Everything You Want to Know
Before You Reach Out.

Submit a new patient inquiry through our Get Started page. Tell us a little about what's going on; there's no right or wrong way to write it. A member of our clinical team will be in touch within one business day, usually the same day, to schedule a brief screening call. A clinician, not a scheduler, responds to every inquiry within one business day.

A clinician, not a scheduler, reviews your inquiry and reaches out to schedule a 20–30 minute screening call. On that call we discuss your situation in more detail, answer your questions, and determine whether the Evidence-Based Treatment Institute is the right fit. If it is, we schedule your intake assessment, usually within days. If we're not the right fit, we tell you honestly and help you find who is.

No. You can contact us directly without a referral. That said, we welcome referrals from physicians, pediatricians, therapists, and school counselors, and we coordinate actively with referring providers when a patient gives us permission to do so.

A clinician responds to every inquiry within one business day, and scheduling moves as quickly as clinical fit and availability allow. We treat inquiries about intensives, particularly eating disorder intensives, as urgent and typically respond within hours.

Yes. If you're uncertain whether what you're experiencing is "bad enough" to seek specialist care, that uncertainty itself is a reason to reach out. An inquiry is not a commitment to treatment; it's a conversation to determine whether we can help. We will never make you feel that your concerns are too small. And if you're not the right fit for our practice, we'll tell you and help you find someone who is.

If you are experiencing a psychiatric emergency, please call 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or go to your nearest emergency room. The Evidence-Based Treatment Institute is an outpatient specialist practice; we are not equipped to provide crisis intervention or emergency psychiatric care. Once you are stabilized, we are happy to discuss how we can support your ongoing treatment.

Treatment can still begin: through you. SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) treats childhood anxiety and OCD entirely through the parents: we map and reduce the family accommodation that maintains the disorder while teaching supportive responses that build your child's confidence. In a randomized trial, parent-only SPACE matched gold-standard child-delivered CBT for childhood anxiety. Your child does not have to be willing for treatment to start.

Our primary specializations are eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, ARFID), OCD and related disorders across all subtypes, and anxiety disorders (social anxiety, panic disorder, GAD, separation anxiety, specific phobias, health anxiety). We also specialize in PTSD and trauma, women's and perinatal mental health across the full reproductive continuum, ODD and disruptive behavioral patterns in children and adolescents, and longstanding emotional and behavioral patterns. See our conditions pages for more detail on each.

We treat patients across the full age range: children as young as four or five, adolescents, young adults, and adults. The specific treatment approach varies by age: younger children's treatment often happens primarily through parents (using SPACE or FBT), while adolescents and adults engage more directly in their own treatment. We discuss what makes the most clinical sense for your specific situation during the screening call.

Yes, and for many of our patients, treating them simultaneously is the only approach that produces durable results. The co-occurrence of OCD and eating disorders is one of the most commonly missed presentations in the field, and treating one while ignoring the other consistently produces incomplete outcomes. Zach Appenzeller developed the FBT-Anchored Modular (FAM) Model specifically to address this: a treatment approach (typically delivered intensively, though available at outpatient dose too) that anchors treatment in FBT and integrates CBT-E, ERP, or DBT/RO-DBT alongside it as early as the patient's willingness and clinical picture allow. Never one condition waiting on the other, and never at FBT's expense. Please mention both conditions when you reach out.

We treat ADHD when it co-occurs with the conditions we specialize in: eating disorders, OCD, anxiety, and behavioral difficulties. Dr. Natalia Levy has extensive experience with ADHD across the lifespan. We do not offer ADHD-only treatment as a standalone service separate from our specialty areas.

Yes, particularly depression that co-occurs with anxiety, OCD, or eating disorders, and persistent depressive disorder (chronic depression) using CBASP, the only treatment developed specifically for that presentation. Dr. Natalia Levy also treats depression as part of her broader practice. We do not specialize in acute major depression as an isolated presentation separate from our specialty areas.

Both. For adolescents, we use Family-Based Treatment (FBT) as the primary evidence-based approach, which positions parents as the agents of recovery. For adults, we use Enhanced CBT (CBT-E) and CBT for ARFID (CBT-AR), which are individually focused. Our in-home and virtual intensives serve both adolescents and adults. Age is not a barrier to specialist eating disorder care at the Evidence-Based Treatment Institute.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the most extensively researched psychological treatment approach available. Unlike open-ended talk therapy, CBT is active, structured, goal-oriented, and time-limited, with a clear beginning, middle, and defined end. We use specific evidence-based approaches matched to each patient's condition: ERP for OCD, FBT for adolescent eating disorders, CBT-E for adult eating disorders, PE and CPT for PTSD, SPACE for childhood anxiety. See our What Is Evidence-Based Treatment page for a full explanation.

Prior treatment failure is one of the most common reasons families contact us, and it almost always comes down to one of three things: the wrong approach was used for the condition; the right approach was used but not delivered with sufficient fidelity; or co-occurring conditions were not identified and addressed. We begin every new patient relationship by understanding what happened in prior treatment and what needs to be different. Prior therapy failure does not predict future failure when the right treatment is delivered the right way.

It depends on the condition and severity. OCD and anxiety treated with weekly ERP: most patients see meaningful change within a focused course of treatment. Adolescent eating disorders with FBT: a full three-phase course typically unfolds over many months. PTSD with PE or CPT: most patients complete treatment within a focused course. Intensives compress these timelines significantly. CBT is time-limited by design: treatment ends when clinical goals are met, not when a session limit is reached. We discuss realistic timelines for your specific situation during your initial consultation.

Standard outpatient treatment is typically once weekly, though some presentations benefit from twice-weekly sessions in the early phase of treatment. Intensives involve multiple sessions per week, sometimes daily. We discuss the right frequency for your specific situation during your intake assessment and adjust it over the course of treatment as progress warrants.

No. The Evidence-Based Treatment Institute clinicians are psychologists and licensed therapists; we do not prescribe medication. When medication is clinically relevant, we coordinate actively with your prescribing clinician. We are knowledgeable about the evidence on psychotropic medications for the conditions we treat and can help you have an informed conversation with your prescriber.

Yes, with your consent. We coordinate actively with medical teams, dietitians, schools, and other mental health providers when doing so serves your care. We treat coordination as an integral part of treatment, not an optional add-on. For eating disorder treatment especially, close coordination with the patient's medical team is a clinical priority.

No. The Evidence-Based Treatment Institute is a private-pay practice. We do not accept any health insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid. This is a deliberate clinical decision: the evidence-based treatments we use cannot reliably be delivered within the constraints insurance imposes on session frequency, length, and format. See our Fees & Insurance page for a full explanation.

Potentially, if your plan includes out-of-network mental health benefits. We provide detailed superbills that you submit directly to your insurer for reimbursement. PPO plans are most likely to offer meaningful OON coverage. We recommend calling the member services number on your insurance card before your first session to understand your specific benefits. We can provide our NPI number and commonly used CPT codes to help you get accurate information from your insurer.

Yes. Sessions at the Evidence-Based Treatment Institute are a qualified medical expense for both Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA). You can pay with your HSA or FSA card at time of service. No additional paperwork required. Using pre-tax funds effectively reduces your out-of-pocket cost by your marginal tax rate.

Our session fees are listed on our Fees & Insurance page. We are transparent about fees before any commitment is made: no hidden costs, no surprises. Payment is due at time of service. We accept all major credit and debit cards, HSA cards, and FSA cards.

We do not offer a sliding scale. The Evidence-Based Treatment Institute is a boutique specialist practice, and we maintain consistent fees in order to sustain the staffing, training, and clinical oversight that defines our standard of care. If cost is a significant barrier, we are happy to discuss what options might exist and, if needed, help you identify practices with more flexible fee structures.

Under the No Surprises Act, you have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate of expected treatment costs before your first session. The Evidence-Based Treatment Institute provides Good Faith Estimates to all new patients automatically; you do not need to request one. If you have questions about your estimate or believe there is a discrepancy, contact us directly and we will address it before treatment begins.

Our intensives deliver concentrated, high-frequency treatment (multiple sessions per week or daily contact) for patients who need more than weekly outpatient therapy can provide. The treatment is the same evidence-based approach we use in standard outpatient care. The difference is the dose and density. Intensives come in two formats: virtual (by secure telehealth in 40+ PSYPACT states, billed at each clinician's standard session rate) and in-home, available in South Florida, Houston, Denver, and Chicago. For OCD and anxiety, this includes real-world exposure work conducted in the environments where the disorder actually operates.

Our intensives are designed for patients who are medically stable but not improving, or improving too slowly, in weekly outpatient care; patients stepping down from residential or PHP treatment; families in FBT Phase 1 who need more clinical support; and patients seeking specialist care that isn't available locally (through our virtual intensive). We discuss level of care openly during your screening call and are honest about whether an intensive is the right fit for your situation.

In-home intensive sessions are available in four metro regions: South Florida (Boca Raton, Delray Beach, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, Parkland, and surrounding communities), Houston (and surrounding Texas communities including Sugar Land, The Woodlands, Katy, Pearland), Denver (and surrounding Colorado communities including Aurora, Lakewood, Boulder), and Chicago (and surrounding communities including Evanston, Oak Park, and the North Shore). Visits are billed at double your clinician's standard session rate ($500–650 per hour) with a 2-hour minimum. Virtual intensives, billed at each clinician's standard session rate, are available in 40+ PSYPACT states, for families across most of the country. Some families also travel to one of our in-home metros for a concentrated in-person intensive block; we discuss logistics during your screening call.

Most intensives run for two to six weeks of active daily or near-daily treatment, depending on severity and the specific clinical goals. We build a transition plan from the first day: the ending is always deliberate and well-prepared, not abrupt. Most patients transition to weekly outpatient maintenance after the intensive concludes.

Yes. The post-residential transition is one of the highest-risk periods in eating disorder recovery and one of the situations our intensives are specifically designed to address. The gap between residential structure and home life is where relapse most commonly occurs. If your child has recently been discharged and is struggling, please reach out urgently: start your inquiry at our Get Started page or call or text (954) 247-1114 and tell us your child's discharge timeline; we prioritize post-residential scheduling. This is not a failure, it is a predictable challenge, and we are well-positioned to help.

Our practice has clinicians available for in-person sessions in four U.S. cities: Boca Raton, FL (Drs. Zach Appenzeller, Allie Appenzeller, Natalia Levy); Houston, TX (Dr. Kaitlin Hill and Dr. Kimberly Osborn); Chicago, IL (Dr. Renée D. Rienecke); and Denver, CO (Dr. Eliza Lanzillo), plus in-person caregiver mentorship with Nina Jolly in Austin, TX. In Boca Raton, we serve the surrounding South Florida community including Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, and Parkland. Telehealth services are available to all Florida residents, to patients in 40+ PSYPACT-participating states, and in two additional states through individual licensure (New York and Hawaii). Read more about care in Boca Raton, Houston, Chicago, Denver, and Austin.

Yes. Telehealth is available to patients across all of Florida and in 40+ PSYPACT-participating states. Telehealth sessions deliver the same standard of clinical care as in-person sessions. For patients who cannot access one of our in-person cities, telehealth is a fully effective alternative for most presentations, and our virtual intensives extend that access to families who need a higher level of care.

The Evidence-Based Treatment Institute provides telehealth under PSYPACT, which currently covers more than 40 participating states. Most of our psychologists hold PSYPACT credentialing and can deliver care to patients in any PSYPACT state. We also hold individual state licenses outside PSYPACT for two specific states: New York (Dr. Natalia Levy) and Hawaii (Dr. Kaitlin Hill). Nina Jolly provides caregiver peer mentorship, which is not licensed clinical practice, and can support caregivers in every U.S. state. To check whether your state participates in PSYPACT, visit psypact.gov, or mention your state in your inquiry and we will confirm eligibility during your screening call.

New York is not a PSYPACT state. For clinical care delivered to New York patients, you would work with Dr. Natalia Levy (anxiety, depression, ADHD, family systems work across the lifespan), who holds individual New York licensure in addition to her PSYPACT credentialing. For caregivers of patients with eating disorders, Nina Jolly offers peer mentorship that is available in every state, including New York. New York patients can access 1:1 individual therapy with Dr. Levy as a primary treatment option.

Hawaii is not a PSYPACT state. Dr. Kaitlin Hill holds individual Hawaii licensure in addition to her PSYPACT credentialing, and is the clinician on our team able to deliver clinical care to patients located in Hawaii. Dr. Hill specializes in OCD, anxiety, and eating disorders in older adolescents and adults. Nina Jolly's caregiver peer mentorship is also available to Hawaii caregivers. Hawaii patients can access 1:1 individual therapy with Dr. Hill as a primary treatment option.

Texas is a PSYPACT state. Our entire PSYPACT-credentialed team is available to Texas patients via telehealth: Drs. Zach Appenzeller, Allie Appenzeller, Renée Rienecke, Kimberly Osborn, Natalia Levy, Kaitlin Hill, and Eliza Lanzillo. Additionally, two clinicians see Texas patients in person in Houston: Dr. Kaitlin Hill and Dr. Kimberly Osborn.

Illinois is a PSYPACT state. Our entire PSYPACT-credentialed team is available to Illinois patients via telehealth: Drs. Zach Appenzeller, Allie Appenzeller, Renée Rienecke, Kimberly Osborn, Natalia Levy, Kaitlin Hill, and Eliza Lanzillo. Additionally, Dr. Renée Rienecke sees patients in person in Chicago: FBT and CBT-E for eating disorders across adolescents, young adults, and adults.

For most presentations, yes. The research on telehealth delivery of CBT, ERP, FBT, and related treatments supports outcomes that are equivalent to in-person care. There are some presentations, particularly those involving significant situational avoidance, where in-person community-based exposure work is preferred. We discuss which format is most appropriate for your specific situation during the screening call and are honest about when in-person treatment would produce better outcomes.

Yes. We offer individual and group case consultation for licensed therapists working with OCD, anxiety, eating disorders, and complex co-occurring presentations. Consultation is practical, clinically precise, and available via telehealth for clinicians anywhere in the country. Contact us through our Professional Training page to discuss your needs.

Yes. We provide clinical supervision for provisionally licensed clinicians in Florida working toward full licensure, and mentorship for predoctoral interns and early-career therapists building specialty expertise in eating disorders and OCD/anxiety. Contact us to discuss your specific supervisory needs and we will clarify what we can provide.

Yes. We offer half-day, full-day, and multi-day workshops on ERP, FBT, CBT-E, SPACE, the FAM Model, Schema Therapy, RO-DBT, and the intersection of OCD and eating disorders. Workshops are available in-person in our five cities and virtually for teams anywhere in the country. Custom topics are available. See our Professional Training page for the full workshop menu.

The fastest route is our referral form on the For Providers page; the patient's name and contact information is enough to start, and we respond within one business day. For urgent or complex cases, call us at (954) 247-1114 to speak clinician to clinician. With your patient's permission, we coordinate with referring providers throughout the treatment process.

Yes. We offer evidence-based educational presentations for schools, parent groups, pediatric practices, country clubs, and community organizations in our five cities and virtually anywhere in the country. Topics include OCD and anxiety in children and adolescents, eating disorder recognition, family accommodation, school refusal, and perinatal mental health. See our Community Education page to learn more and inquire about booking.