Dear Community,

Happy Spring! A warm welcome to all of our new members and subscribers!

The Link is a monthly newsletter for the Brooklyn and Beyond Mental Health Group (BBMHG) and the Upper West Side Psychotherapy Alliance (UWSPA). Founded by Kari Groff MD and Ari Fox, LCSW, we are a thriving community of 5000+ mental health and allied professionals. Each month, we share tips and resources to help you build connections, take your practice to new heights and have more fun in the process.

Are you feeling drained by your work? In this issue, Kari explains how saying no can lead to a practice that is more fulfilling and sustainable.

It can be hard to find high quality in-network treatment. We are thrilled to introduce you to InStride Health, an excellent choice for anxiety and OCD care. Kari is delighted to have both a personal and professional connection to Dr. Dana Sarvey, InStride’s medical director (they trained in child and adult psychiatry together in NYC). Dr. Sarvey brings unwavering dedication, deep expertise and genuine compassion to her leading role with this top-notch organization. You can read about InStride’s remarkable work below in our ‘Picks of the Month.’

In this section, we highlight a resource we think the community would find helpful, interesting, or just amusing. We will draw from books, articles, podcasts, shows, movies, and more. Topics range from networking tips to self-care and everything in between.

The InStride Health Model:

An Insurance-Based Anxiety/OCD Resource for Young People

InStride Health is a specialty, outpatient treatment program for children, teens, and young adults (ages 7-22) with anxiety and OCD. Although InStride is relatively new to New York, its clinical model has been refined for more than a decade and provides care that delivers evidence-based and proven lasting change for young people and their families.

Drs. Mona Potter and Kathryn Boger, InStride’s clinical co-founders, collaborated for over 10 years at McLean Psychiatric Hospital in Massachusetts, where they founded the McLean Anxiety Mastery Program, a groundbreaking program providing specialized, intense treatment needed to help kids reclaim their lives. The program delivered superior outcomes, yet sadly waitlists were long and many families were unable to afford the care. 

When COVID halted the inpatient program, they witnessed the efficacy of virtual treatment firsthand and set out to solve two barriers to care for families: access and cost. Through partnerships with like-minded experts and most commercial insurance companies, they established InStride Health, an evidence-based program that brings therapy into real-world settings.

InStride Health's treatment model is grounded in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with an emphasis on Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). Their approach is tailored to meet individual patient needs, making it beneficial for a wide range of young people with anxiety and/or OCD. With dedicated multidisciplinary care teams, including a psychiatrist, therapist, and exposure coach, the program delivers time-bound, comprehensive treatment that engages the patient and their support system (pediatricians, schools, and family members), as appropriate. Treatment occurs at home and in the youth’s community, leading to significant improvements in symptoms and functional impairment. InStride provides real-time support during and between sessions - the care team helps young people as they practice exposures and learn skills in everyday moments. This real-world, virtual treatment approach was shown to be effective in reducing symptoms and enhancing daily functioning.

With clinical quality as a North Star, recently released clinical outcomes are on par with top-ranked academic hospital programs. In fact, 90% of InStride Health graduates experience a reduction in anxiety following two months of treatment and 98% of graduates experienced overall clinical improvement. Learn more about the clinical efficacy and InStride’s clinical outcomes here, which were released in March 2025. 

Accepting most commercial insurances, InStride Health is tackling the critical shortage of pediatric mental health treatment and ensuring timely access to care with individuals typically in treatment within 1-4 weeks, depending on family schedules. 

To learn more about InStride Health or to refer a patient, please reach out to Leah Kahane at [email protected] or:

Discernment in Your Practice:

Shifting Away from a Scarcity Mindset And How Saying No Can Lead to a Better and More Sustainable Practice

Kari Groff MD

A big shout-out to Felicia at The Bad Therapist Show, who often speaks about discernment in running a business. Thank you, Felicia, for the inspiration—we look forward to hosting you on April 28th!

Have you ever felt like you couldn’t say no to an opportunity, client, or project out of fear that it might hurt your business or reputation? This was a common struggle for me at the beginning of my practice, and even now, during slower periods, the temptation to fall into this mindset still arises. However, by doing the psychological work around discernment and focusing on connecting with my ideal client, I’ve learned that saying no can be one of the most powerful tools for long-term success.

The Scarcity Mindset Trap

Saying yes to everything—especially when it doesn’t align with your business vision—is a clear sign of a scarcity mindset. This fear-driven approach convinces us that opportunities are limited and that declining one might mean no others will come. Given the natural unpredictability and ups and downs of running a therapy practice, therapists are particularly vulnerable to this mindset.

While this fear is understandable, acting on it often leads to overcommitment, burnout, and a misalignment with your values. You might find yourself accepting clients at rates that don’t reflect your need to support yourself or care for yourself, scheduling sessions at inconvenient times, or taking on cases that aren’t the right fit—all because of an underlying fear of lack. But when we say yes to everything, we risk filling our schedules with work that drains us rather than aligns with our professional and personal goals.

WORKSHOPS

Kari and Ari work hard to bring quality programming to BBMHG-UWSPA.

Please join Kari as she hosts Felicia Keller Boyle from the acclaimed "Bad Therapist Show" for a 90-minute workshop on April 28th. 12 p.m. and 7 p.m.  Not to be missed, Felicia is one of Kari's favorite podcasters and is an accomplished private practice coach with a popular podcast that is all about running a private practice and more.  She offers incredibly practical and supportive advice to you, no matter where you are in running your business.   

Email Kari at [email protected] for an invitation or:

Here is a link to Felicia’s amazing podcast that Kari recommends to all of her networking students. If you are stuck, curious, interested, or need inspiration, Felicia's practice advice is outstanding for clinicians at all levels.

https://www.thebadtherapist.coach/thebadtherapistshow

Our March UWS photo/networking session @ Cope NYC was so much fun. Stay tuned for future UWS photo dates and networking breakfasts!

Limited spots are available for Brooklyn Headshots & Networking:

Kari and her husband Goran are looking forward to opening their Park Slope home and garden for a professional headshot photography session and networking party. Park Slope is a lovely place to visit in the springtime, and the bright spring light makes for great photos! There will be both the option to have a solid color background and photos outside in the garden or in front of a brownstone. Events are four hours- you can stay for part of the party or all of it!

For the dates for both the group networking parties as well as a link for a private photo/coaching session:

Email Goran at [email protected] or Kari at [email protected] with any questions.

For examples of photos: www.michaelgveljic.com

Host an Event!

Contact us if you want to host an event for The Link BBMHG-UWSPA! We would love to co-host your in-person networking event! Reach out and let’s make a date. It is a great way to get to know more people and showcase your practice as well.

Thank you for reading! Until next time, take good care of yourself and stay in touch!

Best regards,

Brooklyn and Beyond Mental Health Group and the Upper West Side Psychotherapy Alliance