FAQ's

  1. If I have a therapist already, do I have to give up my therapist to come to Wholeview Wellness®? Absolutely not! The psychologists at Wholeview Wellness® welcome the opportunity to collaborate with outside practitioners whose patients would like to attend Wholeview Wellness® for specialized treatment while they continue to receive individual therapy, medication or other services from their outside therapist, psychiatrist or physician.

  2. What type of therapy do you offer? Our team of warm and compassionate therapists have thousands of hours of combined training and clinical experience in multiple evidence-based treatments including Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Relapse Prevention, Community Reinforcement Approach, Supportive Expressive Therapy and other therapies. Our therapists have worked in many different outpatient and inpatients settings including substance abuse treatment programs, detox units, inpatient psychiatric facilities, research settings, and counseling centers. Each therapist uses his or her extensive experience to tailor treatment to each patient's individual needs. You can read more about the therapies we use here.

  3. Do you accept insurance? Like many private practitioners in New York City, the psychologists at Wholeview Wellness® are out of network providers. That means that we do not accept insurance directly. However, we will work with you to make the reimbursement process as easy as possible by providing all the necessary paperwork to process your claim through insurance. We encourage you to call your insurance provider to determine your level of coverage in advance so that there are no surprises. Once monthly, a statement of services will be provided to you which you can submit along with a health insurance claim form to your insurance company to receive reimbursement. If there are any questions, you can have your insurance company contact your therapist directly.

In Wholeview Direct, we are now in network with Medicaid and some Medicaid MCO’s (Healthfirst, Metroplus, Fidelis, GHI, Emblem, CDPHP, Carelon, Amidacare, VNS, Emblemhealth/HIP, Centers Plan, Elderplan, Hamaspik, VillageCare MAX) and are planning to add others soon. Give us a call to see if we accept your insurance.

  1. Isn't rehab the best treatment available for alcohol and substance use? When many people think about alcohol and drug treatment they often immediately think of 30-day rehab. But the research shows that this isn't necessarily the best choice. While some people may need to have a short inpatient stay to gain control and stay safe, many people are able to work on their alcohol and drug use issues while continuing to work and live at home with their families. Also, receiving treatment on an outpatient basis allows people to practice new skills and try new ways of interacting with friends, co-workers and loved ones while receiving support from their therapist and treatment team.

  2. How do I know which Wholeview; therapist is right for me? Feel free to review our bios and let us know if there is someone you think would be a good match for you. Or you can call us and we will schedule an intake interview and will match you with a therapist who is a good fit for you based on a thorough assessment of your current needs.

  3. My family member is struggling with alcohol/drugs, but doesn't want to come to treatment, is there anything I can do? Yes! We can help you to motivate your loved one. We use a treatment called CRAFT, Community Reinforcement Approach and Family Therapy, which is designed specifically for people who are concerned about a loved one who is drinking or using drugs. This approach will teach you non-confrontational behavioral principles to help your loved one become motivated to enter treatment. These techniques include finding and rewarding positive behaviors and allowing the loved one to experience the natural consequences of their use. In repeated clinical studies, the CRAFT approach has been proven to be significantly more effective than other approaches which attempt to convince a loved one to enter treatment

**Wholeview Direct offers patients the ability to consent to participate in Healthix, a Health Information Exchange. Below are FAQ’s from Healthix that provide information about their program. **

Who is Healthix? Healthix is a non-profit, health information exchange funded by the NYS Department of Health. We are committed to securely exchanging patient data to improve the quality and efficiency of care. Healthix collects and aggregates patient information from thousands of providers in the Greater New York area. Patient data is made available to providers with patient consent.

Why is health information exchange important? You likely receive medical care from several physicians and providers – each with their own medical record for you.

If your providers share this information with one another, they will gain a fuller picture of your health. Having your complete medical history, including prior treatments, test results, and allergies helps them provide the best treatment. It can also: reduce duplicate tests/labs, lower the likelihood of adverse drug interactions and enhance provider communication.

Which providers supply data about me? Healthix receives clinical information from over 8,000 facilities – from large hospital systems to small doctor practices. For a complete list of data suppliers, see our Participant List. This will help you to determine if your personal providers are supplying data to Healthix.

Must I give consent for my providers to supply data to Healthix? No. Healthix is a business associate of each provider organization in the Participant List. Under HIPAA, this gives Healthix the right to collect, organize and hold the data from different sources, creating a master patient record. Data about you can only be released with your consent.

What is Patient Notice? It is mandatory for providers to display a patient notice informing patients that your facility is participating in Healthix. The patient notice must be displayed and readily available (See Patient Notice here). The patient notice informs patients that their Protected Health Information (PHI) is being uploaded into Healthix and explains how they may choose to deny consent for all Healthix Participants. Healthix provides a standard patient notice which must be enforced. If your provider participates with Healthix, but does not inform you, kindly contact compliance@healthix.org

Can I change my consent? Yes. Consent is voluntary, and can be changed at any time, simply by submitting another consent form. If you are undecided, your patient information can still be accessed in an emergency situation.

What data can be viewed from Healthix? Healthix contains patient data, such as lab and radiology results, medications, allergies, diagnoses, medical encounters and more. Please be aware, if you provide consent, sensitive medical information may be accessed related to HIV/AIDS, mental health, genetic disease or tests, alcohol or drug abuse, sexually transmitted diseases and family planning.

Who can view my health information? As a patient, you have the right to control whether any Participating Provider can access your medical information. A provider involved in your care must have your consent to access your information through Healthix. The decision to participate in Healthix is voluntary.

Is my information secure? With Healthix, you can be sure your information is private and secure. We follow all NYS and Federal requirements to ensure the proper protection of patient information. When consent is granted, only care givers involved in your care can access your medical information.

Can Healthix help me locate a missing person? Healthix staff do NOT have the authority to access patient health information in order to assist family members, loved ones and/or care partners of missing persons. Healthix’ data services are made available to city and state officials when a state of emergency is declared. This access allows members of the NYC police and NYC Department of Health employees to access data from Healthix in order to locate people reported missing ONLY during this defined period of emergency. Outside of these periods, family members, loved ones and/or care partners of missing persons have a number of options to contact for assistance:

311 is available online, by texting 311-692, or by calling 3-1-1 from within the City or 212-NEW-YORK outside the five boroughs. TTY service is also available by dialing 212-504-4115. Call the emergency departments of the hospitals located closest to the residence of the missing person.