Counseling Sessions

We are out of network providers (OON) and do not accept insurance at this time. This has been a difficult decision, as we know how expensive monthly insurance premiums are, and we do understand the desire to be able to use them for counseling. Since we believe therapy is a short-term commitment with long-term benefits, we believe it is a financial investment in yourself and your future. 

We have found that with certain insurance plans, the deductible is very high. When this is the case, we typically recommend paying out-of-pocket since most people usually spend between $1,000-$2,000 total for counseling. Our goal for therapy with you is to work ourselves out of a job. Meaning, it is our goal to get you the help you need and getting you feeling better as quickly as possible. 

There are several reasons why we made the decision to not take insurances:

1. Insurance companies require us to give a diagnosis

In order to be reimbursed for counseling services. While we are trained and able to do this, many people do not know that a mental health diagnosis can sometimes interfere with a person’s ability to get a job with the military, be a pilot, and some first responders-just to name a few. While we do our best to give accurate diagnoses, it is sometimes necessary to change to a more specific and accurate diagnosis the longer you’re in treatment.  When paying out-of-pocket for treatment, the diagnosis does not have to be shared with your insurance company or become part of your medical records. The exception to this is if you decided to file for out of network reimbursement with your insurance company, then we are required to share your diagnosis with your insurance. 

2. Insurance rules

Some insurance companies dictate the number of sessions you can attend per week or year, the session length, whether they will reimburse for group, couples or family counseling.  Some do not reimburse for teletherapy sessions, workshops and other types of treatment that might be helpful in your healing journey. 

Insurance companies reserve the right to manage how often and how long you can use your benefits and may also decide you cannot use your full number of sessions for certain issues. 

When paying out-of-pocket for treatment, this decision is up to you and your therapist to decide. Choosing to pay out-of-pocket means you and your therapist can determine what other types of treatment might be suitable to meet your needs. 

3. Lisa Franklin’s experience

Lisa Franklin was paneled with a major insurance company and had a terrible experience in 2022. They did an update to their system, and it caused her claims to be denied for 4 months. And rather than taking responsibility or offering to help resolve the issue, they continued to blame her for months. They did finally admit that the error was caused when the update occurred but refused to admit any wrongdoing on their end for not paying claims. She lost thousands of dollars; numerous clients and it impacted her own mental health in the process. 

When people file counseling sessions out of network with their insurance companies, they usually get reimbursed about 80-90% of their out-of-pocket cost. We always recommend you call your insurance company and ask what your coverage is for out of network psychotherapy. 

We are unable to take Medicare or Medicaid since they require therapists to be in-network providers. If you do have Medicare and choose to pay out of network, you could risk losing your benefits. Please be careful when choosing to pay out of pocket if this is your situation.