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Harborside Psych

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Therapy for Melrose, MA

Melrose runs on full calendars. Between commuter rail schedules, school pickup, and the general pace of raising a family in a dense, older suburb north of Boston, finding an hour for yourself can feel like one more thing to manage. Harborside’s therapy team works with clients across Melrose to build that hour around your actual week, not the other way around, using an approach chosen for the person in front of us rather than a fixed protocol applied to everyone.

If you are the kind of practical reader who wants to know how a first session actually goes before you commit to anything, that is the point of this page.

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Therapy for people in Melrose, MA

Harborside is based at 411 Main St, Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts, and delivers care by video across the state. You do not travel to an office. Sessions happen over a secure video platform from wherever you have privacy and a stable internet connection, whether that is a home office in Melrose, a parked car during a lunch break, or a quiet room after the kids are asleep.

A typical therapy session runs about 45 minutes. All you need is a phone, tablet, or computer with a camera and microphone, and a link sent ahead of time. There is no special software to buy. Frequency depends on what you and your clinician decide together, usually weekly or every other week to start, adjusted as things settle into a rhythm.

If your care involves medication as well as therapy, prescriptions are sent electronically to the pharmacy of your choice near Melrose, the same way a prescription from any in-person visit would be handled.

How telehealth care actually works

Harborside’s therapy team works with adults and adolescents dealing with anxiety, depression, mood changes, trauma, grief, life transitions, relationship stress, and disordered eating. Some clients come in with a clear diagnosis already in hand. Others come in simply knowing they don’t feel like themselves and want help figuring out why. Both are reasonable starting points.

Therapy at Harborside is not a single fixed method applied to every person who walks through the door. Your clinician draws from a range of approaches and adjusts as they get to know you, your history, and what you’re actually trying to change.

What we treat

The first session is mostly conversation. Your clinician will ask about what brought you in, your history, what has and hasn’t helped before, and what you are hoping is different a few months from now. There is no test to pass and nothing you need to prepare beyond showing up. By the end of that first appointment, you and your clinician should have a rough sense of what ongoing sessions will look like and how often you’ll meet.

What the first appointment involves

Medication management and functional psychiatry at Harborside are performed by psychiatric nurse practitioners Rachel Egan, RN PMHNP-BC, who is also Harborside’s clinical director, Emily Pardue, RN PMHNP-BC, and Kirstin Ritchie, RN PMHNP-BC. Each is qualified to evaluate, diagnose, and prescribe for mental health conditions, including, where clinically appropriate, controlled medications such as stimulants. Full bios and credentials for each of them are on the team page.

Therapy and eating disorder work are delivered by Harborside’s licensed therapy team: Hannah Legesse, LICSW, Tori Mahoney, LMHC, Jacquelyn Duford, LCMHC ATR, and Lexie Carchedi, LCSW. Jacquelyn is also a registered art therapist, which is one of several approaches available depending on what fits you. Which clinician you’re matched with depends on your needs, availability, and preference.

Who our clinicians are

Harborside is a private-pay practice and does not bill insurance directly for appointments. Current fees for an initial and a follow-up appointment are listed on the pricing page, and questions about cost can be answered before anything is booked.

What it costs

Getting started with therapy at Harborside means scheduling an initial appointment, filling out some brief intake paperwork online beforehand, and logging on at your scheduled time. There’s no waiting room, no commute, and no need to take a full afternoon off work. For Melrose clients balancing school schedules and commuter timelines, that flexibility tends to matter as much as the therapy itself.

To learn more about how therapy fits alongside other services, visit our therapy page, our Massachusetts telehealth hub, or our page for the Inner Metro North region. If anxiety is a primary concern, our anxiety treatment page has more detail on what that work involves.

Getting started

If you are in immediate danger, call 911. For mental health crisis support, call or text 988. Harborside does not provide emergency or after-hours care.

This page is educational and is not medical advice. It does not create a provider-patient relationship. For guidance on finding a mental health provider and understanding therapy, see [CITATION: SAMHSA or NIMH page on finding mental health services].

Reviewed by Hannah Legesse, LICSW. Last reviewed: {LAST_REVIEWED}.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is therapy with Harborside the same as seeing a psychiatrist?

No. Harborside’s therapists are licensed clinicians who provide psychotherapy, not psychiatric prescribers. Anyone who also wants medication management can be connected separately with one of Harborside’s psychiatric nurse practitioners.

Most clients meet weekly or every other week, depending on what’s agreed with the therapist during the first few sessions.

No. Harborside is a private-pay practice. Clients with out-of-network mental health benefits can request a superbill to submit to their insurer for possible reimbursement.

That’s a reasonable place to start. Many clients begin therapy without a specific problem in mind, and the first session is built around figuring that out together.

Yes. Finding the right therapist sometimes takes more than one try, and raising it is a normal part of the process, not something awkward.

No. Therapy is ongoing, scheduled care, not a crisis service. If you are in immediate danger, call 911. For crisis support, call or text 988.

If you need help right now

If you are in immediate danger, call 911. For mental health crisis support, call or text 988. Harborside Psychiatrics does not provide emergency or after-hours care.

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