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MSK Chris Kotsen, psycologist

Chris Kotsen, PsyD, CTTS, NCTTP

Psychologist

4.8 | 123 reviews

Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Tobacco dependence
  • Adjustment disorders
  • Coping with cancer survivorship

My Specialties

  • Counseling
  • Healthy lifestyle changes
  • Tobacco cessation clinical trials
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Dr. Kotsen's Office Information
Languages: English
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Get to Know Me

I am a licensed clinical psychologist and certified tobacco treatment specialist with a national certificate in tobacco treatment practice.

I am a passionate and committed clinician with expertise in evidence-based tobacco dependence treatments. These typically involve combining counseling with medications approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for quitting tobacco use. I am working with MSK’s Tobacco Treatment Program to expand telemedicine counseling for tobacco dependence to MSK’s regional sites.

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I have a broad range of experience in behavioral health, addiction, cancer care, and lung cancer screening. One of my specialties is providing group tobacco treatment counseling in healthcare and workplace settings. My research interests involve using group counseling to help people quit tobacco products and making tobacco treatment services part of lung cancer screenings.

I currently serve on the Board of Directors of the Association for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence and as Co-Chair of its Business Practices Committee.

What I Do at MSK

A psychologist has special training in therapy to help people with mental and behavioral health issues.

  • Attending Clinical Psychologist
  • Associate Director, Tobacco Treatment Program
Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Tobacco dependence
  • Adjustment disorders
  • Coping with cancer survivorship

My Specialties

  • Counseling
  • Healthy lifestyle changes
  • Tobacco cessation clinical trials
  • Clinical trials
  • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
Education & Honors

Education

  • PsyD, Rutgers University

Insurance Information

Understanding your insurance options is an important part of managing your cancer care. We have relationships with many common healthcare providers and plans.

Aetna

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS, Transplant

Aetna Medicare Advantage (MTA and NYC retirees only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Anthem BCBS and other BCBS licensee plans

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

See updates

Anthem BCBS Health Plus

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

See updates

Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

See updates

Blue Cross Blue Shield states outside of NY/NJ

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS

See updates

Carrum Health

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

Cigna

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Connecticare

In Network Coverage Type
POS, EPO, HMO

First Health

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Straight NJ Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Straight NY Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Emblem

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Emblem to learn more.

Emblem Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Emblem Medicare Advantage (Medicare Choice PPO Network and VIP Prime Network Only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Empire Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Empire Plan / NYSHIP (Blue Cross/UnitedHealthcare split plan)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

See updates

Fidelis

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Fidelis to learn more.

Fidelis Managed Medicaid & HARP

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Fidelis Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Healthfirst

In Network Coverage Type
EPO, HMO, PPO, POS

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Healthfirst to learn more.

Healthfirst Managed Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Healthfirst Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

Healthsmart

In Network Coverage Type
PPO EPO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (HMO)

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (PPO)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier I (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier II (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

See updates

Horizon Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Husky CT Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Magnacare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO

Medicare Part A&B (traditional Medicare)

In Network Coverage Type
Federal Government

Metroplus

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

City Employee Health Plans (Gold and Gold Care)

Multiplan/Beech Street/PHCS

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

MVP

In Network Coverage Type
PPO/OAP

Non-Participating Plans with Out of Network Benefits

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

NYC Medicare Advantage Plus for City Employees

In Network Coverage Type
TBD

Oscar

In Network Coverage Type
HMO/EPO

Oxford

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, EPO

World Trade Center Health Program (WTC)

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Qualcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Tricare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

UMR

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS

United Healthcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Don't see your carrier or plan? We can help you understand your coverage.

If you don't have health insurance or are worried that your care may not be fully covered, our financial assistance programs may be able to help.

If you have questions about insurance, call us at 646-497-9176.

Make an Appointment

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Contact and Location

Dr. Kotsen sees patients at three locations.

Office Phone
Location
New York, NY
Basking Ridge, NJ
Middletown, NJ
Rockefeller Outpatient Pavilion
160 East 53rd Street New York NY 10022
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Basking Ridge
136 Mountain View Boulevard Basking Ridge NJ 07920
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth
480 Red Hill Road Middletown NJ 07748
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Colleagues

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.

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Clinical Trials

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Find a Clinical Trial for You

Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.

You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.

Search clinical trials

Research and Publications

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Kotsen’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

See all on PubMed

Patient Reviews

Your trust is our main concern

We strive to keep reviews trustworthy, honest and fair. Learn more about our patient experience reviews.

4.8 123 reviews

  • 4.8 Provider's Explanations Easy to Understand
  • 4.8 Trusts Provider with Care
  • 4.8 Provider Listened Carefully
  • 4.8 Likelihood of Recommending Provider
Feb 28, 2025

I appreciate MSK for their care of my case, myself and their attention to details.

Feb 17, 2025

I enjoyed our conversation. Mr. Kotsen spoke about the process it takes to completely to stop smoking and handling the urge to smoke.

Feb 10, 2025

I had a great and lengthy communication with my providers on my case and was totally satisfied by the answers to my concerns.

Jan 30, 2025

I wasn't even aware there was a nose spray to help you stop smoking and they informed me about it or the side effects or the information on it and I'm going to try it. I never knew about it so he was the only doctor that ever mentioned something like that and I really do appreciate it. Bye.

Jan 30, 2025

He listened to me. Did not judge my lack of control for smoking. Gave me some good tips to help me stop and think about. Formed a plan that seems reasonable and gives me a good chance to stop for good.

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Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Chris Kotsen discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

  • Council for Tobacco Treatment Training Programs (CTTTP)
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP)
    Professional Services and Activities

If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at ecoi@mskcc.org.


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