Getting Started
You can reach me either by phone (617-642-3193) or by email (therapy@ruthgarrott.com). Either way, I will get back to you as soon as possible to answer your questions and set up an appointment.
I currently have appointments available on Mondays through Fridays from 2pm until 8pm. I usually see people on a weekly basis, but after the first few sessions, I’m glad to meet twice a week or every-other-week.
My office is located at 6 Bigelow Street in Central Square, right behind Cambridge City Hall. It’s a short walk from the Central Square Red Line T stop, as well as numerous buses and a HubWay station. There’s street parking (marked on the map below) on Bigelow Street near Mass Ave, as well as on Inman Street, Bishop Allen Drive, and Massachusetts Avenue itself. There are also five different parking lots and garages within a five-block radius—I particularly recommend the lots, as they charge roughly street-parking rates.
My office is on the garden level. You’ll come up the stairs to the front door, and find a call-box to the left of the door. Scroll down in the callbox until you find my name ("Garrott, Ruth"), and ring the buzzer to be let in, then proceed down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, the gender-neutral restroom is on the door to your right, and the door to the the central waiting area is to your left, with a doormat in front of it. Feel free to have a drink of water from the cooler just outside the waiting area.
Our first appointment is a good chance for you to get a sense of how I work and whether you think my style will be a good fit for you. Take your time to see if you feel comfortable. I’ll ask you to tell me a little bit about what brings you into my office, and I’ll suggest ways that we could work together to make things better for you.
I’ll also ask you to fill out some paperwork. If you want to save time, I'll be glad to email you the forms ahead of time, and you can either email them to me or bring them to your first appointment. You can also come early to your appointment and fill them out before we sit down together (there will be blank copies in the waiting room). If you have any questions about anything on the forms, it’s fine to leave that part blank and ask me about it later. If there’s anything you don’t feel comfortable filling out, it’s fine to leave it blank.
Before you leave, we’ll also discuss payment. I charge $175 an hour, and accept cash, checks, or PayPal. I accept several Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurances, Tricare, and Medicare. If you don't have one of these insurances, let me know: I'm happy to work with you to make it affordable for you to get the care you need.
One of the forms I’ll ask you to fill out discusses confidentiality, but I want to repeat it here: my services are confidential, and that confidentiality begins the instant you contact me. With a few rare exceptions (described in the form), I will not tell anyone else anything you tell me, or even that you have contacted me to discuss therapy.
If you need to cancel your appointment, please let me know as soon as you can. If you don’t let me know by the day of the session, I charge a fee of $50 for the missed session. Even if it’s not possible for you to give 24 hours’ notice, though, please do let me know you won’t be coming, even if it’s only five minutes before the appointment was scheduled to start.
I’m looking forward to seeing you!