Meets adults one to one, and started Velvet so artists had somewhere that understood studio life.
Therapy for artists in Taos, New Mexico
A quiet room for people who make things
Velvet is a group practice of five licensed clinicians for painters, writers, musicians, designers and other makers. We meet in person in Taos and by video across New Mexico.
Who we see
Adults whose lives are built around making things
If that is you, you will not have to explain why the work matters, or what a studio week looks like.
Working artists
Painters, potters, weavers, photographers and others who sell what they make.
Writers and musicians
People who work alone for long stretches and then have to show it.
Designers and makers with day jobs
People who hold a job and a practice at once, and feel both pulling.
Arts workers
Gallery staff, teachers and studio assistants who spend their days around other people's work.
Velvet does not prescribe medication, do testing or evaluations, or provide crisis care. If you need one of those, we will help you find it.
Services
How we can meet
Every service is in person in Taos or by video, with a clinician you choose.
Individual therapy
Fifty minutes, one to one, with a clinician who knows how a creative life runs.
Individual therapyCouples therapy
For two people, in 80-minute sessions, whether you share a studio, a house or neither.
Couples therapy
At a glance
The practice, plainly
5
clinicians50
minutes a session2
ways to meet: in person or by video6
days a week we are open
Sample figures.
The clinicians
Five clinicians, one page each
Read a few pages, then write to the clinician who feels right, or write to all of us and we will suggest someone.
Ariana Bustos
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
- Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) · NM Lic. # 000000
Meets individuals and couples, in English or in Spanish.
Aundrea Spaulding
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) · NM Lic. # 000000
Meets individuals and leads the Thursday studio group.
Meets individuals, including people in the middle of a move, a change of work or a long project.
Zeynep Ansari
Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor
- Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) · NM Lic. # 000000
Meets individuals and couples, in person and by video.
Dayna Segura
Practice coordinator
Answers the phone, checks benefits and schedules first sessions. Not a clinician.
How it works
How we work with artists
We do not ask you to make less, or to make differently. We ask what the work asks of you.
Write to us
Tell us how you would like to be reached. Our coordinator answers.
A short call about fit
Fifteen minutes to ask questions. It is not therapy.
A first session
Your clinician explains how they work and what to expect.
A rhythm that suits the work
We schedule around shows, deadlines and long days in the studio.
Our approach
What we believe about working with makers
Your work is part of your life, not a symptom of it. We listen to what you make and what it costs you, and we do not try to fix it.
Our clinicians use talk therapy: conversation, questions and reflection. Each one will tell you in your first session how they work and what training they hold.
Taos is a small town, and the art world here is smaller. We talk with every client about privacy, and about what to do when we meet at the gallery or the post office.
In their words
What people say about the room
“Nobody asked me to justify the hours I spend in the studio. I could just start talking.”
Terra P.Printmaker
“The office is quiet and the chairs are good. I never felt rushed at the end of a session.”
Felicitas O.Weaver
“My clinician asked about the work the way a friend would, with real curiosity, and then let me talk about everything else.”
Lonnie B.Songwriter
“I liked that the fee was in writing before I booked anything.”
Dimitra K.Illustrator
Sample reviews.
How fees work
The answers to what nearly everyone asks before a first session.
Insurance we work with
Some of our clinicians are in network with some commercial plans, and the others are out of network. When you write, tell us your plan and we will say which clinician can bill it before your first session. Velvet does not bill Medicare or Medicaid, and we are glad to point you to colleagues who do.
Some commercial plan types, by clinician
Out of network for other plans
Not Medicare or Medicaid
If you pay yourself
If you pay yourself, your fee is given to you in writing before the first session, and you pay by card at the end of each session, HSA and FSA cards included. A limited number of reduced-fee spots are open; ask how to request one. We ask for 24 hours' notice to change an appointment.
Receipts for reimbursement
If you are out of network, we give you an itemized receipt each month (a superbill) to send to your plan, which may reimburse part of the cost. It carries a diagnosis code that your insurer can see, and reimbursement is not guaranteed.
An estimate in advance
If you pay without insurance, you have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate of what your care will cost before you start. If a bill is $400 or more above the estimate, you can dispute it. The estimate is not a contract.
Checking your benefits
Before your first session, our practice coordinator checks your benefits and writes to you with what to expect, so there are no surprises on the day.
Where we practice
A quiet office in Taos, and video across New Mexico
Velvet, Taos
Address: 208 Kit Carson Road Taos, NM 87571Phone: (575) 555-0103Hours: Monday – Friday: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Saturday: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Sunday: ClosedWe offer video sessions in New Mexico, the state where we are licensed. You need to be in New Mexico at the time of the session.
Directions to the Velvet, Taos officeWrite to us
Tell us how you would like to start
Say how you would like us to reach you, and when. We reply by the method and at the time you choose. Not sure yet? Ask for a 15-minute call about fit: it is a chance to ask questions, and it is not therapy, an evaluation or an assessment.
Phone(575) 555-0103
Emailhello@
Hours
- Monday – FridayToday
- 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- SaturdayToday
- 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
- SundayToday
- Closed