work, and longer specialized services such as ketamine-assisted psychotherapy are structured differently.

When you contact us, we’ll tell you the fee before scheduling so there are no financial jump scares.

Most psychotherapy appointments follow a standard therapy-session format of 50 minutes.

Certain services are intentionally longer. Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, for example, involves extended sessions that allow much more time for immersive work.

Your clinician will explain the structure before treatment starts.

We request 24 hours’ notice of cancellation in advance of the appointment.

Yes.

We offer telehealth for clients located in Massachusetts.

Some people strongly prefer it. No commute, no parking, and occasionally a dog makes a guest appearance.

Others find that physically coming into an office helps them shift into a different headspace.

Neither is inherently better. We can help you think about what fits you.

Our practice has particular depth in:

• Complex trauma
• EMDR
• Anxiety and depression
• Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy
• Couples and relationship therapy
• Men’s mental health
• Intimacy and sexuality
• Women’s mental health
• Pregnancy, perinatal, and postpartum concerns
• Identity and cultural concerns
• Longstanding emotional and relationship patterns

Different clinicians specialize in different areas, which is why matching matters.

You’re in good company.

Many people who come to us have been in therapy before.

They may understand themselves extremely well. They know why they react the way they do. They know where the pattern started. They can practically give a TED Talk about their attachment style.

And they’re still stuck.

We are particularly interested in that gap between:

“I understand why this happens.”

and

“It doesn’t control me the way it used to.”

Insight matters.

But we want the work to create movement too.

That depends on you, your therapist, and what you’re working on.

But generally, our therapists are active participants.

We listen carefully. We ask questions. We notice patterns. We connect dots. Sometimes we teach skills or give you something specific to practice. Sometimes we slow down and spend time with an experience rather than trying to immediately solve it.

And sometimes we zoom out and ask:

What does this mean?

What do you actually want?

What are you carrying that you may no longer need?

The goal is not to impose our answers.

It’s to help you hear yours more clearly.

Our team draws from approaches including:

• EMDR
• Internal Family Systems (IFS)
• Psychodynamic therapy
• Existential therapy
• Cognitive and behavioral approaches
• Emotionally Focused Therapy
• Gottman-informed couples therapy
• Solution-focused approaches
• Trauma-informed treatment
• Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy

We do not believe every person should be squeezed into the same model.

The approach should fit the person.

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.

It is a structured approach that can help people process traumatic or highly distressing experiences that continue to feel emotionally active.

The goal isn’t to forget what happened.

It’s to be able to remember it without your mind and body responding as though you’re back there again.

One of our favorite signs that the work is landing is when a previously intense memory starts to feel almost…boring.

You remember it.

It just doesn’t own the room anymore.

No.

People don’t always arrive saying, “I have trauma.”

Sometimes they say:

“I don’t know why I’m always anxious.”

“I overreact to things.”

“I can never relax.”

“I don’t trust anyone.”

“I know my childhood wasn’t that bad, but…”

We care less about whether your experience fits someone’s perfect definition of trauma and more about whether something from your past is interfering with your life now.

Absolutely.

In fact, many couples who come to us still love each other very much.

That’s why they’re frustrated.

They’ve just become trapped in the same cycle:

One person wants to be heard.

The other starts fixing.

Someone gets defensive.

Someone shuts down.

And somehow an argument about unloading the dishwasher ends with somebody questioning the entire relationship.

Couples therapy helps slow that down enough to see what is actually happening underneath it.

Sometimes.

But we don’t believe every emotional problem requires a worksheet.

Your therapist may suggest a skill to practice, something to notice, a conversation to have, or an exercise between sessions.

Other times, the most useful thing may simply be carrying a question with you during the week and noticing what comes up.

We care much more about whether something is useful than whether it technically qualifies as “homework.”

There isn’t an honest universal answer.

Some focused problems can shift substantially over several months.

Longstanding trauma, relationship patterns, and more complex difficulties may take longer.

What we don’t believe is that successful therapy means you should automatically be in therapy forever.

One goal is for you to gradually internalize the work.

Eventually, we hope you need us less.

Usually because something starts changing outside the therapy room.

You sleep better.

You don’t lose an entire afternoon to a trigger.

You notice yourself before repeating an old relationship pattern.

A memory feels less charged.

You become a little less vicious toward yourself.

You start doing something you enjoy again.

You have a hard conversation and realize afterward:

That went differently.

Those little changes add up.

That’s movement.

No.

There may be nodding.

We’re therapists. It’s practically an occupational reflex.

But our clinicians tend to be engaged.

We’ll ask questions, offer observations, teach things when useful, connect dots, and occasionally point out something you may not particularly enjoy having pointed out.

Compassion and honesty can coexist.

Only traffic and the weather.

Your early relationships do matter. They helped shape what you learned about yourself, other people, safety, emotions, and connection.

We may absolutely get curious about them.

But therapy isn’t about building a prosecution case against your childhood.

It’s about understanding what you’re still carrying into your life now.

Please don’t make us create a swear jar.

You’re talking about your actual life.

Talk like yourself.

Then you cry.

We have tissues.

Crying is allowed.

Not crying is also allowed.

There is no emotional performance requirement.

See above.

Nobody gets a gold star for maximum vulnerability per hour.

No.

Although Freud really did excellent branding work for the furniture industry.

Maybe if your dreams are interesting or relevant.

But you are not required to arrive every week with a symbolic tale involving your third-grade teacher, a lighthouse, and a talking giraffe.

Bring the skepticism.

Seriously.

A lot of our clients are analytical people who have already tried things that didn’t help enough.

You don’t have to believe therapy is magical.

In fact, we’d rather talk honestly about what is and isn’t working than ask you to pretend something is helping when it isn’t.

We know.

It’s 2026.

We assume you know the internet exists.

No.

The relationship matters enormously in therapy.

Sometimes the fit is right.

Sometimes it isn’t.

We’d much rather help you find someone who works for you than have you spend six months politely pretending we’re a match.