Free Consultation Service

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The Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute’s Free Consultation Service is a free resource for individuals seeking help or advice and recommendations about treatment options. The Consultation Service provides a range of contact from informational telephone calls to private consultation appointments with one of its members. Our goal is to provide information and assistance to people who are interested in psychoanalytic therapy and, wherever possible, to help find a suitable therapist.

The Consultation Service may also, when appropriate, make recommendations for other forms of psychiatric care or psychotherapeutic help.

Why Seek A Consultation from the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute

You may want to speak with a clinician because of:

  • Critical life or career decisions
  • Longstanding problems in experiencing fulfillment in relationships or wor
  • Personal or family problems
  • Concerns about a child or adolescent
  • Problems finding a suitable therapist
  • Desire for a “second opinion”

Working collaboratively with you, we will help define the most suitable treatment for your particular problem. Many crisis situations respond to a relatively brief, problem-oriented focus. Longstanding patterns of personal difficulties may require a longer-term approach. We hope to be useful in clarifying the nature of the problem so that recommendations for treatment can be made based on the unique needs of each individual.

Integrating a Biological, Psychological and Social Understanding of Distress

Our approach is to try to understand an individual’s problems through the integration of biological, psychological and social factors. Many people suffer with patterns of behavior that arise from their life experiences and are best treated by psychotherapy alone. . Some types of mental health problems have an important biological basis, for which medication may be helpful as part of an overall treatment.

Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

Psychoanalytic therapy is helpful for individuals who are interested in exploring the nature of their difficulties in an open-ended way. It includes a broad range of treatments from brief psychotherapy to long-term psychoanalysis. These forms of therapy focus people gaining new understanding of themselves and their difficulties and applying that knowledge to facilitate constructive changes.

Treatment Available through the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute

Treatment may be provided either by graduates or trainees in our educational programs. Trainees are already licensed psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, and psychiatrists who are pursuing advanced education in psychoanalytic therapies. Those studying psychoanalysis take five years of classes, undergo their own psychoanalysis, and treat three or more individuals four to five times per week in psychoanalysis under supervision. In the Advanced Training Program in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (ATP) clinicians pursue a three-year curriculumin the practice of psychoanalytic psychotherapy and are supervised in their treatment of two individuals in twice-a-week therapy. Referrals are also made to graduates of these programs. All treatment arrangements are made privately and individually with the clinicians involved.

Fees

Fees are arranged with the clinician. Some reduced fee treatment is available, according to need. The consultation service will attempt to direct individuals toward an appropriate, affordable therapist. However, we may not be able to meet the referral needs of every person making a request.

How to Receive A Free Consultation

Call the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute at 617.266.0953 between 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and ask for the Free Consultation Service. You will be provided with a name and telephone number of a consultant. We welcome your questions and inquiries.