FAQ

I offer 45-minute weekly online psychotherapy to women, femmes, queer, Latinx, gender-non-conforming, and trans adults in New York State, 21 years old and above.

I have 17 years of experience working with folks struggling with: depression, anxiety, trauma, toxic shame, negative-self talk, life transitions, burnout, and identity exploration.

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I am trained and specialized in Somatic, Gestalt, & Creative Arts psychotherapy. Please visit my bio page for specifics on my experience here: www.creativenowtherapy.com/

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I also offer supervision online to new therapists looking for somatic, Gestalt, and creative arts guidance or help starting their private practices anywhere in the world.

I offer therapy slots from 8 am to 3 pm, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

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I offer therapy slots on Mondays from 1 pm to 4 pm.

Right now, my availability is quite limited. I am happy to put you on a waitlist if you wish to wait for a different opening.

My fee is $250 for 45-minute psychotherapy and coaching sessions. I offer sliding scale on a case by case basis, when I have sliding scale specific openings.

I also offer bundles of ten (10) weekly sessions for $2,100. That’s a $400 savings.

The initial consultation call is always free and lasts about 15-20 minutes. That’s where we’ll discover if we’re a good fit to work together.

I accept Venmo, PayPal, and Zelle. You can add credit cards to these services if you prefer to pay that way.

I am an out-of-network provider and do not directly accept insurance. If you have out-of-network benefits, I can provide you a superbill to give to your insurance for reimbursement.

For your protection and confidentiality, I recommend self-pay for therapy, as insurance companies require disclosing highly personal information and sometimes restrict the number of sessions you can have. Additionally, rather than going back and forth with insurance companies all day, I focus entirely on providing you with the absolute most effective therapy possible. That’s why I choose not to be on insurance panels.

That said, if you would like to use insurance, my sessions are often reimbursable up to 70%, depending on your plan. However, there are programs through your work or out-of-network coverage from your insurance to help you with payment.

If you decide to use insurance, please check your coverage for out-of-network benefits prior to our first meeting. I can do this for you, but it requires sending your insurance card information, address, and date of birth upfront to me; understandably, some folks are uncomfortable with this. So, I recommend that you call and ask the following questions to determine your benefits:

       •    Do I have out-of-network coverage for 45-minute psychotherapy sessions?

       •    What is my deductible, and has it been met?

       •    How many sessions per year does my insurance cover?

       •    What is the coverage amount per therapy session for an out-of-network provider?

If approved, you pay Creative Now Therapy in full at the start of the session, and I will provide you with the documentation you need to file a claim with your insurance company. I am happy to help your through this process.

1. Book your free initial consultation by completing the contact form at the bottom of the site. You can also send me a message directly at cris@creativenowtherapy.com.

2. After that, the intake coordinator or I will get in touch with you to set up a free 15-minute consultation call to see if we might be a fit.

3. If you decide to move forward, you will be given a dedicated time slot and a HIPAA-protected telehealth link to begin your weekly 45-minute telehealth or coaching sessions.

4. You will also be connected to my portal, where you can view and sign our practice forms.

5. Our first session will be a blend of getting to know each other and reviewing your intake information.

You will benefit most from therapy when you attend every week. Psychotherapy sessions with me meet online weekly for 45 minutes via a HIPAA-protected Zoom telehealth platform.

Many different styles of therapy may be effective, and it is important that you find the right fit for you. I offer depth work, which is most effective with regular weekly sessions. Therefore, I require a commitment from clients to attend weekly therapy.

Of course, I understand that our schedules change, and sometimes, you simply cannot make your session.

You may cancel up to four (4) sessions per calendar year without paying the session fee as long as you provide 48 hours’ notice. If you cancel any sessions beyond those four for any reason, you will be responsible for the full fee. Sessions canceled with less than 48 hours’ will also be charged the full fee (but they don’t count toward your four free cancellations). These would not count toward your four free cancellations.

If I am out of the office or otherwise unable to attend a session, you will NOT be charged the fee. You can expect me to be unavailable approximately 4-6 weeks out of the year, and I will do my best to give you way more than two weeks’ notice of planned absences.

I have this policy to protect the time commitment and weekly slot that’s made exclusively for you. You are welcome to explore options for rescheduling or making up a session. If you are not able to attend or find a mutual time to reschedule the session, you are responsible for the full fee, and payment is due at the time of your regularly scheduled session.

There is no need to prepare anything. Therapy is an exploration of the self. Let’s get to know you just as you are.

But if you want to prepare, please bring art supplies and any other healing tools you’d like to use in therapy. We’d also love to hear about what you want to get out of therapy and your ideas about what therapy is or can be.

It may also be helpful (but not necessary) to know that therapy often entails:

1. Curiosity, which will be your greatest ally…

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2. Staying with and reporting on your present-moment experiences…

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3. Sharing your honest reactions to creative experiments in mindfulness, especially if you don’t like how something feels or if you simply don’t want todo something. These are often excellent points of exploration…

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4. Allowing your reactions to happen as much as you safely can…

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5. Some willingness to experience uncomfortable feelings…

Initially, it’s always best to give therapy some time (at least 5-8 sessions) to see if you are a fit. This provides an opportunity to establish a working therapeutic relationship that moves you safely through a range of experiences with your therapist. This includes when you feel stuck, uncomfortable, or even disappointed with therapy, as these experiences often mirror and/or point to a dynamic occurring in your life outside the room.

If you find that we’re a fit, I believe the duration of the therapy is an important and unique conversation to have. Some people who come to therapy meet their personal goals and move on in six months to a few years, while others come to therapy for ongoing self-exploration for their lifetime. Sometimes, people discover that their reasons for being in therapy change over time, impacting their decision to leave or continue.

Creative Now Therapy is a name I use for the blending of somatic, Gestalt, and creative arts therapy to generate a dynamic, holistic, and experiential therapy that focuses on your present-moment experience and encourages your natural movement toward creativity, spontaneity, and growth. Sometimes, “thinking” or “talking”about problems is not enough, and a deeper level of experience is needed to get to the heart of a difficult situation.

I help people connect to their inner resources by bringing attention to the way their bodies and emotions mix with their beliefs and thoughts. This helps uncover the patterns, habits, beliefs, and blocks contributing to your stress and interfering with your satisfaction. Clients often find that this process gets to the essence of what’s really happening and promotes self-awareness, self-esteem, and insight.

Creative Now Therapy is a name inspired by the power of the present moment and how important this place is in life and therapy. It is a reminder to always return to it as a way to heal, be, and explore.

Somatic therapy brings attention to the experiences of your body, including sensations, emotions, and feelings, and how they interface with your thoughts and beliefs to create a fuller picture of your situation. We experience life and trauma in our body, meaning that thinking or rationalizing our way through is only part of the solution. We must include our embodied experience to heal holistically.

We’ve been socialized to diminish the connection to our body and feelings, or we’ve needed to do this to avoid painful past situations. These solutions may have been brilliant for survival at the time, but as an adult, they can leave you with anxiety, depression, and other significant health issues. Bringing the body and our narratives into therapy can help us uncover the unconscious beliefs and behaviors impacting our choices.

By creating greater safety within your body, you can better tolerate life’s inevitable uncertainties. Moreover, you can learn to open to your immense creativity and expansiveness for a fuller life.

Gestalt psychotherapy brings attention to your present-moment experience through the therapist-client relationship and socio environmental contexts to provide a holistic approach to your healing. We will engage in real-time therapeutic experiments to deepen your awareness so you can try new behaviors and generate organic coping skills.

We’ll wade through many moments together: some empowering and positive, others challenging, difficult, or dark. This will support you in expanding your ability to tolerate change and to come into integration and wholeness.

Art therapy can assist us in accessing core material that can often slip under the radar in talk therapy. Sometimes, we don’t have the words to begin, or we don’t even know what or why we’re feeling the way we are.

Art-making and exploration activate a different part of ourselves and engage our creativity to move out of stagnation and into visualizing solutions, calming our nervous systems, becoming reacquainted with our strengths, or discovering something new about ourselves or our situation.

Eco-art therapy is a unique blend of creativity and nature-based healing. It combines art-making with the grounding and restorative power of the natural world to help you explore emotions, process experiences, and reconnect with your authentic self.

Using natural materials or outdoor settings, this approach fosters self-discovery, mindfulness, and emotional growth. No artistic skill is required! It’s an inspiring, holistic way to heal and connect with yourself and the environment around you.

Spiritual psychotherapy is a holistic approach to healing that integrates emotional well-being with your deeper sense of meaning, purpose, and connection to the sacred. It’s not tied to any specific religion but instead honors and brings in your unique spiritual beliefs, inner wisdom, and practices.

By exploring your thoughts, emotions, and intuitive experiences, this therapy helps you uncover insights, navigate challenges, and align with your true self for a more balanced and fulfilling life.

I am dedicated to providing multiculturally sensitive services that affirm the dignity, worth, and value of all.

Creative Now Therapy is committed to creating an environment of appreciation and respect for race, ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, physical/mental ability, sexual orientation, marital or relationship/s status, caregiver/parental status, and socioeconomic status.

I strive to decolonize my practice and wisdom practices to provide a holistic approach that shifts away from a strictly medical model focusing on pathology, diagnosis, and fragmenting ourselves with labels.

I also believe that every client comes from a different background and unique set of circumstances; that’s why I treat them as the experts of their experience. I am comfortable naming differences in the room and exploring how this might impact your experience in therapy and your life.

For the past 17 years, I’ve provided therapy in a variety of settings, including working with folks who have mood disorders, psychotic disorders, and other mental health crises. This also meant treating the traumas inherent in these diagnoses: neglect, abuse, substances, marginalization, leaving their country of origin, and more.

For years, I also facilitated inpatient psychiatric groups for adults who identify as voice-hearers or have alternative experiences of reality. This has informed my deep appreciation for the array of human experiences, no matter how alternative they may seem.

Before that, I supported Spanish-speaking families in navigating New York City social services and provided creative arts therapy to families and children. I am deeply grateful for how this has enhanced my understanding of the systems we are impacted by in the United States.

Virgo Sun, Leo Moon, Sagittarius Rising.

My familiar’s name is Dewy, a black cat with the soul of a young Italian boy.