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Harborside Psych

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(508) 876-3448

Therapy for Amherst, MA

Amherst and its neighboring college towns hold an unusually well-informed population. People here tend to ask direct questions about approach, training, and method, and they tend to be skeptical of anything that sounds like a pitch. That is the right instinct. Therapy at Harborside is delivered by licensed clinicians who work with each client to choose an approach that fits the person, not a fixed protocol applied the same way to everyone, and sessions happen by video on a schedule that fits an actual week rather than an office calendar.

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Therapy for people in Amherst, MA

Whether you are teaching, studying, working at one of the local institutions, or raising a family in Amherst, the demands on your time and attention are specific to your life, not to a diagnosis on a chart. Our therapists start from that. A first conversation covers what is going on, what has been tried before, and what kind of pace and structure would actually be usable given your schedule. From there, the clinician and client decide together what the work looks like, adjusting as needed over time.

How telehealth care actually works

Harborside is based in Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts, and delivers care by video across the state. For therapy, that means sessions take place over a secure video platform, and all you need on your end is a private space, a phone or computer, and a stable internet connection. There is no separate app to buy and no special equipment required.

Most therapy sessions run about 45 to 50 minutes. Frequency is set between you and your clinician based on what you are working on. Some clients are seen weekly, others every other week, and the schedule can shift as needs change. If your care includes medication management with one of our psychiatric nurse practitioners, prescriptions are sent electronically to the pharmacy of your choice, and follow-up appointments are scheduled at intervals appropriate to the medication and how you are responding to it.

Because everything happens by video, you do not need to build travel time into a session. You log in from wherever you are in Amherst, at the appointment time you booked, and the session starts.

What we treat

Our clinicians work with adults dealing with anxiety, depression, mood changes, trauma-related symptoms, disordered eating, and the kind of chronic stress that builds up around work, school, or family life. Therapy also supports people navigating major transitions, relationship strain, and difficulty concentrating or regulating attention. If medication is part of the picture, our psychiatric nurse practitioners can evaluate and prescribe as clinically appropriate, including for conditions where a controlled medication may be considered, since Massachusetts allows this as part of care here.

Not every condition fits neatly into a short list, and that is fine. Part of the first appointment is figuring out, together, what you are actually dealing with and what kind of support makes sense.

What the first appointment involves

The first appointment is a structured but conversational intake. Your clinician will ask about your current symptoms, your history, anything you have already tried, and what you are hoping is different on the other side of this. There is no script you need to follow and no need to have language for everything you are feeling before you walk in, so to speak, to the video call.

By the end of that first session, you and your clinician should have a working sense of what ongoing care looks like: how often you will meet, what approach makes sense to start with, and whether medication management should be part of the plan alongside therapy. Nothing is locked in permanently. The plan is a starting point, not a contract.

Who our clinicians are

Medication management and functional psychiatry at Harborside are performed by psychiatric nurse practitioners: Rachel Egan, RN PMHNP-BC, who is also 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. Full bios and credentials for each of them are on the team page.

Therapy and eating disorder care are delivered by our 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 she draws on for clients who want that option as part of their work. Each clinician on this team brings their own training and clinical style, which is part of why the fit between client and clinician matters as much as the method.

What it costs

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

Getting started

If you are ready to start, or you just want to ask a few questions first, you can reach out through the website to set up an initial appointment. There is no requirement to have a diagnosis in hand or to know exactly what kind of therapy you want before that first call. You can also look at our broader therapy services, our Massachusetts telehealth information, or our page for the Western Massachusetts region to see how care is organized across the state. If anxiety is part of what brought you here, our anxiety treatment page goes into more detail on how that work is approached.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is therapy with Harborside the same as seeing a psychiatrist?

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 how to evaluate a mental health provider or approach, see the [CITATION: National Institute of Mental Health page on psychotherapy, for an independent overview of therapy approaches and how to choose one].

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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