Thriveworks

Finding a therapist who is available in the evenings or weekends is a pain so I was happy when I found this practice. I saw a therapist here a few months back, but I didn’t click with her and decided to seek a different one. However, when I called to make an appointment with someone else, I was told I need to subscribe and pay an exorbitant fee if I wanted to see someone outside of regular business hours. I was told this was a new policy. It seems this practice is more about nickeling and diming people who want to see a therapist rather than getting them help. I searched on the website and there isn’t even a mention of this new policy.
I emailed the owner to get clarification and never heard back.

Very very disappointed, was charged an extra $ 100 for being 20 min late because I couldn’t find parking. My next session I was early and ended up waiting 50 minutes before I walked out. Is my time not worth anything? I would like my $ 100 late fee back seeing as they were not on time either. I will put in a little more effort to find a counselor that actually cares.

Came here for premarital counseling. My fiancé and I don’t have any real issues, but having been raised Catholic… I was raised with the concept of pre Cana and wanted to do that with my fiancé. Our first session was amazing and there was great dialogue and we learned a lot about each other. The second session was very disappointing. We came in and were asked «so what do you want to talk about?» We thought premarital counseling would be more structured and have diff topics we would cover in the sessions… we don’t fight much and don’t have any unresolved issues so it was a pointless hour because we didn’t come with big problems. We didn’t return after that as we are looking for someone who doesn’t approach premarital counseling from a negative viewpoint (what are your problems let’s fix them) but a positive standpoint (let’s make sure you both understand what marriage means to your partner). I’m sure for regular couples counseling this would be good, but it wasn’t right for us.

Super disappointed by this place. As others mentioned, I did get someone on the phone right away. After spending 5 – 10 minutes giving her all my personal information, she informed about about the subscriber fee which is now $ 180. Hell no. When I turned down the subscription, she said I wouldn’t be able to get an appointment for 4 weeks. Great. I said that was fine. I had expressed strong preference for a female therapist. Turns out they only have one female on staff and she can only take patients on weekends which I wasn’t eligible for since I didn’t sign up for the subscription. I said thanks but no thanks and hung out. Don’t waste your time unless you have money to burn.

I started at Thriveworks a few months ago. The customer service and appointment scheduling system is so easy to use! I like the email notification the week of your appointment. You will get charged if you don’t give 24 hr cancellation notice. I think that is reasonable given the practitioner has made plans for your therapy. I see Kathleen and she has been Amazing. She validates my feelings and helps me process my grief from loosing my dad. She also has helped me with work related issues and family dynamics. She is funny, bright, and well trained. I always look forward to my sessions and feel renewed afterwards! I would recommend you give them a try.

When my husband and I first made an appointment with this clinic last year 2014, we were informed of the $ 99 fee. I thought it was a start up fee. It wasn’t, it is an annual fee of $ 99. Our FSA does not cover it.
Well, we met with a good therapist at this practice. We are thankful. My husband and I are in a good place right now and the last time we’ve seen our therapist was spring of 2014. I also have my own therapist outside of Thriveworks so I don’t really need any services from them. We used Thriveworks so my husband and I can have a common ground independent from my own personal therapy.
It just so happens that my husband received an email from them 10 days ago. He didn’t read it because we haven’t seen anyone from this office since spring 2014. He just thought it was some sort of newsletter. We didn’t realize that they were automatically renewing the annual fee and tried to charge us again for $ 99. Thank goodness our card has been changed and it declined.
I can’t believe that they would just charge us automatically when we have not been there for well over 6 months. Also, shouldn’t they get authorization first. Also the subject of the email says: Thank you for being a subscriber. This does not give us any impression about charges
I am just so disappointed. And so because they tried to charge our card the $ 99 even if we haven’t been to that office since May 2014, I will no longer come back here. No matter how great the therapist was. I know for a fact that there are other therapist out there who would give the same service without an annual fee of $ 99.

Easy to schedule an appointment! Answered follow up questions about appointment by email very quickly. $ 99 fee is optional if you can not afford it and they easily provide a waiver. Will match you with an appropriate therapist.

My boyfriend and I went to thrivework cambridge office for a couple therapy session. Even though the office is a little small in size, but it was neat and comfy. Our counselor Deborah was very friendly and professional. She could really understand the problem and tried to lead both of us to think in a positive way. It was our first time to go through a couple therapy, so we were very concerned if we could really communicate our problems with a «stranger». But the concern was gone quickly as soon as we talked to Deborah. She was just very easy to talk and more importantly to make us believe we could solve our problems.

I am very happy with Thriveworks in general and with my particular therapist. She is kind, knowledgeable, has had very good insights for me, and is always on time for my scheduled appointments. The Thriveworks office is quiet and comfortable, and offers free wifi while you wait, as well as free beverages (coffee, tea, sodas, water).
While I understand some of the earlier issues that others have had, I have found that when I call the phone is answered by a real person, or someone gets back to me in a timely manner. Though there isn’t a receptionist in the waiting area, there is a sign for new clients explaining that their therapist will be with them at their scheduled time, and that there are clipboards with initial paperwork they can fill out while they wait. I’ve never seen anyone wait long without being greeted by one of the therapists. As for the cancellation fee, this is pretty typical of medical offices and is pretty much an industry standard from my experience. It is explained when you start.
Overall I am very satisfied with the service and care that I’ve received at Thriveworks. I think it would be great if they offered some group therapy options as I think that can be beneficial for some people. I would highly recommend Thriveworks to anyone looking for help.

I have friends who are coaches and counselors, and they’re really good, but I’m a little worried for them after going to Thriveworks. After playing phone tag with someone i was referred to by a friend, i called thrive and was able to make an appointment for that week. The office is close to central square’s T stop, and nicer than any coaching office I’ve ever seen. Most importantly, my coach is wonderful and has helpful insights every week.

Very easy to work with. It’s wonderful that they have so many evening openings so you can’t work your counseling around your schedule. I also had trouble in the past with other counseling offices with setting up my first appointment, so I was very thankful to Thriveworks for making it pretty painless to get started.
Some people have complained about the $ 99 yearly fee, but it was explained to me as being the money out of which the ²⁴⁄₇ on call counselors are paid, which I understood. I recently moved to a new city and didn’t think twice about calling their local Thriveworks to find my new counselor.

Thriveworks was great from the start — excellent, warm service. With regards to my inquiries, they were responsive and quick to find the best solution. Their Cambridge location is located in the heart of Central Square, a special area to begin with. I’d highly recommend Thriveworks for their services provided — please don’t hesitate to start your experience today!

After a lot of research looking for a therapist who was trained in a particular type of therapy, I called Thriveworks to make an appointment. When I was told of the $ 99 yearly fee, I was really turned off. I’ve been to many therapist and have never even heard of anything like t his. When I asked about what I was getting for this extra $ 99 that no therapy/​doctors office has ever tried to charge me, I got a wishy-​washy answer about access to therapist and not having to wait four months to get an appointment. I told the poor woman who answered the phone that this was insane.
Over the next couple of days, I thought about it almost obsessively. I was really uncomfortable about the fee, but was really looking forward to meeting this therapist. I called back and was told that I could postpone or even have the fee waived. So I met with the therapist and figured I deal with the fee later… I mean, maybe I wouldn’t have even liked him and then that would be that.
So the reason that I gave this review two-​stars and not one is because of the therapist, who I actually really like. (I only saw him once, so I can’t talk about him any more than that, but he was on time, caring, responsive, interested, knowledgeable etc.) At then end of the session, I made another appointment to see him and was quite looking forward to it.
In the middle of the night before my appointment, my four year old became very sick… fever of 104. In the morning, I called to cancel and was told that I’d be charged for the missed appointment. To me, a sick kid is a legitimate reason to cancel an appointment. Of course, I couldn’t do it with 24 hours notice b/​c she wasn’t sick then, and I can’t get a babysitter for a kid with a fever of 104.
Did I mention that I just lost my job and paying $ 99 for a missed appointment while taking care of a sick kid is very stressful and not supportive of someone who is looking for therapy?
Yes, I understand that this is a business but first and foremost, Thriveworks, you are in the business of helping people, not kicking them and then taking their money when they are down.

I called this place after trying to call 3 other counseling centers and only reaching voicemails. The girl on the phone was super nice and I scheduled an appointment for two days later. I think that’s sort of their thing, they can get you in to see a counselor without waiting, which is pretty great. The call to schedule an appointment did take at least 20 minutes, as I had to give them my insurance info, and a credit card as a deposit for the appointment. The practice is in an older building, but the actual office space is really warm and inviting. Without getting too personal, I was pleasantly surprised to find my counselor to be really helpful and insightful. I’ve had 2 appointments and so far so good!

Career advising versus mental health counseling:
If you go to Thrive for career counseling or advising, make sure you AND the person scheduling you are clear about what the appointment is for. Then when you show up, confirm that the appointment is for career advising.
I had the misfortune of scheduling a career advising appointment, then showing up and having the person I was scheduled with tell me that they only do mental health counseling. In my case, we made use of the appointment anyway so I don’t need a refund or anything.
Good things about Thrive:
There’s free soda, water, tea, and wifi in their waiting area. Thrive communicates efficiently by almost always answering the phone and having most employees (advisers, counselors, and billing) email clients as needed. Thrive is quick in that appointments are usually available the same day or next day. Thrive is accessible in the evenings and by MBTA. Thrive offers (per website), career advising, neuropsychological testing, personality testing, mental health counseling, and even telephone counseling.
Stuff to improve:
I wish they would train all of their employees about LGBT and intersex human diversity. I’ve noticed that a lot of their employees make assumptions about gender and sexual orientation that are incorrect, and base a lot on those inaccurate assumptions. There was also one employee who found out that I was intersex, and changed from being helpful to getting a weird grin, sparkily eyes, and behaving odd around me after that — sort of like a weird pervert. That being the most extreme case, there is a lot of awkwardness at Thrive around LGBT and intersex people. There are plenty of free or moderately priced trainings available to help with this, I wish they would use one. I’ll make a list at the very end.
Sometimes some of the Thrive employees forget to stick to their purview. It’s fine to vocalize a hunch, as long as it’s represented as one, and not as a fact. I find that this tends to happen in discussions about careers or industries that the Thrive employee has never been a part of. (You might not like to second guess your career coach, but be careful not to «trust» someone if you think their advice might be a well-​intended guess or hunch. Be sure to clarify. Perhaps if Thrive reads this, they would be willing to work on that as well.)
Lastly, I would suggest finding out what the client wants as a first step in any meeting. In my case, I am very clear on what I want in my career or specialty, and what I don’t. In my case, it’s a matter of finding a practical way to identify a career or specialty that offers that. Some people are just the opposite and need soul searching. It’s important to know who needs or wants what, rather than assuming.
In conclusion:
I think all of the criticism in the last 3 paragraphs and the 1^st paragraph could be addressed in a single meeting or with a little training. Once that’s completed, I can give Thrive 5 stars. I believe that Thrive does listen to it’s clients and has a very promising future. (I do like Thrive and had an overall good experience despite my suggestions above.)
Another great thing about Thrive is that the owner, Anthony C., is very responsive to feedback. He spends a lot of time reading comments by customers written in waiting room book, as well as, on websites like this. I’m sure that all of this effort and care is part of the reason for his success. Considering that, I spent some time writing this, as well as, additional time identifying two programs for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) training that come highly recommended, in case he reads this and considers my suggestions. I believe that, to no fault of most modern day psychologists, that the counseling industry and field of psychology has a long history of mischaracterizing LGBT people, and that LGBT training can be an uphill battle in any mental health facility. However, I believe that this training is needed and would like to recommend the following:
MTPC:
or
GLSEN:

I, like many others, was super impressed to actually hear a voice on the other end of the phone, but that is just one part of having a decent practice. I was assured that my counselor would take my insurance, but once I gave them my credit card number, whoops! that counselor doesn’t take (insert your specific insurance here). Great. Now I can either just pay for the first session, or pay the cancellation fee because they conveniently (sarcastically and seriously) scheduled me within 48 hours from now.
So I went to my first session, the building has no signs indicating that it is an office, but I managed to find my way to the right place. I got there 20 minutes early, as was suggested to fill out paperwork, and I sat in that dimly lit room alone for about 45 minutes until the doctor I was supposed to see comes out and realizes he actually has a patient.
Everything up to this point I could have just shrugged off, I mean good counseling is hard to find. And then I get to it: the counselor basically tells me that based on him talking to me about myself for about 25 minutes, that all the conditions I have been diagnosed with for most of my life aren’t actually there. I tell him I am on a certain SSRI. He pulls out a very antiquated medications guide and says he has no idea what I am on, but this one I am pointing at is the best for you, here is a prescription, stop taking your other medication now, see you in a week. Are you kidding me?! No one with a medical license should ever tell a patient to stop their medication cold turkey, especially if you DO NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT IT IS. I won’t even get into his rant about how to make drugs with your brain. So I left way worse mentally than I would have hoped, and $ 200+ short.

A friend recommended this place to me when I wanted to talk to someone after a (lame!) breakup. I’m not great with directions and thought I might have a hard time finding the office inside the building but there were a lot of signs and I found my way up easier than anticipated.
Nice waiting area– keurig coffee and comfy seating but no secretary/​staff to greet you. That ended up being no big deal because one of the Counselors came out to greet me (I was a little early). Without too much detail– I really really appreciated my time with my counselor. I was nervous but I found her to be really nice and easy to talk to. Also insightful– provided a new perspective that helped a lot. Great experience.

I have known Dr Centore for years and know just how much he cares about helping people. The staff at Thrive Boston is incredibly warm, caring and compassionate. What is great about Thrive is how easy they are to work with. No matter what challenges you might be facing, Thrive has the knowledgeable staff to help. If you are in the Boston area and looking for counseling services, I highly recommend Thrive!

Beware — they only want your money. They don’t really care about you as a patient.
Thrive was recommended to me for treatment for an eating disorder. I made my appointment and gave them my credit card number so they could charge a one time $ 99 intake fee (Really? I’ve been to therapy before and have never heard anything of the sort).
I talked to the receptionist about wanting to come in to talk about food related issues. She assigned me to a therapist who does not treat eating disorders or food issues. I felt bad for the guy. Neither one of us had any clue about what to do for the hour except for us to talk about my behavior and for him to let me know that I definitely have an eating disorder. Thanks! I’ve already been told that by five other doctors and therapists. I wasn’t looking for a diagnosis. I was looking for treatment.
Do yourself a favor. Find a place that cares about you and not your wallet.

I have been a patron of therapists/​life coaches for the past 15 years or so and I would NOT recommend this office.
I have been seeing a doctor here for a year or perhaps a little more than a year and called to cancel a same day appointment last week. I called at 11am to cancel a 6:15pm appointment. I have NEVER missed an appointment in a year or more of going there. I am not a flaky patient and although I felt bad cancelling same day, I had an impromptu/​emergency meeting with the CFO of the college I work for and really did not have much choice. The meeting ended up being 6 hours long and I was glad I had cancelled as I never would have made it from Boston to Cambridge, using public transport at rush hour.
I knew that there was a financial penalty for cancelling BUT I never thought it would be ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! If I were to cancel same day at my dermatologists office the charge is $ 24 but $ 100!!! I am going to need therapy just from this source of aggravation!
I also found it weird that even if you had been on the same meds for a year or MORE they still wanted to see you every month… Obviously more $$$$ (insurance) for them!
One would hope that mental health doctors would be a bit kinder and a bit less financially motivated!