Therapy for NYU Students with Aetna Student Health Insurance
Key Cognition Behavioral Health is an independent psychotherapy practice included on NYU’s list of approved providers serving NYU students.
Looking for a therapist who accepts your NYU student insurance?
Key Cognition is in-network with Aetna and offers evidence-based therapy for NYU students throughout New York.
College and graduate school can be demanding enough without spending hours trying to figure out insurance or searching for a therapist who is actually accepting new patients.
At Key Cognition Behavioral Health, our therapists work with college and graduate students experiencing anxiety, depression, OCD, relationship difficulties, trauma, perfectionism, ADHD-related challenges, academic stress, and other concerns.
We are in-network with Aetna, the insurance carrier for NYU's Student Health Insurance Plan starting for the 2026–2027 academic year.
Appointments are available through secure online therapy throughout New York State, with in-person appointments available in New York City.
Looking for an In-Network Aetna Therapist as an NYU Student?
You aren't limited to therapy offered on campus.
Some students want ongoing weekly psychotherapy, need treatment for a specific condition, want a particular therapeutic approach such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), or simply prefer working with a therapist outside their university.
Key Cognition is a New York behavioral health practice specializing in evidence-based psychotherapy, with clinicians experienced in working with young adults navigating both mental-health concerns and the demands of school, work, relationships and life in New York City.
Because we offer teletherapy throughout New York, you can attend sessions from your apartment, dorm or another private location in New York State. In-person therapy is also available in NYC (Midtown).
Your NYU Student Health Insurance Can Help Pay for Therapy
Finding a therapist shouldn't require becoming an expert on health insurance.
If you're enrolled in NYU's student health insurance plan, your current coverage is through Aetna Student Health. Key Cognition participates with Aetna, which means eligible NYU students may be able to receive therapy with one of our in-network clinicians while using their insurance benefits.
Your exact financial responsibility—including any copay, coinsurance, or deductible—depends on your individual plan and benefits. Our intake team can help you determine these details before your first appointment.
Already have your Aetna member ID number?
Great. That's usually all we need to begin checking your coverage.
Therapy Designed to Produce Meaningful Change
You don't have to spend therapy simply talking about what went wrong during your week.
Key Cognition is a CBT-focused behavioral health practice. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy examines the relationships among your thoughts, emotions and behaviors and helps you develop practical strategies for changing patterns that are getting in your way.
Treatment is collaborative. You and your therapist identify what you want to change, understand what may be maintaining the problem, and develop an individualized treatment plan.
Depending on what brings you to therapy, treatment may incorporate specialized evidence-based approaches including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Prolonged Exposure (PE), Motivational Interviewing (MI), and other evidence-based interventions.
Anxiety
Maybe your mind rarely shuts off. You replay conversations, worry about assignments long after you've finished them, feel overwhelmed by uncertainty, or find yourself imagining everything that could go wrong.
CBT can help you identify patterns that perpetuate anxiety and develop more effective ways of responding to anxious thoughts and feelings.
OCD
OCD can be particularly disruptive in an academically demanding environment. Intrusive thoughts can consume enormous amounts of time, while checking, reassurance seeking, mental rituals, avoidance and other compulsions can interfere with studying, relationships and daily life.
Key Cognition provides Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), an evidence-based treatment specifically used for OCD.
Depression
Sometimes the problem isn't anxiety but the opposite: getting yourself to do anything at all.
Depression can make attending class, completing assignments, answering messages, maintaining relationships or even getting out of bed feel disproportionately difficult.
Therapy can help you understand the patterns contributing to depression and gradually re-engage with activities, relationships and goals that matter to you.
LGBTQ+ Concerns
Key Cognition is an LGBTQ+ affirming practice.
Therapy may involve concerns specifically related to sexuality or gender—or absolutely nothing about either. We believe LGBTQ+ clients should be able to work with clinicians who understand their identities without automatically making those identities the focus of treatment.
Academic Stress, Perfectionism & Procrastination
The thought “I should be doing more” can become almost constant in highly competitive academic environments.
Perfectionism can paradoxically make it harder to perform. When something needs to be done perfectly, starting becomes threatening. Avoidance provides temporary relief, deadlines get closer, anxiety increases, and the cycle reinforces itself.
CBT is particularly well suited to identifying and changing cycles like these.
Relationships & Life Transitions
College and graduate school often coincide with enormous changes in relationships and identity.
Therapy can provide a structured place to work through dating and relationship difficulties, breakups, family conflict, loneliness, friendships, sexuality, identity, major decisions and the transition into adulthood or professional life.
Trauma
Traumatic experiences can affect concentration, sleep, relationships, emotional regulation and your sense of safety long after an event has ended.
Our clinicians provide trauma-informed treatment, including evidence-based approaches for PTSD when appropriate.
What NYU Students Come to Therapy For
There isn't one version of the "NYU experience."
You may be an undergraduate adjusting to living in New York for the first time, a graduate student trying to keep up with an enormous workload, an international student building a life thousands of miles from home, or a doctoral or professional student who looks successful from the outside while privately feeling overwhelmed.
Some students come to us with a clearly defined problem. Others simply know that something isn't working.
Looking for an In-Network Aetna Therapist as an NYU Student?
You aren't limited to therapy offered on campus.
Some students want ongoing weekly psychotherapy, need treatment for a specific condition, want a particular therapeutic approach such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), or simply prefer working with a therapist outside their university.
Key Cognition is a New York behavioral health practice specializing in evidence-based psychotherapy, with clinicians experienced in working with young adults navigating both mental-health concerns and the demands of school, work, relationships and life in New York City.
Because we offer teletherapy throughout New York, you can attend sessions from your apartment, dorm or another private location in New York State. In-person therapy is also available in NYC (Midtown).
Your NYU Student Health Insurance Can Help Pay for Therapy
Finding a therapist shouldn't require becoming an expert on health insurance.
If you're enrolled in NYU's student health insurance plan, your current coverage is through Aetna Student Health. Key Cognition participates with Aetna, which means eligible NYU students may be able to receive therapy with one of our in-network clinicians while using their insurance benefits.
Your exact financial responsibility—including any copay, coinsurance, or deductible—depends on your individual plan and benefits. Our intake team can help you determine these details before your first appointment.
Already have your Aetna member ID number?
Great. That's usually all we need to begin checking your coverage.