A limited number of patients
The practice maintains a limited number of patients at any given time, so that every patient receives the time and attention that good care requires.
Cynthia Spellman, MD — board-certified psychiatrist · Albany, NY & Mountain Lakes, NJ
Time to be heard. Time to be known. Time to be well.
A small, deliberate practice built on time, discretion, and continuity. Dr. Cynthia Spellman cares for a limited number of adults who want a psychiatrist who actually knows them — and who is genuinely reachable when it matters.
"Good psychiatric care takes time. Time to listen, to think, to know someone. I built this practice so that time would never be the thing in short supply."— Cynthia Spellman, MD
Emotions have an important job to do — helping us navigate life's challenges, alongside our moral compass and our spiritual faith, toward the choices that serve us best.
The work of this practice is not to silence emotions or manage them away, but to understand them. Anxiety, grief, anger, longing, joy — each carries information. When we listen well, they help us live well.
Care here is grounded in that view: thorough, unhurried, and respectful of the whole person. A small practice. Long appointments. A real relationship that develops over years, not in the margins of a billing form. When something changes in your life — a new stressor, a medication question, a difficult week — you reach Dr. Spellman directly, not a portal.
Cynthia Spellman, MD
Dr. Cynthia Spellman is a board-certified adult psychiatrist with offices in New York and New Jersey. She has spent her career caring for adults navigating mood disorders, anxiety, life transitions, and the complex psychiatric questions that don't fit into a quarter-hour appointment.
Trained at the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium and at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York City, Dr. Spellman has practiced across hospital and private settings. The concierge model is the culmination of that work — a commitment to the kind of unhurried, deeply considered care she has always believed her patients deserve.
Patients describe Dr. Spellman as kind, patient, and deeply present. Her years of experience are matched by a particular interest in emotions — what they are trying to tell us, and how, once understood, they can guide us toward better decisions and meaningful action. For patients who wish it, she is also comfortable working within their faith — supporting and drawing on it as part of the larger picture of healing.
The practice maintains a limited number of patients at any given time, so that every patient receives the time and attention that good care requires.
Initial consultations are 90 minutes; follow-up sessions are 50 minutes. There is room for nuance, for context, and for the questions that only surface once the obvious ones have been answered.
Patients reach Dr. Spellman directly — not a receptionist, not a triage line. Between-visit questions and concerns are part of how the practice works.
The same physician, year after year. Your history isn't reconstructed at every visit — it's known. That continuity is the foundation of everything else.
The practice operates outside of insurance panels. To protect patient privacy, clinical notes are handwritten and kept in a secure paper chart — never uploaded to an electronic record, cloud, or insurance database. Prescriptions are transmitted electronically as required by law.
When other clinicians are involved — therapists, internists, specialists — Dr. Spellman is glad to communicate with them directly and treat the larger picture as part of her work, if that is what you'd like.
The practice serves adults across a range of concerns. Below are the areas of frequent focus — though good care rarely fits neatly into categories, and an initial consultation is the best way to determine fit.
Depression, bipolar spectrum conditions, and the long-term management of recurrent mood difficulties.
Generalized anxiety, panic disorder, social anxiety, and the chronic worry that erodes quality of life.
Career inflection points, divorce, loss, parenthood, retirement — the moments when professional support helps most.
Recent and longstanding trauma, with careful attention to pacing, safety, and the right combination of treatments.
The cumulative weight of overwork, caregiving, and chronic pressure — and the toll it takes on body, mood, and clarity of thought.
Dr. Spellman does not believe in throwing medication at problems. The goal is the opposite: helping patients do well on the smallest effective regimen — and being honest when medication isn't the right tool at all. Please note that this practice does not prescribe stimulant medications.
Integrated psychotherapy as part of psychiatric care — supportive and psychodynamic approaches.
If this practice feels like the right fit, the next step is straightforward: book an initial consultation directly online.
Book an appointment online →