Services Offered
Services:
  • Psychotherapy
  • Psychological
    Consult
  • Marriage
    Counseling
  • Child &
    Adolescent
    Treatment
About Psychological Treatment:

Psychotherapy provides a secure setting in which a person can address problems, reveal
feelings, explore life options and develop ways to improve the quality of life. In this process,
a trained professional offers an objective perspective and psychological expertise to help in
the assessment of life adjustment problems, internal conflicts, problems with relationships
and family turmoil.

Individual difficulties such as behavioral problems, issues of identity, and life stage
developmental problems are explored as a way to define the extent of the presenting
problem. Although  it is helpful to understand the roots of problems as a way to clarify their
persistence, this alone does not, as Sigmund Freud lamented, usually clear the way to a
happy and satisfying existence.

At the beginning of therapy, the therapist and the patient work together to set goals and
explore ways to reach them. This may involve making changes in one’s personal or
occupational life, as a patient develops new behaviors and analyzes and refines his route to
reaching his goals. People usually seek psychotherapy when they have exhausted their own
means to solve problems and make life work better.

Although complaints of anxiety or depression may lead to psychological treatment, there are
other indicators of psychological distress. Physical problems such as chronic headaches,
gastrointestinal disturbances, weight gain or loss, skin problems, and sleep difficulties can
mask underlying psychological problems.

Among the more severe types of psychological problems seen in practice, depression,
trauma disturbances, personality disorders and medical conditions often require continuous
treatment. Outcomes vary depending of the severity of the symptoms, the length of time
the problem has existed, and the overall life skills of the patient. Treatment goals set by
therapist and patient define the outcome sought, and this may be quite different depending
on life stage and circumstances.

When the concern is with a child or adolescent, the approach is different; sometimes
parents bring their offspring for treatment because of their own concerns, and sometimes a
referral is made by other professionals, such as a teacher or a pediatrician. The focus in this
work is usually on whether development is proceeding at a normal pace, is blocked by
dysfunctional behavior. For adolescents, the concerns are freequently issues of mood or
school performance.

The major criterion in both of these situations is whether normal development is impeded
by a youngster’s behavior or emotional state, and whether intervention is needed to clear
whatever roadblocks have blocked this course. In addition, if a youngster’s problems disrupt
his environment, whether at home or at school, treatment may be needed. Less commonly,
when youngsters face novel or unusual challenges, families may seek help in facilitating
healthy coping. Treatment for children and adolescents is solution focused, with a drive to
return a youngster to a normal developmental course. Parents participate in this type of
treatment and receive help in developing new approaches to dealing with kids.

Marriage counseling, (also called marital therapy or couples counseling) deals with issues
which cause stress in the smooth functioning of a marital pair. The goal of this type of work
is to increase the perceived satisfaction in the relationship for both. Some types of
interpersonal behavior, such as fighting, blaming or criticizing often lead to turmoil and
may cause psychological distress in one or both partners. The goal of couples work is to help
people to identify behaviors that don’t work and find more effective substitutes. In short,
the goal is to learn to work together as teammates rather than adversaries.

For more information about marriage counseling, click here.

The Cost of Psychological Treatment:

The fees for office psychological treatment are different than those of medical treatment, as
they involve the full attention of one professional for 50 minutes, as well as planning and
consult time outside the session.

Many independent insurers cover a portion of treatment or they may offer coverage for 10
sessions per year. Others require large deductibles or large copayments. It can be confusing
to identify which company is actually providing mental health coverage, as plans change,
often on a yearly basis. This may also involve changes in coverage and in reimbursement
policies and practices.

It is important to contact your insurer directly to ascertain your exact coverage. When you
choose to use a health care provider outside your insurance coverage, it is wise to call your
insurer to determine the actual cost to you of any and all charges. You need to make
contact with your insurer at the start of any treatment, since coverage can change yearly
and may require preapproval.

Our fees are $150 per session for individual psychotherapy and $175 for couples therapy. If
you choose to seek reimbursement from health insurance, you should check if your plan
allows for out-of-network benefits, which means that you would pay me directly and then
get reimbursed (usually between 50-80% of my fee) by your insurance plan.

When insurance coverage and personal finances make it impossible to cover the cost of
treatment it is important to discuss the issue with a therapist and consider alternative
means of treatment. Sometimes the best option is to transfer to sliding scale services
available through community clinics. An additional alternative is to settle accounts using a
major credit card (Master Card, Visa, American Express).
In the New York State Capital District area, we recommend:
    The Psychological Services Center
    299 Washington Avenue
    Albany, New York  12206
    518-442-4900


We anticipate variability in access to psychological services as a result of the large number
of new regulations in federal health care reform. As part of those changes, federal law
requiring parity between medical health and mental health insurance coverage will increase
the number of people having mental health coverage by a large proportion, up to fifty
percent in some states. With no increase in the number of mental health service providers
foreseen, this may lead to increased pressure for treatment.


Additional Resources:

Psychological treatment can involve many different approaches and techniques. For a
discussion of types of psychological treatment, go to

For a discussion of mental disorders, go to

One way to explore the many facets of psychology is to look at the organizations which focus
on various aspects of the field. For a list of psychological organizations and their websites,
go to

Psychology organizations for practicing professionals and for the general public include:

There are a number of websites which offer information about psychological disorders.
Although these may offer useful information, it is important to check with a qualified
professional for information about specific situations:

Depression:

Anxiety disorders


For a sample of recent research findings in psychology, the following offer research
of interest:

For a discussion of why dealing with sleep problems can significantly improve psychological
functioning, go to:

For research examining the relationship between diabetes and psychological functioning, go
to

For an examination of the relationship between anxiety and eating disorders in adolescence,
go to

To explore the relationship between cell phone usage and psychological problems, go to