FAQ
For additional information, please call us at 914-723-MBHA (6242) or email us at [email protected]. We look forward to speaking with you to determine if MBHA is the right fit for your needs. We also offer free 15-minute phone consultations to allow time for more detailed questions and answers about MBHA.
Most definitely. MBHA has the right psychotherapists to help you with a wide variety of mental health concerns. While many of the clinicians at MBHA have deep expertise in eating disorders and body image concerns, they also have significant expertise treating anxiety, depression and other mood disorders, parenting challenges, stage of life concerns and relationship issues among many of life’s other challenges.
MBHA has offices in Scarsdale, NY and in New York City. MBHA also provides telehealth sessions.
SCARSDALE OFFICE
14 Harwood Court, Suite 512, Scarsdale, NY, 10583
The Harwood building in located in the center of Scarsdale village, just one block from the Scarsdale Metro North Train Station. MBHA’s offices are located on the 5th floor which is accessed via elevator. Metered street parking is available throughout the village of Scarsdale and there are several parking garages, as well.
NEW YORK CITY OFFICE
30 West 60th Street, Suite 1R, New York, NY 10019
The office is just one block from the Columbus Circle train stop, which serves the A, B, C, D, and 1 trains. There is also a parking garage right next door.
To schedule an appointment, please click here to send us an email or call us at 914-723-MBHA (6242). MBHA’s professional staff typically offer sessions Monday through Saturday with flexible hours.
The best way to know if you or a loved one is in need of treatment is to trust your instincts. If you are visiting this page and reading this question, chances are your instincts are telling you there is something with which you or a loved one could use help. Call MBHA today for a free 15-minute consultation to discuss your concerns and whether or not the team at MBHA may be helpful.
Our process starts with an extensive biopsychosocial/psychological interview, approximately 90 minutes in length. This enables us to get as much history as we can, as well as a clear picture of what’s happening now. During this session, you will have the opportunity to share your concerns and any treatment goals you may have. In advance of the first session, we typically ask clients to fill out several questionnaires. Reviewing these and gaining a better understanding of your answers, history and concerns will typically guide the work of the first session. The first session is for you to begin to get to know us and for us to begin to get to know you.
MBHA works with each client to determine an appropriate and comfortable frequency of sessions. Session frequency can vary significantly and can also change over the course of treatment for an individual client. MBHA sees most clients for one session per week, however this can be meaningfully increased for a more intensive outpatient experience or decreased for those who wish to go at a different pace. As with all aspects of treatment at MBHA, the frequency of sessions will be agreed to between the therapist and the client.
The initial consultation typically takes 90 minutes. Thereafter, sessions typically range from 50-60 minutes in length. Group sessions are typically 90 minutes in length.
Sessions must be rescheduled or canceled prior to 48 hours from the session start time to avoid session charges.
Parents are often in the best position to notice a shift in a child’s eating habits or mindset regarding food, body image, body movement and/or athletics. The earlier these things are evaluated and treated, the earlier intervention or treatment can begin, and the greater chance of sustainable outcomes.
Children are subjected to significant cultural pressures about body size and food choices. Often what seems to be common sense parenting advice about food, nutrition and body issues can in fact be inadvertently harmful. If you have such concerns, the following provides helpful guidelines about what to and not to say to or around your child.
VIDEO: The Problem With Poodle Science – https://youtu.be/H89QQfXtc-k
PODCAST: Raising Intuitive Eaters from May 8, 2017 in Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nutrition-matters-podcast/id1017192753
BOOK: Ellyn Satter “Child of Mine” – https://www.amazon.com/Child-Mine-Feeding-Revised-Updated/dp/0923521518
Please also call us for a free 15-minute consultation to walk through your concerns and determine if treatment could be helpful.
MBHA sees clients 10 years of age and up. MBHA’s clients’ ages range from 10 years old to 65+ years old. Regardless of age, MBHA’s team of professionals are here to help you.
The following steps can help determine if your out-of-network benefits will cover some of the cost of treatment:
1. Call your insurance carrier to see if your policy provides mental health benefits out-of-network, meaning with providers not enrolled in your plan. While reviewing your out-of-network benefits, it is helpful to also find out what deductible must be met, or what you must pay before you are eligible for reimbursement.
Note: Many insurance companies determine what they call an acceptable or allowable amount which caps the session fee that they will cover regardless of what is billed by your provider. This can impact both meeting the out-of-network deductible and the amount you will be responsible for paying after your deductible has been met.
The best way to be absolutely sure of your benefits is to clarify with your insurance company member services line. You can find this phone number on the back of your insurance card. Ask these questions when speaking to your insurance company about benefits:
- How much of my deductible has been met this year?
- What is my out-of-network deductible for outpatient mental health? (Outpatient means treatment outside a hospital.)
- What is my out-of-network coinsurance for outpatient mental health?
- Do I need a referral from an in-network provider to see someone out-of-network?
- How do I submit claim forms for reimbursement? (Claims are forms that are sent to your insurance company to receive reimbursement for sessions you paid for out of pocket.)
MBHA will provide you with a Superbill that you can send to your insurance company for reimbursement. The Superbill details all the necessary codes and information to properly submit your claim.
While each case is quite unique and different, there will be guideposts and check-ins to see how treatment is progressing. MBHA’s clinical professionals work with each client to develop treatment goals and a treatment plan that matches the needs, comfort level and needed pacing of the client. Treatment breakthroughs often feel spontaneous but are more typically the result of gradual progress waiting for the right moment to provide clarity. Regardless of treatment length, clients begin to feel relief quickly upon entering therapy as they work towards recovery and greater peace of mind.
MBHA’s team of clinical professionals are guided by the intersection of evidence-based practice, client lived experience, and clinical expertise. MBHA clinicians pull from a variety of treatment modalities, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy,Interpersonal Therapy, Exposure Therapy, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, among others. No one treatment modality is perfect and MBHA clinician’s combine the evidence-based research with their clinical expertise and the client’s lived experience to develop a treatment plan that is best suited to the client’s needs.
Health at Every Size® is a philosophy based on the following five principles:
- Weight Inclusivity: Accept and respect the inherent diversity of body shapes and sizes and reject the idealizing or pathologizing of specific weights.
- Health Enhancement: Support health policies that improve and equalize access to information and services, and personal practices that improve human well-being, including attention to individual physical, economic, social, spiritual, emotional, and other needs.
- Respectful Care: Acknowledge our biases, and work to end weight discrimination, weight stigma, and weight bias. Provide information and services from an understanding that socio-economic status, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, and other identities impact weight stigma, and support environments that address these inequities.
- Eating for Well-being: Promote flexible, individualized eating based on hunger, satiety, nutritional needs, and pleasure, rather than any externally regulated eating plan focused on weight control.
- Life-Enhancing Movement: Support physical activities that allow people of all sizes, abilities, and interests to engage in enjoyable movement, to the degree that they choose.
Please click on the following link The Health at Every Size® (HAES®) Approach | ASDAH to learn more about Heath at Every Size®.
MBHA frequently and eagerly works hand in hand as part of a client’s treatment team. An MBHA team member can also serve as a treatment team or case manager to help ensure efficient communication and coordination between providers.