We know that starting therapy can feel intimidating, but your therapist at Wanderwell will strive to make your first session a cozy conversation to learn more about you while sprinkling in a few treatment goals along the way. If you’re struggling with where to start, we will be happy to take the lead so there’s no pressure to come ‘prepared’.

We’ll discuss family history, current presenting issues, who you’ve got in your support circle, and how you spend your time. We want to know what strengths have helped you during difficult moments in your life and the ways you like to celebrate both big and small wins best. We promise to go at your pace, take a bit of weight off your shoulders, and hopefully leave you feeling a little lighter.

You have a legal and ethical right to privacy, or “confidentiality,” in therapy. This means your therapist is legally and ethically obligated to not share information about your sessions, including dates of sessions, what was discussed, any personal identifying information, and even whether or not you are attending therapy at all. There are three exceptions to confidentiality where a therapist is legally and ethically required to disclose details of your case with others:

1. You sign a Release of Information giving that therapist permission to discuss your case with others (typically a family member or another provider)
2. You express intent to harm yourself or someone else
3. There is reasonable suspicion of abuse/neglect against a minor child, elderly person (60 or older), or dependent child
4. A court order is received directing the disclosure of information.

At Wanderwell, we typically see the best results when sessions are scheduled once a week for a clinical hour (50 minutes). As you start to feel better and notice your symptoms improving, you and your therapist may move to biweekly sessions or meeting once per month for “check-ins” or on an as needed basis.

The best way to contact your therapist is via email, where you can typically expect a response within 48 hours.

It can be really challenging to see your child or teenager struggle, and we take our role as their therapist as an honor and responsibility. While we encourage parents and caretakers to respect their child/teenager’s privacy during sessions, we also want parents to feel welcome to “check in” on their mental health.

Children/adolescents (and adults) thrive best when they are supported in multiple areas of their lives. If you have questions for your child/adolescent’s therapist, feel free to reach out and schedule a meeting with the understanding that the therapist’s job is to build trust with your child/teenager and is unable to divulge most information without the client’s consent.

Although your therapist at Wanderwell New England might be familiar with psychiatric medications, they cannot prescribe any medications. However, we have a referral collection of highly specialized psychiatrists and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners we would be happy to help coordinate care with to get your medication needs met.

Telehealth is always an option for you meeting with any therapist at Wanderwell. Upon receiving your welcome email, instructions on how to join your telehealth session will be provided.

If you are wanting to meet your therapist in person, this option is available for clients in Massachusetts in the North Shore (office and walk-and-talk) and Rhode Island in South Kingstown (walk-and-talk). Please indicate your preferences to your therapist and they will provide you with the specific address.

A superbill is a detailed document relaying all charges and payments provided to a client by your therapist at Wanderwell New England. This enables clients to seek reimbursement from their insurance company for out-of-network services or out-of-pocket payments. It serves as a record of services rendered, including codes required by insurers to process claims.