Dr. Antonio Primavera: Psychotherapist in Mexico City

I am an English-speaking American and a graduate of Harvard University.  My psychotherapeutic training includes Counseling Psychology, Marriage  and Family Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, and  Transpersonal/Integral Psychology. I work with adults, couples,  families, children, and adolescents in Mexico City.

My approach to psychotherapy is not "one-size-fits-all." I realize that  every individual is unique and different, so my way of working depends  on the person and their needs and concerns at the moment. In this way, the therapy  evolves and changes to accommodate the specific needs of the person with  whom I am working.  Too many practitioners are married to their fixed  theories and ways of working, and so try to squeeze a patient into a type of psychotherapy that does not fit the person or their needs, doing more to  validate the therapist's theories than to help the person.

I believe that to truly be able to help someone, it is important for the therapist to have gone through what the person with whom he is working is now experiencing. Of all the terrible things that a person can go through in life, there are not many through which I have not gone. I have lived many different lives in this one life. I have been to many different hells and back many times and in many different ways. That is why, much more than my fancy degrees, I am able to help you. I have been there, and I can help you to find the way out.     

I am also a committed researcher and community volunteer, and so I spend  a lot of time practicing pro bono at a low-cost community mental health clinic in Barrio Tepito of Mexico  City. I believe that psychotherapy should be accessible to all. So, after  covering the basic cost of providing psychotherapy to you, any additional payment  goes a long way to helping me to provide psychotherapy to people who  would otherwise be unable to afford it.

My real passion is Transpersonal Psychology. My religious-spiritual orientation is Hindu-Tantra.  That's right; I am a pagan (As a  polytheist/pantheist, I believe that God is EVERYTHING and EVERYWHERE. This hardly conflicts with the views of other relgions.).  But that need not  matter to you or ever even be addressed, unless you care about such things.  If these things are important to you, I have a lot of experience working with spiritual, transcendental, religious, and similar concerns.  I was also once a  Baptist (I was baptized by choice when I was a kid.), a Catholic, a Lutheran, an agnostic, and an atheist.  Your  religious-spiritual orientation (or lack thereof) needn't matter,  either, unless you want it to.     

Sessions:

Sessions are, at minimum, once per week, and last 50 minutes (unless  arranged otherwise). Sessions always start and end on time, therefore it  is important for you to arrive on time. If you arrive late to any session for  any reason, you are forfeiting that amount of time from the  scheduled session. Even if you arrive 40 minutes late to a 50-minute  session, you will be charged the full fee for that abbreviated session.  There are no exceptions to this policy. 

Cancellation Policy:

Notice of 24 hours is required to cancel a scheduled appointment. Otherwise, the usual fee must be paid. 

Fees: 

$2,000 (MX Pesos) per 50 min. session (unless agreed upon otherwise).   

If my fee is higher than your ability to pay, please contact me and we  will try to arrive at a fee that will work for you.  I can, at least,  provide alternatives.  The most important thing is that you get the help  you need and deserve. 

Billing and payments:

You will be expected to pay for each psychotherapy session at the time that  it is held. Payments may be made in cash only.  

PayPal or bank transfers  are accepted in advance for phone/Skype sessions. 

Insurance:

Like  many psychotherapists, I do not accept insurance. However, many insurance  companies will cover all or a portion of the fee. 

If you would like to  use your insurance, please contact your insurance company and ask what  coverage you have to see an "out-of-network provider." Make sure that  you tell them that I have a PhD, as insurance companies usually reimburse at a  higher rate for therapists with a PhD. Your insurance company will tell  you what your coverage is. 

When you come to the office, you will pay  for your sessions in cash at the end of each session. If you request it,  I can give you an invoice once a month that you can submit to your  insurance company for reimbursement.          

I decided not to work directly with insurance companies for several reasons:  

• All  health insurance companies require a "mental disorder" diagnosis. Many  people who come to therapy want to learn new skills and different  life-strategies and do not necessarily have a mental diagnosis.  Most people are not "crazy."

• Insurance  companies are a big business with ties to big pharmaceutical  companies. Doctors are often paid to prescribe drugs by the pharma companies. They are more interested in their profits than in the  wellbeing of those they are intended to serve. Often, insurance  companies will not pay for therapy sessions unless the patient is  prescribed medication (doctor and big pharma in cahoots). It is my view that most people do not need  medication, and that medication (in many cases) can be more harmful than helpful.  A "happy," easily-controlled, robot is the aim of Western society/culture. At any rate,  I believe that the doctor, in consultation with the patient, should  decide whether or not medication is necessary, and not insurance company  bureaucrats.

• Insurance companies typically severely limit the number of therapy sessions for which they will pay.    

• Many  insurance companies put severe restrictions on what types of therapy  they will cover. For example, most insurance companies do not cover  marriage and family therapy or psychoanalysis. 

• With insurance companies, many of your choices and treatment options are limited. This takes away your ability to be involved actively  in determining what type of therapy that you receive. 

• Health  insurance jeopardizes personal confidentiality. When a bill is  submitted to an insurance company on your behalf, your confidential  information is processed by the insurance company, and then stored in a  database. Anyone who is involved with processing or handling  of your claim has access to your records and anyone who has a "legitimate"  reason to access the medical database, such as insurance companies and  prospective employers, can view your confidential records. Theoretically, an  employer or other entity could discriminate against you based  on this information. 

For all of these reasons, I have decided, as a psychotherapist, not to accept health insurance directly.  

Privacy:

All the information about my patient's psychotherapy is strictly  confidential.  This practice’s privacy policy prohibits the release of  any information concerning a patient to anyone without the patient's explicit and informed written authorization.   

This should go without saying, obviously. But, beware, patient privacy is not really a Mexican thing. Mexican therapists tend to be as “chatty” as hairdressers.        

After-Hours Coverage:

I am often not immediately available by telephone. Messages may be left for me at my e-mail address: primavera@post.harvard.edu.  I routinely check my voice and e-mail for messages 24 hours a day, as my phone is silenced during sessions. If you are difficult to reach, please let me know some times when you will be available.

Phone/Skype Sessions:

I have been doing sessions with patients via telephone or Skype for a number of years now, and the results have been very good. In Skype, there is even the option for audio only (no weirdness of looking at a screen). 

I realize that many people cannot commit to the normal business hours in which therapy is typically conducted. That is why I offer this option. If you have any questions, please send me an e-mail. 

Billing  is currently pre-paid through either PayPal or Dwolla.  All  telephone/Skype communications are via a VPN (Virtual Private Network),  so that your privacy is secured. 

"Life Coaching"

I thought I might say a few words about the recent trend of “life coaching.” It has taken off lately, like barber shops, tattoos, and craft beer. In Mexico, one can practice psychotherapy with a Bachelor’s degree (which is not the case in the US). I think that’s great, as I have learned much more through years of practice than I ever learned in fancy, expensive schools. So, the sooner one begins practicing the better.

The thing with “life coaching,” is that it pretends to not be psychotherapy and masks itself with a sports metaphor. To be a “life coach,” one need only attend a talk and receive a certificate…or not. There are no rules or qualifications that govern “life coaching.” One can simply say, “I’m a life coach,” and one is a “life coach.” 

Psychologists, psychotherapists, counselors, psychiatrists, etc., have to go through many years of schooling, followed by possibly years of supervised practice for licensure, before they can call themselves such. In fact, in the US, one has to have a PhD to even be considered a psychologist. 

So, that’s just my two cents. If one is helped by “life coaching,” then great! People can be helped in many ways by many different methods. Mexican curanderas (or traditional healers) have healed me when I have been physically sick. So there is no reason to believe that “life coaching” won’t be helpful to some…especially if they are into sports and being told what to do.