Online psychoanalysis, psychotherapy and couples therapy anywhere in Virginia by secure video under PSYPACT, with John J. Hartman, Ph.D., FABP.
Every session is by secure video. That is the whole practice, not a side door. If you are in Virginia, in Arlington, Alexandria or Fairfax, in Richmond, Charlottesville or Norfolk, or anywhere between, you can work with John J. Hartman, Ph.D., FABP, licensed clinical psychologist and board-certified psychoanalyst, under PSYPACT, the interstate compact for telepsychology. The practice is based in Washington, DC. Northern Virginia is the same region and, often, the same commute. Two questions come first from Virginia: does depth work survive a screen, and how does anyone fit it into a week that already includes the Beltway?
Psychoanalysis is the deepest form of the work: frequent sessions, often several in a week, that allow lasting patterns to emerge, be understood, and change. It is fair to ask whether that survives a screen. In my experience, yes. I have practiced by video for years, and the depth of the work carries. All sessions are held by secure video, with the same depth as the consulting room.
The research on therapy in general points the same way. A 2021 meta-analysis in Clinical Psychology Review pooled 57 studies and 4,336 people and found that video sessions produced treatment effects largely equivalent to in-person care (Batastini et al., 2021). Most of those studies tested structured treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy rather than analysis, so take the finding at its own strength: equivalent, not better. The room has changed. The listening has not.
Analysis asks for frequent sessions, and a Northern Virginia week is already spoken for. Picture it the old way: a consulting room somewhere in the District, and you in Fairfax, or in Alexandria on the wrong side of the river at the wrong hour. Each session comes with an hour of driving or a Metro ride at either end, a parking space, and a timed walk. Three sessions a week is three sessions plus six hours of travel. The Beltway at 5:40 pm is not a place to think.
Video removes the trip. A session fits before the day starts, at lunch with the door closed, or in the hour after the house goes quiet. Many patients find that speaking from their own home makes it easier to be candid, and the saved commute makes frequent sessions realistic. The work asks enough of you. The road should not.
John J. Hartman, Ph.D., FABP, is a licensed clinical psychologist and board-certified psychoanalyst with over 50 years of experience. He took his A.B. at Harvard College, magna cum laude, his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Michigan, and his psychoanalytic training at the Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute. He is a Fellow of the American Board of Psychoanalysis, a Training and Supervising Psychoanalyst at the Florida Psychoanalytic Center, and Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the University of South Florida, after a tenured associate professorship at the University of Michigan and teaching at UCLA and the University of Tampa. He has written six books, from Analysis of Groups in 1974 to Perversion of Faith in 2024, and is still publishing. Therapy apps assign you a subscription. Here, online therapy means one doctor who knows you, not a chat queue.
PSYPACT is the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact: an agreement among participating states that lets a psychologist licensed in one of them practice telepsychology with people in the others. Virginia is a participating state. The compact came out of the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards, the association of the licensing boards themselves, which issues the E.Passport credential behind it; the PSYPACT Commission then grants the authority to practice across state lines.
For you, it comes down to three things. First, the authority to see you rests on the compact and on a PSYPACT authorization, APIT, Mobility Number 11223, not on a separate Virginia license. I am licensed in Washington DC (license PSY200001229), Florida and Michigan. Second, Virginia's own regulator is the Virginia Board of Psychology, and the compact's list of participating states and authorized psychologists is public at psypact.gov, where an authorization can be checked. Third, you must be physically in Virginia when we talk; more on that below. The American Psychological Association's telepsychology guidelines put the matching duty on the psychologist: know and follow the laws that apply when working across state lines.
Sessions are by secure video. You need a computer, tablet or phone with a camera, a stable internet connection, and a room where you can close the door and not be overheard. A closed door matters more than a good backdrop. The American Psychological Association's page on telehealth describes the arrangement plainly: psychological care delivered over technology such as video, with the two of you in different places. On privacy, the APA's telepsychology guidelines ask psychologists to take reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality and security of what passes over the connection; the privacy of the room at your end is the part you control.
The location rule is simple: you must be physically in Virginia during the session, whether that is a kitchen table in Arlington or a desk in Roanoke. That is what PSYPACT requires. The compact follows where you are sitting, not where you get your mail. If a session falls on a day you will be in another state, say so beforehand, so that availability for your location can be confirmed.
Booking starts with a free 15-minute consultation. Call (813) 787-2048 or email: either is fine. We will talk about what brings you, and whether working together makes sense. Then we schedule a first session and start the work. Hours are by arrangement, generally Monday to Friday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Eastern, which is Virginia's clock too, so there is no arithmetic.
If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or call 911. This website is not monitored for emergencies.
I treat a wide range of conditions with psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy. The National Institute of Mental Health describes psychotherapy as a range of treatments that help a person identify and change troubling emotions, thoughts and behaviors. The analytic version goes after what sits underneath them. Rather than managing symptoms alone, we use the relationship that develops in therapy to understand the individual conflicts (often originating in childhood) that underlie the difficulties you experience today.
Psychoanalysis is the deepest form of the work. Psychotherapy is weekly or twice-weekly, applying analytic understanding to anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and the conflicts underneath them. Couples therapy is for marital, relationship, and sexual conflicts: understanding the patterns two people build together, and how to change them. For a couple, the location rule applies to both of you.
The conditions treated: depression, including suicidal feelings; anxiety and panic, the worry that will not resolve; self-esteem; relationship conflicts; sexual issues, individual and in couples; personality disorders, the long-standing patterns; and work and school, performance and meaning. Understanding why you feel what you feel is the beginning of lasting change.
Yes. PSYPACT, the compact that allows these sessions, requires you to be physically located in Virginia, or in another participating state, while the session takes place. Where you live is not the test; where you are sitting is. If you will be elsewhere on a session day, say so beforehand so that availability for your location can be confirmed.
No, and it does not need to be. PSYPACT is an interstate compact. A psychologist licensed in a participating state, holding an E.Passport from the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards and an authorization from the PSYPACT Commission, may practice telepsychology with people in Virginia. The authorization is an APIT, Mobility Number 11223; the Washington, DC license is PSY200001229.
It depends on where you are when the session happens. In Virginia, PSYPACT covers it. In Washington, DC, the DC license (PSY200001229) does. Either way the session is by video and nothing else changes. Please confirm availability for your location, and mention it if that location changes.
Individual sessions (50 minutes) are $325 and couples sessions (90 minutes) are $475, with a free first 15-minute consultation and a sliding scale available. Sessions are private pay; if your plan covers out-of-network mental health care, you may submit my bills to your insurer for reimbursement. Payment is by cash, check, Venmo, Zelle, or wire transfer.
With a free 15-minute consultation. Call (813) 787-2048 or email: either is fine. We will talk about what brings you, and whether working together makes sense. Then we schedule a first session and start the work. There is nothing to prepare and no right way to begin. If I am not the right fit, I will help you find someone who is.
The first 15-minute consultation is free and carries no obligation. All sessions are online by secure video, for people in Virginia.
Call (813) 787-2048 Prefer to write first? Email Dr. Hartman