We know reaching out for help comes with questions.
Here’s what most people want to know about our therapy services before their first appointment.
Don’t see your question here? No problem. Just reach out to us with your concerns and we will do what we can to give you the answers you need.
Our therapists are trained across a range of evidence-based modalities including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Interpersonal Therapy (IPT), psychodynamic therapy, play therapy for children and trauma-focused approaches. The modality your therapist recommends depends on your diagnosis, your symptoms and your goals. If one approach isn’t producing results, we adjust.
That depends on what you’re dealing with and how severely it’s affecting your life. Some conditions like mild to moderate anxiety and depression respond well to therapy alone. Others, like severe depression or OCD, often require medication to reduce symptoms enough for therapeutic work to be productive. During your initial evaluation, we’ll give you an honest recommendation about which approach makes sense for your situation. You’re never pressured toward either option.
Medication works on the biological factors contributing to your symptoms by altering brain chemistry. Psychotherapy works on the thought patterns, behavioral habits, emotional responses and relational dynamics that contribute to how you feel and how you function. Some people do well with one or the other. Many do best with both. The advantage of receiving both at Inspire is that your therapist and prescriber communicate directly with each other, which means your treatment plan is cohesive rather than fragmented across providers at different practices.
Psychotherapy is a structured, evidence-based treatment approach where you work with a trained therapist to address the thoughts, emotions, behaviors and relationship patterns that are causing you distress or interfering with your life. It involves regular sessions (usually weekly) where you and your therapist work together on specific goals using therapeutic approaches matched to your condition. Psychotherapy is sometimes called talk therapy, counseling or just “therapy,” and while those terms are used interchangeably in everyday conversation, at Inspire our therapists use specific, research-backed modalities tailored to what you’re dealing with rather than a general conversational approach.
Yes, with limited legal exceptions. Your therapist is bound by strict confidentiality laws and won’t share what you discuss with anyone without your written consent. The exceptions are situations involving immediate risk of harm to yourself or someone else, suspected abuse or neglect of a child or vulnerable adult, or a court order. If you’re in treatment at Inspire and also seeing a prescriber here, your therapist and prescriber share relevant clinical information to coordinate your care, but this stays within your treatment team. For teenagers, we discuss confidentiality boundaries explicitly at the start of treatment so your adolescent knows what will and won’t be shared with parents.
There’s no universal answer because it depends on what you’re working on. Targeted treatments like CBT for a specific phobia or ERP for OCD can produce significant improvement in a matter of months. Complex trauma, chronic depression or personality-based patterns typically require a longer commitment. Your therapist won’t keep you in treatment longer than you need to be, and you’ll have regular check-ins about your progress so you’re never left wondering whether therapy is working.
Most people start with weekly sessions. This frequency builds momentum and gives you enough contact with your therapist to make meaningful progress. As you improve, we may move to every other week, then monthly. Some people return periodically for tune-ups during stressful periods long after their initial course of treatment has ended. The schedule is always based on where you are in recovery, not a rigid protocol.
Individual therapy sessions are typically 45 to 60 minutes. Initial evaluations may run longer as we gather a comprehensive picture of what’s going on. Sessions for children are sometimes shorter depending on age and attention span, particularly for younger kids in play therapy.
Your first session is about getting to know each other and understanding what brought you in. Your therapist will ask about your current symptoms, your history, what you’ve tried before and what you’re hoping to get out of treatment. You don’t need to have a polished narrative prepared or know exactly what’s wrong. Most people come in knowing they don’t feel right and needing help figuring out why. That’s enough. By the end of the first session, your therapist will share their initial impressions and outline a recommended approach. You’ll leave with a sense of what treatment will look like and what comes next.
Call us at 212-764-IMHS (4647) or send us a message through our contact page. We can often schedule your first appointment within days. If you’re not sure whether therapy is right for you or whether Inspire is the right fit, that first call is a good place to start. There’s no obligation and our team can answer any questions the FAQ didn’t cover.
Therapy not working in the past doesn’t mean therapy can’t work for you. It often means the approach wasn’t matched to your condition or the therapeutic relationship wasn’t right. A general supportive counseling approach won’t do much for OCD, for example, which requires specific ERP treatment. Depression rooted in relational patterns needs a different approach than depression triggered by a life event. At Inspire, we match the modality to the problem and monitor whether it’s producing results. If it’s not, we change course rather than continuing with something that isn’t moving you forward.
Yes. We offer both in-person and virtual sessions for therapy, and you can switch between formats depending on what works for your schedule. Some people prefer the structure of coming into the office. Others find they open up more easily from the comfort of their own home. Both formats are effective and you’re not locked into one.
Yes. We accept the same insurance plans for therapy that we accept for medication management. Our team can verify your coverage and explain any copays or session limits before your first appointment so there are no surprises.
The relationship between you and your therapist is one of the strongest predictors of whether therapy works. If it doesn’t feel right after a few sessions, tell us. We won’t be offended and we won’t pressure you to stay with someone who isn’t the right fit. We’ll help you transition to another therapist on our team or provide a referral elsewhere if that’s what you prefer. Staying with a therapist you don’t connect with because you feel guilty about switching is not a good use of your time.
This is one of the main advantages of coming to Inspire. Having your therapist and prescriber under one roof means they can communicate easily about your progress, coordinate treatment decisions and respond quickly when something needs to change. You don’t have to relay messages between providers or worry about conflicting recommendations.
Yes. We work with children, adolescents and adults. Therapy for young people is adapted to their developmental stage. Younger children work through play, drawing and activities rather than sitting in a chair talking for 45 minutes. Teenagers engage more directly but need a therapist who respects their autonomy and doesn’t talk to them like they’re either a small adult or a misbehaving child. Parents are involved in treatment to varying degrees depending on the child’s age and the nature of the concern.
How to Get Started
In one quick call, we can verify your insurance and schedule an appointment.
Appointments can be scheduled as soon as the next business day.
Reach Out
Give us a call or fill out our contact form. We’ll ask a few questions about what you’re looking for and whether you want therapy only or coordinated care with a prescriber.
Get Matched
Based on that conversation, we’ll pair you with a therapist whose expertise and style fit your situation. We want the match to feel right from session one.
Begin Therapy
Your first session is all about getting to know each other. Your therapist will want to understand what brought you in and what you’re hoping to get out of the process. From there, your treatment plan takes shape around you.
