ready to start therapy?

Currently accepting new clients in NY. If you’re interested, you can go ahead and directly schedule your free consultation now.

A brief consultation is a great place to address what brings you to therapy, goals, and any questions you may have. If you are ready to book your 1st session, you may do so during the call! However, there’s absolutely no pressure to commit. I look forward to meeting!

You can also fill out my new client questionnaire & I’ll email you about openings that fit with your availability.

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Virtual Therapy in New York 
Note: I’m only telehealth at the moment.

I provide psychotherapy through a group practice Downtown Somatic Therapy.

Feel free to reach out at stephanie@downtownsomatictherapy.com with any questions.

FAQs

  • My standard fee for a 45-minute session is $230. Longer sessions can be scheduled at a higher rate. Therapy with me will be me a minimum of weekly, 45-minutes sessions. We’ll work together to find a consistent time slot that works with your schedule. Meeting on a consistent basis will give us space to develop a therapeutic relationship. 

  • Like a lot of NYC providers, I do not "take" insurance in the sense that I am not on any insurance company's in-network panel. If I were, insurance companies would pay me about 1/3 of what I need to bill in order to sustain my practice and make a living. However, I will support any efforts from the people I work with to receive reimbursement.

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    This tool can be helpful to find out if your insurance plan offers out-of-network benefits for reimbursement.

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    To find out if this is a viable option for you, I’d recommend calling your insurance company to ask the following questions:

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    • Do I have out-of-network benefits for psychotherapy?

    • Do I have a deductible? How much is it?

    • What percentage of my bill will be covered after my deductible is met?

    • What is the insurance company’s usual and customary fee for CPT codes 90834 or 90837?


      Once you get the answer to these questions, I am more than happy to discuss next steps in using insurance to help pay for psychotherapy.

  • Insurance companies mandate a diagnosis, oversee your health records and may seek access to your information while in therapy. In addition to meeting a deductible, there may also be limits to the number of sessions covered per year regardless of your circumstances. You may be limited to in-network providers which can narrow your chances of finding the right fit for you.

  • While life does happen (e.g. last-minute work or family demands, emergencies, childcare and/or pet issues, or illness, making it challenging to keep your appointment, regular sessions are essential to the therapeutic process). Since the appointment time has been set aside just for you, and it is not always possible to fill the time at short notice, I have a 48-business hour policy. There will be a charge for the full session fee for any session missed or not cancelled or rescheduled at least 48 hours (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm ET) in advance. Please note that these fees cannot be reimbursed by insurance, and you are responsible for the full cost of your session.

Understandably, finding a therapist can be quite daunting. My hope is that you approach it as an exercise in empowerment, self-care and flexing your felt sense and intuitive channels.

Shopping for a therapist is not about finding "the best" therapist. It's about finding the "good enough" person to journey with you in tending to this part of your life. The "good enough" therapist may change over time as you grow or your needs change.

​The most important thing to look for in a therapist is whether you feel comfortable to be open with that person. Listen to your gut or sense in your nervous system whether you find their presence more regulating. Notice what your gut is telling you. Your reasons could lead you to find a different therapist, or you may realize that your gut reaction is based on habitual patterns that you are interested in changing. 

If you decide to try one of us, give us an earnest try and meet for a few sessions at least before making a final decision. It really helps to give it 100% for the first session or so in that there is buy-in. You have every right to give us feedback about each moment of every session. Most of us truly welcome feedback because we are committed to helping people and to improving our skills.

Furthermore, your experiences can often provide invaluable insight into the very concerns that bring you into therapy, so this information becomes grist for the therapeutic mill. 

Once you start feeling better, do stick to therapy. Many people feel better within the first few months of starting therapy, but in order to make lasting change, new habits of thinking and acting need time to integrate .

You can schedule a consult through my online calendar, or reach out directly via contact form with any questions.

 Email: stephaniealirkantherapy@gmail.com

Downtown Somatic Therapy

New York, NY

I offer psychotherapy via teletherapy for individuals based in NY state.

Individual therapy sessions are 45 minutes in length and $230 per session.

Hours range M-TH 5am-3pm.

I practice exclusively online.

As an out of network provider, I can provide a superbill if your insurance offers reimbursement to you.

You may also use an HSA/FSA to pay for therapy.