Therapy for adults who are questioning
You don't need a label to start
Open Shutter is a one-counselor practice in New Orleans for adults working out their sexuality, their gender, or both, and for anyone who can't yet say what to call it. Bring a question. Leave the answer for later.
Who it's for
Who Open Shutter is for, and who it isn't
Better to know now than after you've booked.
Here
Words for yourself
Use any, none, or a different one each week. Jamal uses yours and doesn't ask you to pick.
Who comes
Adults, 18 and over, in the New Orleans office or by video from anywhere in Louisiana.
What it is
Talk therapy at a pace you set, for one question or for a long while.
What it isn't
Not a place that steers you toward an answer, or away from one.
Somewhere else
Words for yourself
A practice that wants an identity named before the first visit: ask before you book.
Who comes
Teens and children: Jamal can suggest colleagues who see them.
What it is
Medication or a medical evaluation: a physician or psychiatrist does that.
What it isn't
A crisis: call or text 988, or call 911. Open Shutter isn't a crisis service.
Where a session might start
Most people arrive with one of these on their mind
You can change the subject in any session.
Exploring who you are
Sorting through attraction, gender, or a feeling you can't name yet, with no pressure to land anywhere.
Read moreTelling people, or not yet
Thinking through who to tell, in what order, and what to do if the answer is nobody for now.
Read moreDating, partners and friends
When who you are is changing how you relate to the people closest to you.
Read more
The first session
What a first session covers
Fifty minutes. This is the whole list.
A question, not an answer
Jamal asks what you'd like from the hour. “I don't know yet” is a full answer.
How Jamal works
He explains how sessions go, what he does and doesn't do, and the risks and benefits that come with any therapy.
Privacy and its limits
What stays between you and Jamal, the few things the law requires him to act on, and how to reach you without anyone at home noticing.
Your fee in writing
You have your fee in writing before you start, and a monthly receipt if you want one.
No label to hand over
No form asks you to name your identity, and there is nothing you have to decide before you leave.
Your pace
At the end you choose: another session, a few weeks to think, or stop. Jamal doesn't push you to book.
Before you write
A short hello, and a look at the room
Meet Jamal and see where you'd sit before you decide to get in touch.
A short hello from Jamal Colbert, and a look at the office
The office on Esplanade Avenue
License
Licensed in Louisiana, in his own name
Jamal holds a license from the Louisiana counselors' board. The board can confirm it, and it appears in the footer of every page.
License
Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
LA Lic. 000000 · Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners
Licenses the clinician to practice professional counseling in Louisiana.
Fees
How fees work
The answers to what people ask before they book. Your fee is given in writing before you start.
Insurance we work with
Open Shutter is out of network, so we don't bill insurance plans, Medicare or Medicaid directly. If your plan reimburses out-of-network care, Jamal gives you a monthly receipt to send in. A plan can tell you in one call what it pays back.
Out of network
No Medicare or Medicaid billing
If you pay yourself
Jamal sets your fee by the length of the session, and you have it in writing before you start. You pay at the end of each session by card, including HSA and FSA cards. A limited number of reduced-fee spots are open to people for whom the usual fee is a barrier; ask how to request one. Please give 24 hours' notice to change or cancel a session.
Fee given in writing before you start
Reduced-fee spots are limited
Receipts for reimbursement
Each month you can ask for an itemized receipt, often called a superbill, with the dates and the type of each session. It carries a diagnosis code, which your plan will see. Whether your plan pays anything back, and how much, is the plan's decision.
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, in writing, before you start. If a bill is $400 or more above that estimate, you can dispute it. The estimate is not a contract, and Jamal can send one before your first session.
Your rights under the No Surprises ActChecking your benefits
Because Open Shutter is out of network, we don't check your benefits for you. Before your first session, you can call the number on your insurance card and ask whether it reimburses out-of-network counseling, and how a claim is filed.
Your counselor
Jamal Colbert
Jamal sees adults one at a time, in an office on Esplanade Avenue and by video across Louisiana.
He listens first, explains how he works, and lets you set the pace. He doesn't treat any answer about who you are as the wrong one, or as the one you owe him.
In short
Adults, 18 and over
Sessions of 50 minutes, in person or by video
Licensed professional counselor in Louisiana
Jamal Colbert
Licensed Professional Counselor
Questions
What people ask first
Do I need to know what to call myself before I book?
No. Many people book while they're still looking for the word, and some never settle on one. Jamal uses the words you use, and you can change them.
Do you take my insurance?
Open Shutter is out of network. We don't bill plans directly, and we don't bill Medicare or Medicaid. You pay at the end of each session, and Jamal can give you a monthly receipt to send to a plan that reimburses out-of-network care.
What is a Good Faith Estimate?
If you pay without insurance, you have the right to a written estimate of your costs before you start. If a bill comes in $400 or more above the estimate, you can dispute it. The estimate is not a contract. Jamal can send yours before your first session.
What happens in the first session?
It lasts 50 minutes. Jamal asks what you'd like from the hour, explains how he works and the risks and benefits of therapy, and goes over privacy and its limits. At the end you decide whether to book another.
What is private, and what are the limits?
What you say in session stays between you and Jamal, with limits set by law: a serious risk of harm to you or someone else, or a report the law requires. He explains them at your first session. Jamal won't contact your family or workplace.
What do I do in a crisis?
Call or text 988, any time, or call 911 in an emergency. Open Shutter isn't a crisis service, and messages sent through this website aren't read around the clock.
Write to Jamal
Ask a question, or just say hello
Jamal replies by whichever route you choose, and only by that one. You don't need to say anything about yourself to write.
- Monday – ThursdayToday
- 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
- FridayToday
- 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
- Saturday – SundayToday
- Closed