Frequently Asked Questions

Empower your Mind Therapy is a group practice founded by Alyssa Mairanz. Alyssa saw a unique opportunity to provide relevant services to the community in NYC in an outpatient setting. The practice focuses on providing a supportive and validating environment for all that walk through our doors. We bring to life the core principles of Dialectical Behavior Therapy while integrating Psychodynamic Therapy to allow for flexibility and increased awareness of all things that could be impacting our client’s lives and mental health.

All of our therapists are supervised by Alyssa, who is certified in DBT and has successfully been providing outpatient services to a diverse range of clients since 2013.

We also offer a comprehensive Dialectical Behavior Therapy program as part of our practice.

We provide:

• Adult & Teen Individual Therapy
• Comprehensive DBT for Adults & Teens
• DBT Skills Group for Adults & Teens
• Couples Therapy

Our teen program is curated to assist parents and teens during the most important and difficult times of their life. Go to our teen page to find out more about how EYMT can help you and your teen!

A comprehensive DBT program means that we provide individual and group therapy as well as phone coaching outside of therapy sessions. In order to ensure that all clients are receiving the best DBT services, all clinical therapists at the practice attend once a week group consultation. Feel free to call and ask any questions you have related to our comprehensive DBT program!

Yes! You can find out more about our teletherapy services here.

At this time, we only take Healthfirst insurance. For those with Healthfirst we will inform you of any deductible, co-pay, or co-insurance that you are responsible for.

If we do not accept your insurance, our Client Care Coordinator Tiffany will help you determine your fee per session at the time of your intake call. We do offer a slight sliding scale under specific circumstances. If we cannot accommodate your financial needs, we will provide you with referrals so that you can find support. We also work with you to get out of network reimbursement from your insurance company, read below for more information.

Out of Network refers to providers who are not directly covered by your health insurance.  This means that at the time of each session, you will be responsible for payment in full based on the agreed upon fee at the time of your intake call.  If you are eligible for out of network coverage, your insurance company will reimburse you a certain amount for each session. This amount changes based on the insurance plan that you have.

We partner with a company called Nirvana Health who takes care of everything related to getting your out of networks benefits. All you need to do is set up a patient portal and everything else is handled for you.  How does this work?

1. After your intake call with our client care coordinator, you will get information on how to set up your Nirvana portal. All information there will be kept secure and confidential. Once you set up your account, Nirvana Health will  find out what your insurance company will reimburse you. They will inform you of all the information you need to know to understand your out of network benefits.
2. After each session, Nirvana Health will  submit claims directly to your insurance company and you will receive a check with the amount the insurance company is reimbursing you.  If there are issues getting reimbursed, Nirvana Health will handle getting that sorted out.

Please be advised that not all insurance plans provide out of network benefits, meaning you will not be eligible for reimbursement. Along with Nirvana Health, we work hard at EYMT to ensure that you get the best reimbursement rate possible and do our best to make the process of getting reimbursed run smoothly.

Sessions will begin once a week for 45 minutes. However, if decided and agreed upon by yourself and your individual therapist we may also see you individually multiple times a week or longer sessions. Sessions are a structured, safe, and validating space where you can talk about what’s been on your mind, process your trauma, discuss current stressors, and figure out relevant skills to your troubles as well as how to practice them. Each person that walks through our doors has unique needs and as such we cater each of our individual sessions to meet those unique needs, which is why we have chosen to integrate DBT and psychodynamic therapy in our sessions!

To find out more about these two thoughts of practice please visit our DBT and Psychodynamic Therapy pages.

Please visit our DBT Skills Group to learn more about our Group sessions!

That all depends on you and your individual therapist. Our therapists work collaboratively with clients to find a plan that works for them, as each client we see has diverse and unique wants and needs. When you begin therapy, a commitment of at least once a week for individual sessions and if agreed upon, once a week DBT group skills therapy will be recommended.

A staff therapist is someone who has completed their graduate education. There are two types of staff therapists:

1. Fully licensed: The therapist has obtained full licensure and is able to practice without supervision.
2. Limited Permit Holder: This is someone who operates under a temporary license, working towards full licensure required to complete 3,000 hours of direct client therapy under supervision of a licensed therapist.

An intern is someone who is still attending graduate school. Generally, Empower Your Mind Therapy (EYMT) interns are in their final year of graduate school and have past experience providing therapeutic services.

Interns and Limited Permit Holders meet with a senior EYMT therapist for weekly supervision, while interns receive further education and guidance in school. Your personal information will always remain secure and is never shared with anyone outside EYMT therapists.

Feeling respected, understood and treated with compassion are integral elements to the therapeutic relationship. Every EYMT therapist in the practice has a different set of unique traits they bring to their relationship with you. What is most important is finding the right therapist to help support your growth on this journey of mental health and empowerment. We hope to help you on your path to betterment.

For more information about our staff, visit our About Us page.