Washington Square Institute

Why is it so hard in 2015 to find quality therapy in NYC?
This place is really offensive. They push and promote on their website a sliding scale and a sense of inclusivity, yet when you call and say you are a young professional– they tell you that A) They do NOT take your insurance, but do take other plans, B) That since you are not currently employed that you cannot start therapy on the sliding scale! As a NYU grad and community member of of this area, this is very crappy to hear. I have savings and money coming in monthly from family to bridge the gap till my next job. I have a means to pay, but they do not even give that consideration.
Lost my respect fully.

I am so disappointed in this place. I heard about it from a friend who had a great experience with a therapist 2 years ago, and encouraged me to sign up since I was looking for something within my budget. The first red flag, however, should have been when I requested a therapist of color– just to see if it was possible– and I got an uncomfortable call back from a woman named Marilyn who said she couldn’t accommodate this. I understood that it may have been an unusual request, so I went with the therapist she assigned. This therapist not only failed to call me prior to the session as promised, but postponed our first session for two weeks and even double-​booked me during another person’s session. When we did meet, she seemed well-​meaning and insightful on certain things, but made some ignorant comments about my race and my experiences. (For example, saying that _​_​_​people were just more violent, when those dynamics are actually prevalent across all races/​cultures.) Not the most professional.
I decided to leave and look for therapy elsewhere, but when I called to let Marilyn know that I did not want a reassignment, she was VERY hostile on the phone. I informed her that I’d be more comfortable in a more culturally sensitive environment. She said: «What do you *mean* you have a different culture? Do you think *WSI* is culturally insensitive? Oh really? You think you’re gonna find someone else from *your* culture? Hah, good luck with that.»
I do not believe I deserved this level of disrespect and I regret going to WSI at all. People there may have spent decades in school but could learn a thing or two about minding their own prejudices. Strobo C’s review below is very eye-​opening, and it gave me some background I wish I had prior to spending hundreds of dollars there. If you’re not white, don’t bother going.

I’ve been a client for more than 5 years; like & respect my therapist. Sliding scale, reliable staff, good location. Older building: elevators can be slow.

A Great Place for Sliding Scale Therapy. I have an excellent therapist and find the place quiet, clean, and AFFORDABLE! I am grateful to and for Washington Square Institute.

I’ve been going here on and off for about 3 years. Mostly negative reviews all across the board for this place which I simply do not agree with.
I haven’t been to any other therapists in NYC. I can’t make any comparisons HOWEVER a close friend recommended this place to me in 2008 and I trusted his advice.
While I did endure a somewhat hellish intake process (4 to be exact) I was/​am very satisfied with my current counselor. I have had issues in the past with accounting, being overcharged for meetings that never occurred and some minor miscomunication however after resolving those issues, it’s been smooth sailing. There’s a sliding scale fee (based on income) and they do charge you if you no show. Despite a mediocre appearance, overall cleanliness and some attitude from the receptionist (this is NON PROFIT afterall), WSI really isn’t that bad.

Not sure why a two but it was nice having a dedicated hour a week to talk to myself for 52 minutes, be judged by an ignorant bitch for 4 minutes and be then be dismissed 4 minutes early just, cause. Did I mention that negotions are beyond a challenge?
You better love to haggle or be great at lieing about your income.

I left this place after being affiliated with them for a while. During the time when I was there, I learned that the place was gearing toward
1) old school Freudian
2) money
a bit too much and I got fed up with them. The conferences they have might give you an idea about what kind of practice and school of thoughts they are based upon, so check them out. Of course you have to pay to sit there. And I should add their pressuring you to take part in – or was I singled out? They seem to focus on the benefit of the limited group of people, which could be called their ‘model patients.’ If you don’t foot the bill of their defnition of model minds, you probably don’t qualify for being their patients, which involves where you are located in their chart by class, ethnic background, sexual orientation, etc. When you are marginalized from the ‘model patients demography,’ you should go elsewhere beofore investing too much money and time in WSI.
I bet Freudian theory gave them a lot of excuses of their being exclusive and their backward idea, which manifest numerous problems for treating social/​racial/​sexual minorities. To them, being those is already illness beyond their recognition. They just dismiss them as the untreatable.
The service that I received was below par. The memory still cracked me up for the service providers’ inadequacy whereas their grandiosity for their sense of pride for their profession when they are incompetent and complacent social workers. All therapists that I met seemed to be insufficiently trained yet somehow arrogant and prejudiced. This almost made me think their undying bias and fossilized ideas about psychodynamics. As a consequence of forming too much of a homogeneous community, therapists are incompetent and therefore defensive toward each other. Here is a good example of their outdated idea and methods about mental health;
one of the conferences that I sat in was about spousal cheating rates based on people’s ethnicity and the whole crowd got out of control by their overjoy when the statistics indicated that the rate shot up when it involved Hispanic interviewees. What kind of racism was it that it insinuated here? Clearly it was neither academically nor politically appropriate climate that was governing the discourse but more importantly, what did mental illness/​health have to do with their view on Hispanic people’s sex lives? They think Hispanic people are morally inferior and only those inferior cheat? They could form the consensus because there was no way they would run into Hispanic people who were professionally affiliated with them nor likely their patient: the only Hispanics were a janitor and a receptionist (part-​time). There seemed no worries when they’d meet no repercussions. No wonder this secret society was stereotyping ‘the others’ until their hearts content. I did not want to be part of their unsound gathering, and learned this was as good as it got in this place.
There also was a conference on sexual abuse victims’ treatment and I heard some therapists including VIPs of the institute chatted up behind the panels dismissing the validity of ‘that sort of claims.’ I groaned to find the fossils right there. This was very insensitive for a comment from the service providers and imagined how they treat their clients when they claimed to be victimized ‘in the line of problem.‘
I found the air all the institute’s trying so hard to wear terribly funny. They seem to believe themselves to be one of the very few who possess unattainable knowledge of human mind when they really are social workers with inferiority complex.
The majority of therapists in this place are mostly house wives w/​social workers’ license, practicing as if in their leisure time rather than being professionals and/​or clinically skilled. If you are prospective patients or trainees, and looking for something EFFECTIVE and more efficient, I just suggest go anywhere but here. There are always better places to go.