Therapy for freelancers & creatives

If you buy your own insurance on NY State of Health and it is Oscar, Oxford, or UnitedHealthcare, your copay covers therapy here. If not, there is a sliding scale.

When you freelance, no one tells you to stop working, and no one notices when you cannot start. Income swings, the studio doubles as a bedroom, and the creative practice is also the rent. Therapy is a place where the work is not watching.

Most self-employed New Yorkers get coverage through NY State of Health. Oscar, Oxford Metro, and UnitedHealthcare plans sold there run mental health through Optum, and we are in-network with Optum. Billing goes through Headway, so there is nothing to file between projects.

Many of our clients are creatives, children of immigrants, or both: the family that does not understand the career, the pressure to prove it was worth it, and the identity questions that come with making things for a living.

You might recognize:

Income anxiety that follows you into the work
Creative blocks that feel like personal failures
Isolation when your coworkers are a group chat
Saying yes to everything because you can't predict next month
Burnout with no PTO to recover in
Family who still ask when you'll get a real job
Comparison, and an audience that's always awake

What tends to be underneath

Worth tied to output
A nervous system that never clocks out
Perfectionism as a business model
Grief for the version of the career you imagined
Nobody to tell you you've done enough

The work will still be there. Taking care of yourself is part of keeping it going.

How it works.

Using a marketplace plan

Feel free to text us a photo of your card, or check on Headway. Oscar, Oxford, and UnitedHealthcare plans from NY State of Health are in-network. Bronze plans usually have a deductible first, while Silver and Gold plans more often have a flat copay. Headway shows your estimate before you book.

How to book

Open Tina's Headway profile, pick a time, and enter your insurance details. Headway checks your coverage and shows an estimate of what you will pay per session before you confirm. Booking takes about five minutes.

No workable coverage?

We hold sliding-scale spots with Laila Siddiqui, MHC-I, for clients located in New York: $30 to $80 a session, and you choose the amount. No proof of income is needed.

Open enrollment

Open enrollment on NY State of Health runs from November 1 to January 31. If you are choosing a plan and want to keep seeing us, look for one whose mental health benefit runs through Optum or Aetna, or feel free to ask us first.

Questions before you start?

Which marketplace plans do you take?

Oscar, Oxford, and UnitedHealthcare plans from NY State of Health are in-network with us through Optum. For other marketplace plans, we provide a superbill, and there is a sliding scale if cost is the barrier.

My income changes every month. Can I still afford this?

With an in-network plan you pay only your copay or the contracted rate until your deductible is met. Without workable coverage, our sliding scale is $30 to $80 a session, and you choose the amount.

Can we meet around a freelance schedule?

Yes. Sessions are secure video, usually once a week at a standing time, and we can adjust when a project deadline or a shoot gets in the way.

Check My Coverage & Book on Headway

Prefer we check for you? Text (917) 809-8067 a photo of your insurance card and we'll confirm your benefits before the first session. How the coverage check works.

Who you'll work with.

Tina Liu, LMHC-D

Founder & Mental Health Counselor. EMDR-trained, culturally attuned, licensed in New York & Florida.

About Tina →

Laila Siddiqui, MHC-I

Mental Health Counselor. Works with teens and young adults in New York, under the clinical supervision of Tina Liu, LMHC-D. Sliding scale spots available.

About Laila →

Junli Xiao, MHC-LP

Mental Health Counselor. Works with adolescents and young adults in New York, in English and Mandarin, under the clinical supervision of Tina Liu, LMHC-D.

About Junli →

Not sure where to start? Feel free to send us a note, and we will help you find a good fit.