Journal
Questions to ask on a free first call
Fifteen minutes goes fast. The questions that tell you whether a clinician, a fee and a schedule will work for you.
AI-generated illustration. Not a real office.
The free call is short, fifteen minutes, so it helps to know what you want to leave it knowing. It is not a therapy session, and nobody expects you to tell your story. It is a conversation to see whether this clinician, this fee and this schedule could work for you.
What follows are the questions that tend to be worth the time, grouped by what each one tells you. You will not need them all. Pick four or five that matter to you and write them down before you dial.
Before you dial
Three things are worth settling in advance: what you would like to be different, in a sentence; the days and hours you can actually keep; and whether you would like to work in a language other than English. You never need to say more about why you are coming than you want to. The booking form on this site works the same way:
Nothing clinical online. This form asks only for what an appointment needs: your name, how to reach you, who you'd like to see, what kind of session and when. It never asks why you're coming — that conversation is for your clinician, not for a website — and nothing you type here is shared with an advertiser, a tracker or anyone outside the practice.
Questions about how they work
How do you work with someone who brings what I am bringing?
Listen for plain words and for what actually happens in a session. A method's name is not an answer. A description of an ordinary hour is.
What will the first session be like?
A good answer is specific: what you will be asked, what you do not have to say yet, and how the hour ends.
How will we know whether it is helping?
Be wary of a promise of improvement by a set date; no clinician can honestly give one. This is what this practice says: Therapy works differently for everyone. We can't promise a particular result, and nobody honestly can, but we'll review with you regularly how it's going and whether something else would serve you better.
This practice's own answers are on the first-session page, and why no promise is made here explains the last one.
Questions about fit
Who would I see, and can I change if it is not right?
A clinician who is easy about this is a good sign. Switching is a normal part of finding a fit and no insult to anybody.
Do you work in my language?
Sessions in English, Spanish, Tagalog, Bengali and Mandarin. For Nepali, Tibetan, Korean, Thai or another language, we'll help you find a clinician who works in it.
Have you worked with people in a situation like mine?
A fair question, and a good clinician will answer it in general terms. Nobody should describe another client to you.
Questions about time and place
Which days and times, in person or by video?
Each clinician's day is either an office day, when every session is in person here, or a video day, when every session is by video. Choose in person or video and the calendar shows you the times that fit.
What happens if I need to move a session?
Twenty-four hours' notice to cancel or move a session; inside that the fee is charged, except the first time in any twelve months.
Questions about money
What is the fee for each kind of session, and from when does it apply?
A real answer is a figure for each kind of session and the dates it applies. This practice's are printed in full on the fees page.
Do you take my insurance?
We don't participate in any health insurance networks. If your plan has out-of-network mental health benefits, we can give you a monthly statement (a "superbill") to send in. Whether and how much your plan reimburses is between you and your plan; ask them before you start.
Is there any room on the fee?
A limited number of reduced-fee places are available by arrangement. Ask on your free call; nobody is asked to prove anything to request one.
The fees page has every fee, with the dates it applies.
Questions about privacy and hard weeks
What stays private, and what cannot?
What you tell your therapist is confidential, with limits set by law. We must act if we believe a child is being abused (Social Services Law § 413), if someone is at serious risk of harming themselves or others (Mental Hygiene Law § 9.46), or if a court orders it. We'll go through these limits with you at the start, and you can ask about them any time.
What happens if things get worse between sessions?
Woodside Psychotherapy is not an emergency service. Nobody watches the website, the voicemail or the e-mail inbox outside office hours, and a message left at night is read the next working day. Ask this one even if you hope never to need the answer.
If you need help now. If you're in danger right now, call 911. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org, 24 hours a day; veterans can call 988 and press 1. You can also text HOME to 741741. Our phone and messages are not monitored outside office hours, and this website is not an emergency service.
What to listen for
How a clinician answers matters as much as what they say. Do they answer plainly? Do they welcome your questions, or hurry past them? Do they promise anything? A clinician who says they will find out, or that it depends, is telling you the truth about where things stand.
It also matters how you feel while you are talking. You have only fifteen minutes, but it is usually enough to tell whether you want to talk to this person again.
After the call
You do not have to book on the call. Take a day if you want one. When you are ready, you can book a first session straight from the calendar, with the clinician you spoke to or another.
The free call page has the calendar and what the call is, in the practice's own words.
General information, not advice for you. Nothing on this website can tell you what is going on for you. A diagnosis, where one is needed, comes from a clinician who has met you — never from a page, a quiz or a booking form.
Book a free call
Book a free fifteen-minute call, or go straight to a first session if you know what you want. Nothing is paid online, and nothing on the form asks why you're coming.