Ithaca, New York
Ether is a small practice with three clinicians. Young people have sessions of their own, parents have theirs, and each group has a page written for them.
Start with the page that is yours
Book a time
Choose a time on the practice's scheduling page. If you would rather talk first, call or write, and we answer within one business day.
Two pages, one practice
A young person and a parent are not in the same room, and what each says stays with their own clinician. Here is how the two sets of sessions differ.
| For young people | For parents and caregivers | |
|---|---|---|
| Who comes | For young peopleYou, from age 12 to 24, on your own. | For parents and caregiversYou, without your child in the room. |
| What we talk about | For young peopleYour name and pronouns, school, friends, home, and anything you bring. | For parents and caregiversHow to support your child, your own questions, and the hard days at home. |
| What stays private | For young peopleWhat you say stays between you and your clinician, with limits your clinician explains in the first session. | For parents and caregiversWhat you say is not passed to your child, and what your child says is not passed to you, with the same limits. |
| Who you meet | For young peopleMarlin Bonner. | For parents and caregiversDemetrio Ayala. |
| How to start | For young peopleWrite to us yourself, or ask a parent to. Under 18, a parent or guardian gives consent. | For parents and caregiversWrite to us, and we find a time. You can start before your child does. |
How we work
Your clinician uses the name and pronouns you give them, in the room and in anything written. They do not ask you to explain or prove who you are, and they do not try to change it.
Ether does not offer conversion or reparative therapy, and does not refer anyone to a practice that does. We are not a medical practice and do not prescribe; if you are seeing a doctor, your clinician can talk through how the two fit together, with your written permission.
Name and pronouns first, every session
No pressure to decide anything
A parent and a young person never share a clinician
Sessions
Fifty minutes with a clinician who uses your name and pronouns, and lets you set what you talk about.
Read the youth pageTime for your own questions, with a clinician who sees you without your child in the room.
Read the parent pageWhen each person has had time alone, a clinician helps the family talk with each other.
Read about family sessionsThe therapists
Each is licensed in New York. The license lines are at the foot of every page.
Therapist for teens and young adults
Marlin sees teens and young adults on their own. The first sessions are mostly listening: which name and pronouns to use, what you want from therapy, and what you do not want to talk about yet.
Rukhsana meets families together, after each person has had time on their own. She helps everyone say what they mean, in words the others can hear, and does not take sides.
Therapist for parents and caregivers
Demetrio sees parents and caregivers without their child in the room. It is a place to ask the questions you would not ask your child, and to work out how to support them.
Licenses
The numbers are in the footer. This is what the letters mean.
Marlin Bonner, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)
NY Lic. # 000000 · New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions
Required to practice clinical social work in New York
Rukhsana Amin, Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC)
NY Lic. # 000000 · New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions
Required to practice mental health counseling in New York
Demetrio Ayala, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)
NY Lic. # 000000 · New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions
Required to practice marriage and family therapy in New York
How it works
Tell us whether you are a young person or a parent, and how it works for you to be reached.
We match you with the clinician for your kind of session and send a link to the intake form.
Fifty minutes. Your clinician explains how they work and the limits of confidentiality, then listens.
You and your clinician decide together whether to continue, and how often.
Where we practice
The office is downtown. If you prefer video, you need to be in New York during the session.
The office is on the ground floor, with a step-free entrance and an all-gender restroom.
Get directions to the Ether officeThe answers to what most people ask before a first session.
Ether takes some insurance plans. Ask whether yours is one of them, and we confirm it before the first session. We do not bill Medicare or Medicaid; if you need a clinician who does, we give you names.
Some PPO plans
Not Medicare or Medicaid
You pay at the end of each session by card, including HSA and FSA cards. Your clinician gives you the fee in writing before you start. A limited number of reduced-fee spots are held for young people whose families cannot pay the full fee: ask how to request one. We ask for 24 hours' notice to change an appointment.
Each month we can give whoever pays an itemized receipt (a superbill) with the dates and kind of session, to send to a plan that may reimburse out-of-network care. It carries a diagnosis code, and the insurer and the person who holds the plan can both see it. For a young person that is usually a parent. Reimbursement is not guaranteed: ask the plan first.
If you pay without insurance, you have the right to receive a written good faith estimate of what your care will cost before you start. We give you one before the first session. If the final bill is $400 or more above the estimate, you can dispute it. The estimate is not a contract.
If we bill your plan, we check your benefits and tell you what we found before the first session. If we do not, call the plan and ask about out-of-network mental health benefits.
Questions
No. What you say in your own sessions stays between you and your clinician. There are limits, such as a risk of serious harm, and your clinician explains them in the first session. A parent who pays for your sessions may see an insurance receipt that names a diagnosis code.
Yes. The Quick exit button at the top of every page takes you away from this site at once. The contact form lets you choose how we reach you, so pick the way that works for you. A private browsing window keeps this visit out of your history.
Under 18, a parent or guardian gives consent for therapy to begin. Once you are in sessions, they are yours. From 18 you can start on your own.
We take some insurance plans and confirm yours before the first session. If you pay without insurance, we give you a written estimate first. The details are on the fees page.
It lasts 50 minutes. Your clinician explains how they work and the limits of confidentiality, asks which name and pronouns to use, and listens. You choose how much to say.
Call or text 988, any time. In an emergency, call 911. Young people who are LGBTQ+ can also text START to 678-678 to reach the Trevor Project. We do not monitor messages around the clock.
Tell us whether you are the young person or the parent, and we will point you to the right clinician. There is no obligation.
Write to us
We reply within one business day, by the method and at the time you choose. If you are a young person, you can write to us yourself.