Depression Therapy in New Jersey

Maybe it’s the train home from Newark or the drive down the Turnpike, when there’s nothing left to do but notice how flat everything has felt for weeks. New Reflections Counseling offers depression therapy for adults across New Jersey, and it’s one of the few states where we can offer therapy and medication management in the same practice. All New Jersey sessions are by secure video. There is no in-person option in New Jersey. Most people are seen within a week. To get started, call or send us a message.

To begin, contact us or check your insurance. We offer individual therapy, couples therapy and family therapy — by telehealth across twelve states, including Florida, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Signs It’s More Than a Rough Patch

Everyone has bad weeks. Depression is different in how long it lasts and how much of life it reaches. Plenty of people with depression keep commuting, working and taking care of everyone else, so the signs are easy to explain away. Some of the common ones:

• A heavy or empty mood most days, or a numb feeling where emotions used to be
• Little interest in people, hobbies or plans that used to matter
• Sleep that has changed in either direction, or waking up already tired
• Small tasks, like an email or a phone call, taking huge effort
• A short fuse at home, even with people you love
• Brain fog: losing your place, rereading the same page, putting off decisions
• A steady inner voice that says you’re failing or in the way
• Canceling plans, letting texts go unanswered and spending more time alone

You don’t need a diagnosis, a referral or a certain number of these to reach out. If you’ve been telling yourself it will pass and it hasn’t, that’s enough reason to talk with someone.

Therapy for Depression

Therapy for depression is talk therapy with a plan. Your therapist won’t hand you a script. They’ll pick an approach that suits what’s going on for you, and change course if it isn’t helping. Depending on the person, our New Jersey team draws on:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), including behavioral activation, which looks at how the low mood shows up in your days, and at the small, concrete steps that start to shift it before motivation comes back
• Solution-focused work that starts from what’s still working, even a little, and builds on it
• IFS-informed work (Internal Family Systems), which pays attention to the self-critical voice and the parts of you that have been working hard to keep you going. IFS has a smaller research base than some other approaches, and we’d rather tell you that up front.
• Couples and family sessions when depression is straining a relationship or a household

A common question is which kind of therapy is best for depression. The straight answer is that there isn’t one winner. Several approaches have research behind them, and how well you and your therapist work together matters as much as the method. There is no set number of sessions. How often you meet, and when you wrap up, is a decision the two of you make as you go.

What the First Sessions Are Like

Your first appointment is an intake session. Your therapist will ask how long things have felt this way, what changed around the time it started, what you’ve tried so far and what a better month would look like. Early sessions tend to be practical. Sleep, routine, movement and contact with other people often come up first, because they move mood more than most people expect. As things settle, the work turns to what keeps the depression in place, such as old patterns, losses, pressure at work or tension at home. If the depression began after a death, our page on grief counseling in New Jersey describes that work. Sessions are 45–50 minutes.

When Depression Affects the People Around You

Depression rarely stays with one person. A partner can start to feel pushed away, while the person carrying the low mood worries about dragging everyone down. Our New Jersey team also sees couples and families, so a partner can join a session when it would help, or you can start couples work if the relationship has become the main strain.

Not sure where to start? Send us a message or call (732) 734-6950, and we’ll match you with a New Jersey clinician. You can also check your insurance first, at no cost.

Medication Management in New Jersey

For some people, therapy alone is enough. Others find that medication helps lift the mood enough for therapy to take hold. New Jersey is one of the three states where we prescribe: Florida, New Jersey and Colorado. In every other state, our care is therapy only.

In New Jersey, medication management is with Sima Alavi, ARNP, DNP, our board-certified psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner, and like all New Jersey care, it’s by secure video. It starts with a psychiatric evaluation of about 45 minutes, followed by monthly follow-up visits. You don’t have to be in therapy with us to ask about medication, and you don’t have to take medication to be in therapy with us. If you’d like both, having them in one practice means one place to call. Some medications carry additional requirements for remote prescribing, and the rules have changed several times in recent years. Your prescriber will talk through what that means for you at your evaluation.

Self-pay for medication management is $350 for the psychiatric evaluation and $250 per follow-up. Our page on medication management in New Jersey has more detail.

Your New Jersey Team

Depression therapy in New Jersey is with Lisa Abrotsky, LMFT, the founder of New Reflections Counseling, and Jodi Katz, LCSW. Both see adults across the state by secure video, and both also see couples, so a partner can join when that would help. Medication is with Sima Alavi, ARNP, DNP. When you contact us, we pair you with the therapist whose approach fits what you’re looking for. If the fit doesn’t feel right after a session or two, say so, and we’ll help you switch.

New Reflections Counseling, P.A. was founded in 2012 and now works in 12 states.

Postpartum Depression in New Jersey

Depression during pregnancy or after a birth is common, it’s treatable, and it isn’t a sign you’re doing parenthood wrong. It can affect new fathers and partners too, and our New Jersey therapists see them as well. Video sessions mean you don’t have to arrange childcare or a drive to fit therapy in. If medication comes up during pregnancy or postpartum, it is coordinated with your OB. Our guide to finding a therapist for postpartum depression explains what to look for.

Across New Jersey, by Secure Video

We see New Jersey clients in Jersey City, Hoboken, Princeton, Morristown, New Brunswick, the shore towns and everywhere in between. Because everything is online, where you live in the state doesn’t change your options. You do need to be physically in New Jersey at the time of each session, because that’s where your clinician is licensed to work with you. If you’re in Hudson County, our page on therapy in Jersey City covers how we work with clients there. For everything we offer statewide, see our New Jersey page.

Evening appointments are available by arrangement. We don’t offer weekend sessions.

Cost and Insurance

In New Jersey, we’re in network with Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare (including UMR plans), Blue Cross Blue Shield, Horizon, AmeriHealth, Independence and Tricare. We don’t accept Medicare or Medicaid. If that’s your coverage, you’re welcome to see us as a self-pay client.

Self-pay is $125 per individual session and $175 for couples, family or EMDR sessions, each 45–50 minutes, and $200–$250 for an extended 90-minute individual, couples or EMDR session. HSA and FSA cards are accepted. If your plan isn’t on the list, we can give you superbills to submit for out-of-network reimbursement. The insurance check is free, and results usually come by email within a couple of hours.

Depression Therapy Questions

What type of therapist is best for depression?

A licensed therapist who has worked with depression before and whose way of working makes sense to you. A license and training matter, and so does whether you leave the first couple of sessions feeling heard. Asking for a different therapist is always fine.

Can I get therapy and medication at the same practice?

In New Jersey, yes. You can see one of our New Jersey therapists and our psychiatric nurse practitioner, Sima Alavi, within New Reflections Counseling, both by video. You can also choose just one of the two.

Is online therapy effective for depression?

For many people, yes. A video session works with the same methods as one in an office, minus the drive and the waiting room. On days when leaving the house feels like too much, that can be the difference between going and canceling. You’ll want a private spot and a steady connection.

Do you see clients in person in New Jersey?

No. All New Jersey sessions, including medication management, are by secure video. We’d rather say that here than at intake.

How soon can I start?

Most people are seen within a week. Call or send a message, we’ll match you with a New Jersey clinician, and you can check your insurance before the first session if you’d like.

If You’re in Crisis

If you’re thinking about harming yourself or don’t feel safe, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at any hour, or call 911. Therapy isn’t an emergency service, and our office can’t respond to emergencies.

Getting Started

Call (732) 734-6950 or send a message through our contact form. Tell us a little about what’s been going on and whether you’re interested in therapy, medication or both. From there, we’ll pair you with a New Jersey clinician, run your insurance check if you want one, and set up your first video session.