I hope that this page answers some common, practical questions about my services. Of course, please do not hesitate to contact me, if you have further questions or concerns.

I conduct regularly scheduled, one-hour appointments on Mondays and Wednesdays (9 a.m. to 8 p.m.), Tuesdays and Thursdays (6 p.m. to 8 p.m.), and Fridays (1 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.). In addition, I schedule make-up appointments on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Here is my address and contact information:

Gerry Fisher, LICSW
180 Massachusetts Avenue
Suite 301, Office #3
Arlington, MA 02474
(781) 929-6341
gfisher-LICSW@comcast.net

Parking is located in the back of the building. My building is handicap accessible.

The paragraphs that follow provide directions for short routes to my office. However, if you have a 5 pm or 6 pm appointment with me, and if you are traveling south on Route 2 to my office, I strongly recommend that you use the rush-hour directions.

Directions from Route I-93:

1. Take I-93 to Medford, Massachusetts.
2. Take either the exit for Route 60 (coming from the north) or the exit for Route 16 West, Alewife Brook Parkway (coming from the south), toward Arlington.

   Taking the Route 60 exit, enter the rotary, and exit toward Medford Square (coming from the north, this is the first exit off the rotary). Stay in the left lane. At the second traffic light, the road forks; stay left. Immediately after bearing to the left, move to the right lane. Take your first right onto Route 16 West, toward Arlington.

   Follow Route 16 past several small rotaries. There then will be a small stadium (currently under construction), a municipal pool (hard to see), and some athletic fields and courts on your right. After the park area, go through a major intersection (Foodmaster on your left), and continue on Route 16 to the next major intersection (Massachusetts Avenue). At the corner, there will be a Mobile station on your left. If you reach Route 2, you have gone too far.

3. Take a right onto Massachusetts Avenue, and enter Arlington.

   My offices are located on the left, in a large, red-brick professional building (Cambridge Savings Bank is on the ground floor), located just before the Capital movie theater. If you pass Walgreen's on your left or reach Arlington Center, you've gone too far.

Directions from Route 2:

1. Take the Lake Street Exit toward Arlington.

   Traveling west bound, pass Alewife T Station on the left, go straight through the traffic lights at the Route 16, Alewife Brook Parkway exchange, and take the next exit (at the foot of the large hill). At the end of the ramp, take a right.

   Traveling east bound, go down the large hill, and get in the right lane. As the hill ends, the Lake Street exit is the next one on the right; at the end of the ramp, take a right (taking you back under the highway). If you reach Faces nightclub, the bowling alley, the Route 16 exchange, or Alewife T Stop, you've gone too far.

2. Take a right at the end of Lake Street.

   Lake Street dead ends at the intersection with Massachusetts Avenue.

   My offices are located a block and a half on the right, in a large, red-brick professional building (Cambridge Savings Bank is on the ground floor). If you pass a CVS on the left and a small strip mall of car repair shops on the right, you've gone too far.

Communicating about fees can be challenging, because my clients pay me a variety of fees, depending on the type and schedule of the work. It is also not worth addressing fees until we have talked about whether we are a good fit for working together. On the other hand, people need to know if they can generally afford to work with me before investing time and energy.

Here's how you can determine affordability....

First, use this web site and a free, one-hour consultation meeting to understand my services thoroughly. Second, if my services are a strong fit for you, then we can discuss my fee. In preparation for this discussion, please review your finances, assume a duration of approximately 6 to 9 months, and understand that our negotiations will begin with my full fee. People have been able to do good work with me paying between $180 to $220 a month, as a minimum, ballpark figure.

Because I am a consultant providing life-enhancement services, and because I do not offer therapy as a medical service, I do not accept medical health insurance. (If using your health insurance is very important to you, please consult with a psychotherapist or medical practitioner about possibly getting your counseling needs met through the medical community.) Finally, although negotiated and temporary fee adjustments are common, I do not offer a traditional sliding scale (speak with me for more information).

I also work remotely with people, using a combination of weekly 45-minute phone calls and email coaching. This type of work has a different fee scale. Contact me for more information.

I maintain a higher level of confidentiality than you can obtain when seeking medical treatment with a therapist. There are no embarrassing diagnoses or written documents outlining personal details; what you say to me stays with me (with exceptions determined by the state of Massachusetts for licensed clinical social workers and therapists).

Many of my clients enjoy the convenience of using e-mail to ask questions or review homework that is in progress in between sessions. My e-mail is secured on my computer with a password. However, if you choose to correspond with me using e-mail, please be aware that there is a slight chance that e-mail can be intercepted on the Internet (it is very technically difficult to do, but it is possible). Also be aware of security on your own computer (for example, some e-mail software keeps copies of "sent" e-mail that you have to explicitly delete, and you need to "compress your hard drive" to make deletions "permanent"). So, I recommend that you save the most sensitive of conversations for phone calls or sessions.

I have a 20+ year career in high tech as a software technical writer (including management experience), I am an experienced workshop developer and leader, I have a Master's degree from Boston University in Social Work, and I am a licensed, clinical social worker and therapist with the state of Massachusetts. For more information about my credentials, please see my resume.