• Washington Square Institute

  41–51 E. 11th St., 212-477-2600

  Unlike therapy programs staffed entirely by recent grads, Washington Square Institute isn’t just a place for budding shrinks to build up a practice; some therapists have been there for 25 years (some of their clients almost as long). Although many other low-cost clinics adhere to a particular practice like Gestalt therapy or psychoanalysis, Washington Square employs over 80 social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists who deploy a broad range of specialties and styles. An elaborate screening process takes the guesswork out of shrink-shopping: After a three-session workup (total $150), patients are matched to a practitioner by a committee that weighs everything from a client’s personal history and goals to his schedule (9 p.m. appointments aren’t uncommon). The institute isn’t part of any insurance networks; fees are set on a sliding scale from $50 to $100 based on annual income.

From the 2007 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine