Frequently Asked Questions

Do your psychiatrists also do therapy?

Yes. This is one of the most important things to know about Webster Clinic: each of our psychiatrists provides both psychotherapy and medication management. You won't be handed off to a separate therapist for the talking and a separate prescriber for medication. Your psychiatrist is one person who knows your full story — your history, your relationships, your strengths, and your struggles — and can offer both psychotherapy expertise and the medical expertise in the same room.

This is uncommon. Most psychiatry practices today split care between a therapist and a prescriber who may never speak to each other. We don't believe that serves patients well, and we've built our practice around a different model.

What if I'm not sure I want medication? Can I still come?

Absolutely. Medication is never assumed at Webster Clinic. Many of our patients come for psychotherapy alone. Others begin with therapy and later decide, together with their psychiatrist, that medication might help. And some come specifically seeking medication and discover that therapy deepens the work in ways they didn't expect.

The point is: you're never pressured. Your psychiatrist will share their honest clinical perspective, and the decision is always yours. If you're unsure whether you need therapy, medication, or both, that's a perfectly good reason to schedule a consultation. Figuring that out together is part of what we do.

What makes Webster Clinic different from other psychiatry practices in Boston?

Webster Clinic was designed around a single idea: that psychiatric care works best when one clinician sees the whole person. Our board-certified psychiatrists, all trained at Harvard Medical School, each provide psychotherapy and medication management, so your treatment stays integrated rather than fragmented across multiple providers.

Beyond the clinical model, several things set us apart. We coordinate deeply with your child's school, your pediatrician, your primary care doctor, and any other providers involved in your care. We're not a fifteen-minute medication check practice. Our sessions are unhurried and substantive. We take the time to understand your life in context: your identity, your culture, your family dynamics, your work, and your relationships. And while we're a private practice, we're also Harvard Medical School faculty, published researchers, and nationally recognized voices in mental health, including coverage in the New York Times, NPR, and PBS, as well as recognition on Castle Connolly Top Doctors list.

What does a psychodynamic approach mean in plain language?

It means we're interested in more than just your symptoms. While we absolutely address what's causing you distress right now (the anxiety, the depression, the difficulty focusing) we also pay attention to patterns. Why do certain situations keep tripping you up? Why do particular relationships feel stuck? What's being repeated from earlier in your life that might be shaping things today?

This approach doesn't mean years on a couch (though longer-term work is available for those who want it). It means that from your first appointment, we're thinking about you as a whole person with a history, not just a checklist of symptoms. The goal isn't only to feel better. It's to understand yourself more deeply so that the changes last.

Is Webster Clinic a concierge practice?

We don't use the term concierge, but we understand why people ask. What we offer is direct, uncomplicated access to your psychiatrist. You won't navigate layers of phone trees or wait weeks for a callback. When something urgent comes up, about you, your college-aged child, or your pharmacy, you can reach us. When your child's school needs to speak with your psychiatrist, we handle that coordination directly. When you have a question between sessions, you'll hear back promptly.

We keep our practice intentionally small so that we can offer this level of responsiveness without rushing the care itself. Every patient gets the time and attention their situation requires. This is the single biggest difference between our practice and others.

Who is a good fit for Webster Clinic?

Webster Clinic is a good fit for anyone seeking thoughtful, integrated psychiatric care, not a quick fix. We work with children, adolescents, college-age young adults, adults, and couples. Our patients come to us with a range of concerns: anxiety, depression, ADHD, trauma, bipolar spectrum conditions, relationship difficulties, identity questions, work or school challenges, and complex family dynamics.

You might be a particularly good fit if you're looking for a psychiatrist who also does therapy (rather than splitting care across providers), if you want culturally responsive care that takes identity and lived experience seriously, if you value deep coordination with schools and other providers, or if you've tried other approaches that felt surface-level and want something more substantial.

My child's pediatrician (or another psychiatrist) referred us to Webster Clinic. What should I expect?

We work closely with referring providers and appreciate the trust involved in a referral. Here's what happens next: you'll contact us by phone or through our website to directly schedule a complimentary phone consultation. During that first meeting, we'll hear what's been going on, learn about your child's history, and discuss what the referring provider has shared with us.

With your permission, we'll communicate directly with your child's pediatrician, or the referring psychiatrist to ensure continuity of care. We don't work in a silo. We believe the best outcomes happen when the people involved in a child's care are actually talking to each other. After the evaluation, we'll share our recommendations with you and, if you'd like, with the referring provider.

My child is heading to college soon. Can you help with that transition?

Yes, and this is something we see often. The transition to college is one of the most psychologically complex passages in a young person's life and in a family's life. Whether your child is already in treatment and needs support through the transition here in Boston, or whether the anticipation of leaving home is surfacing anxiety, mood changes, or identity questions for the first time, we can help.

We work with college-bound adolescents and their families to think through what support will look like before, during, and after the move. That might include adjusting medication, building coping strategies for a new environment, coordinating with a college counseling center, or simply having a consistent therapeutic relationship that travels with your child via telehealth (for students remaining in Massachusetts). We also support parents navigating the emotional dimensions of this transition. It’s no small feat to see your child off to college! We’re here to make that process as stress-free and reliable as possible.

I'm a professional of color looking for a psychiatrist who understands my experience. Is this the right practice?

Yes. This isn't an add-on to our work. It's a core of it. Our clinicians have dedicated significant portions of their careers to understanding how racism, bias, code-switching, microaggressions, and the unique pressures of navigating predominantly white institutions affect emotional life, relationships, and mental health.

Dr. Webster has co-led Black Psychiatrists of Boston for a decade. Dr. Buchanan brings specialized focus on intersectional identity and immigrant populations. Dr. Webster and Dr. Buchanan are all published researchers on topics including racial identity development, the psychological impact of systemic racism, and culturally responsive care.

We serve professionals of color, families of color, and individuals navigating the complexities of race, immigration, and acculturation not as a specialty niche, but as a core part of who we are.

Is Webster Clinic LGBTQ+-affirming?

Yes. And we want to be specific about what that means, because the word "affirming" gets used loosely. At Webster Clinic, LGBTQ+ care isn't a checkbox on our website. It's embedded in our training, our clinical practice and perspective, and our published scholarship and teaching at Harvard Medical School.

Our intake forms are gender-inclusive. We ask for and use your pronouns. We have deep experience working with sexual and gender-diverse youth, LGBTQ+ adults, queer couples, and LGBTQ+ parents. Dr. Webster and Dr. Buchanan lead our signature LGBTQ+ Pathways to Parenthood track, supporting queer individuals and couples navigating family-building. Dr. Webster is a listed LGBTQ+-affirming provider with OutCare Health and has published on queer parenthood, sexual health, and gender-affirming care.

We understand minority stress, the impact of discrimination and family rejection, the complexity of coming out across different cultural contexts, and the particular mental health challenges facing LGBTQ+ youth. If you're looking for a practice where you won't have to educate your psychiatrist about your identity before you can get to the actual work — this is that practice.

Do you work with LGBTQ+ individuals and couples who are building or expanding their families?

Yes. Especially so. Dr. Webster and Dr. Buchanan lead our LGBTQ+ Pathways to Parenthood track, which supports queer individuals and couples navigating the emotional, relational, and psychological dimensions of family-building — including fertility treatment, surrogacy, adoption, foster care, and co-parenting arrangements.

The path to parenthood for LGBTQ+ people often involves unique stressors: navigating systems that weren't designed with you in mind, making decisions about donors or surrogates, managing the emotional weight of the process, and sometimes confronting grief, loss, or family-of-origin conflict along the way. We provide a space to think through all of it. Not just the logistics, but the deeper emotional experience of becoming a parent when the road is less charted.

Do you work with couples?

Yes. We offer couples therapy for partners navigating communication difficulties, conflict patterns, intimacy challenges, life transitions, parenting disagreements, infidelity, or simply wanting to deepen their connection. Our approach to couples work is informed by the same psychodynamic framework we bring to individual care. We're interested in the patterns beneath the surface, not just the presenting argument.

We work with couples of all configurations, including LGBTQ+ couples and partners from different cultural backgrounds.

You may book a complimentary consultation here

What does a first appointment look like?

Your first visit is a consultation, an opportunity for you to share what's going on and for us to listen carefully, ask questions, and begin to understand your situation. There's no commitment required beyond that.

For children and adolescents, we typically meet with parents first (or together with the child, depending on age and preference), then spend time with the young person individually. For adults, the first session is a one-on-one conversation with your psychiatrist.

The consultation is unhurried. We'll ask about your history, your current concerns and medications, your relationships, and your goals for therapy and mental health. We use a variety of validated screening tools right from the start for a deeper diver. We won't rush to a diagnosis or a prescription. The first step is always understanding.

What does the evaluation process involve?

Our evaluation is thorough and typically unfolds over the first few sessions, not in a single visit. We review developmental and medical history, gather information from other providers (with your permission), use validated clinical assessments, and take the time to understand you or your child in context.

At the end of the evaluation, we sit down with you and review our findings together. We discuss what we've observed, share our diagnostic impressions, and collaboratively develop a treatment plan including whether therapy, medication, or both might be helpful, and how often we'd recommend meeting.

How long are sessions and how often will I come?

Session length varies depending on the type of appointment and the stage of treatment. Initial evaluations are longer. Ongoing therapy sessions are typically 50 minutes. Medication check-ins, when they occur as standalone visits, may be shorter — but at Webster Clinic, medication management is often woven into therapy sessions rather than handled as a separate, brief appointment.

Frequency depends on your clinical needs and where you are in treatment. Many patients start weekly and may adjust over time. Your psychiatrist will recommend a cadence based on your situation, and you'll decide together what works.

How do you work with children and adolescents?

We meet with young people and their caregivers in varying combinations depending on the child's age, developmental stage, and the nature of the concern. For younger children, parent involvement is significant. For adolescents, we increasingly work directly with the teen while maintaining transparent communication with parents about safety and progress.

We believe your child deserves to be seen as a whole person, not just a set of symptoms reported by adults. Our work attends to their inner life, their relationships, their experience at school, their sense of identity, and their developmental trajectory. We also support parents in understanding what their child is going through and how to respond.

Do you coordinate with schools, pediatricians, and other providers?

Yes, and this is a cornerstone of how we practice. With your consent, we communicate directly with your child's school (including disability and accommodations offices), pediatrician, primary care physician, therapists, tutors, and any other professionals involved in care.

We write letters for school accommodations. We consult with teachers and guidance counselors. We participate in team meetings when appropriate. We believe that fragmented care, where the psychiatrist, therapist, school counselor, and pediatrician are all working independently, leaves too much to chance. Your child deserves more. Coordination reduces gaps, avoids contradictory advice, and produces better outcomes.

What conditions do you treat?

Our psychiatrists treat a wide range of conditions across the lifespan, including anxiety disorders, depression, ADHD, trauma and PTSD, bipolar spectrum disorders, OCD, early psychosis, complex mood disorders, and adjustment difficulties. We also work with patients navigating identity questions, grief, relationship challenges, life transitions, academic or professional difficulties, and the emotional impacts of racism, discrimination, and immigration.

If we determine during evaluation that your needs would be better served by a specialist or a different level of care, we'll tell you directly and help you find the right provider.

Do you offer telehealth appointments?

Yes. We offer telehealth for established patients located in Massachusetts when it's clinically appropriate. Telehealth can be especially helpful for college students, busy professionals, or families managing complex schedules. Some patients use a combination of in-person and virtual visits.

Your psychiatrist will discuss with you whether telehealth is a good fit for your particular situation. Certain aspects of care (particularly initial evaluations for children) may benefit from in-person visits.

Where is Webster Clinic located?

Webster Clinic is located at 745 Boylston Street, Suite 405, in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood. We're easily accessible from Beacon Hill, the South End, Brookline, Cambridge, Somerville, Newton, and surrounding communities. The office was designed to feel warm and private — a space built for the kind of reflective, unhurried work we do.

Why is Webster Clinic out-of-network with insurance?

We made a deliberate choice to practice outside of insurance networks and it's worth understanding why. Insurance companies set limits on how long sessions can be, how often you can be seen, what diagnoses are covered, and how your information is shared. Those constraints often conflict with the kind of care we believe in: unhurried, individualized, and driven by your clinical needs rather than an insurer's protocols.

By operating out-of-network, we're free to spend the time your situation actually requires, see you as frequently as makes clinical sense, maintain greater privacy around your records, and make treatment decisions based on your needs, not a reimbursement schedule. We know this model isn't right for everyone, and we respect that. But for the patients we serve, it allows us to do our best work for you.

How do I pay for treatment, and can I get reimbursed?

You pay for sessions directly at the time of service. We then provide you with a monthly superbill — a detailed receipt that you submit to your insurance company for potential reimbursement. You can read more about that approach on our blog.

Many of our patients with PPO plans receive reimbursement for 50 to 80 percent of session costs after meeting their deductible. The exact amount depends on your specific plan's out-of-network benefits. We recommend calling the member services number on the back of your insurance card and asking: "What are my out-of-network benefits for outpatient mental health services?" They can tell you your deductible, reimbursement rate, and any session limits.

We also accept direct payment via Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), which allow you to use pre-tax dollars for treatment.

Is seeing an out-of-network psychiatrist worth the investment?

We understand this is a real consideration, and we don't take it lightly. Here's what you're investing in: a board-certified, Harvard-trained psychiatrist who provides both your therapy and your medication management, who knows your full history, who coordinates with your child's school and pediatrician, and who is available when something urgent comes up, not in four weeks, but when you need them.

Many families come to us after cycling through fragmented care. A therapist here, a prescriber there, and no one talking to each other. Many of our patients and their families find that integrated treatment is ultimately more effective and more efficient. Fewer providers, fewer appointments, fewer things falling through the cracks.

If cost is a concern, we encourage you to bring it up in your initial call. We're happy to talk through what to expect financially and help you understand your reimbursement options. This is a normal and important conversation, and we want you to feel comfortable having it.

Can I use my HSA or FSA to pay for treatment?

Yes. Both Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) can be used to cover the cost of psychiatric treatment at Webster Clinic. These accounts allow you to pay with pre-tax dollars, which can meaningfully reduce your effective out-of-pocket cost. If you're not sure whether your plan qualifies, your benefits administrator can confirm.

You may book a complimentary consultation here

How do I become a patient at Webster Clinic?

Contact us by phone at 617-859-5953 or schedule a time directly for a complimentary consultation with our clinicians on our website. We'll hear about what's bringing you in, answer your questions, and determine whether Webster Clinic is a good fit for your needs.

If we have availability, we'll schedule your first evaluation appointment. If there's a wait, we'll let you know the timeline and can suggest interim resources if needed.

How quickly can I get an appointment?

We typically schedule new patient consultations within one to two weeks, though availability varies by clinician. If your situation is urgent, let us know — we'll do our best to accommodate

What if I'm not sure whether therapy or treatment is right for me?

That's a perfectly good reason to call. Your first visits are a consultation, not a commitment. It's an opportunity to sit down with a psychiatrist, share what's been on your mind, and get a professional perspective on whether treatment might help and if so, what kind.

Many of our patients weren't sure whether they needed a psychiatrist when they first reached out. The consultation exists for exactly that uncertainty.

What about confidentiality?

We take confidentiality seriously. What you share with your psychiatrist stays between you and your psychiatrist, with the legal and ethical exceptions that all mental health providers are bound by (such as imminent safety concerns).

For adolescents, we establish clear agreements about what will and won't be shared with parents at the outset of treatment. Our goal is to create a space where young people feel safe to speak openly while parents stay informed about what they need to know. We navigate this balance thoughtfully, and we discuss it with your family directly.

By practicing out-of-network, we also maintain greater control over what information is shared with insurance companies which for many patients is an important additional layer of privacy.

How do I refer a patient to Webster Clinic?

Referring providers can call us at 617-859-5953 or direct patients to our website's consultation request form. If you'd like to share clinical context ahead of the referral, we welcome a brief call or a message through our intake process. We'll follow up with the patient promptly.

What does Webster Clinic treat, and what do you refer out?

We treat a broad range of psychiatric conditions across the lifespan, including anxiety, depression, ADHD, trauma and PTSD, bipolar spectrum disorders, OCD, early psychosis, complex mood disorders, and identity and relational concerns. We serve patients ages five and up.

We refer out when a patient's needs would be better served by a different level of care (such as intensive outpatient, residential, or inpatient), by a specialist in a specific domain (such as neuropsychological testing, eating disorders, or substance use treatment), or when the clinical match isn't right. We communicate referral recommendations transparently and can assist in connecting patients with appropriate resources.

How do you communicate with referring providers?

With patient consent, we communicate directly and substantively. We don't send form letters. We have real conversations about what we're seeing, how treatment is progressing, and how we can best coordinate. For pediatric patients, this often includes shared planning around medication, school accommodations, and developmental concerns.

We're responsive to calls and messages from referring providers and view the referring relationship as collaborative, not transactional.

What is your typical intake timeline?

Most new patients are seen within one to two weeks of initial contact. Our evaluation process unfolds over the first few sessions rather than being compressed into a single long appointment. We prioritize urgent referrals and will communicate openly about wait times.

You may book a complimentary consultation here