Initial Contacts
When someone interested in psychotherapy calls me, I spend time on the phone with them, trying to determine if I'm the right person for them. If I'm not the right therapist, I will do my best to refer them to someone who can help. If it seems like I could be the right therapist, we make an appointment for an initial consultation. This is a meeting to see if we can do well together as a "therapy team." I try to elicit what the person needs and what they are looking for in a therapy. They are free to ask me questions. We need to see if it feels relatively comfortable sitting together in my office. After all, if we agree to work together, we will be spending a lot of time together!

Referrals
Sometimes it seems that a colleague of mine would be a more appropriate match, and I will refer the person to them. If I refer someone who comes to me for a consultation, I do not charge them a fee. If we agree to work together, we count the consultation as the first session, and payment will be expected, based on our agreement.

Insurance and Fees
For a variety of reasons, some of them clinical, some of them practical, I do not work directly with insurance companies. That means that people who come to see me pay for their psychotherapy out-of-pocket, and get reimbursed by their insurance companies. I have the kind of certification (an "R" number) that allows for insurance reimbursement.

I work out with each person how to organize payment. I'm well aware how taxing psychotherapy costs can be, and I try to make an arrangement with everyone that feels workable. There are times when I am able to offer a lower fee, if needed. If I can't do that, I am happy to refer you to a lower cost therapy situation. I am gratified to be part of large network of competent and talented colleagues.

Session Hours and Frequency
My therapy sessions are generally 50 minutes in length, although there are times, particularly in doing EMDR work, when a session could be 1 and a half or twice that long. Usually I meet with patients once a week, but, during difficult periods, that can increase, according to need. There have been times when, during the consultation, we decide to have 2 sessions a week as a normal arrangement. When someone is leaving treatment, we sometimes decide on an every other week schedule, or even once a month. Flexibility is important in forming a working therapy contract.

To Contact Me
Email me at: sfrances1@hotmail.com
or
Call me at: 718 852-1901, and leave a message on my voicemail.
I will get back to you, as soon as I can.

My address:
173 Hicks Street, Brooklyn Heights, NY 11201 (Click for MapQuest directions).