More About Fees
To sustain our lives and keep doing our work, we have to charge for our services, and we do not want it to be a hardship for you to pay for these services. Please consider this information prior to your consultation so you will be prepared to discuss fees.
Insurance
Some of our providers take insurance and others do not. Please look at their individual profiles for more information about that. If the provider you have chosen does not take insurance, you may still be able to be reimbursed by your insurance if you have a PPO plan. You can use Thrizer or submit for reimbursement yourself. Please let your provider know if that option might work for you so we can be sure to provide the right information on your receipt.
Out-of-Pocket Payments
There are two ways we can be flexible to help meet both of our needs: sliding scale and scheduling.
Sliding Scale
Our licensed clinician’s full fees are $200-225 for each session. For associates, the full fee is $150 for each session. How low each clinician’s sliding scale goes varies depending on how many low fee slots are available. Within the current range, you and your clinician will negotiate a fee that will work for both of you.
For each client that pays at the top of the scale, we are able to sustainably offer services for a client paying at the bottom of the scale. We welcome your generosity, however, we do not want paying for therapy to be a hardship for you. It will be a hardship to pay if you will have to give up a basic need such as housing or food to pay for therapy. However, healing and recovery are worth sacrificing for. If you will be giving up something a little extra (such as going to the movies or a meal out), that is a sacrifice, not a hardship. For example, buying a latte five days a week will cost at least $30 a week. Making that sacrifice can help you pay $30 more for therapy if you attend weekly.
We are happy to renegotiate if your circumstances change and you want to renegotiate your rate (in either direction).
Scheduling
Another option to reduce your overall cost is to attend less frequently. Some people find that having therapy every other week (or biweekly) gives them time to practice and integrate each session more fully as well as reduce overall cost. Not all of our clinicians offer this option; please discuss this with your provider at your consultation session.
Example Fees
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$150 per Session
Weekly: $600 per month
Biweekly: $300 per month
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$180 per Session
Weekly: $720 per month
Biweekly: $360 per month
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$225 per Session
Weekly: $900 per month
Biweekly: $450 per month
Some things to think about if you are considering whether to use insurance to pay for therapy or assessment.
Advantages of NOT Using Insurance for Therapy and Autism/ADHD Assessment
You are in control of your care, including choosing your therapist, length of treatment, etc.
Increased privacy and confidentiality (except for legal limits of confidentiality).
Not having a mental health disorder diagnosis on your medical record.
You can consult with me on non-psychiatric issues that are important to you that aren’t billable by insurance, such as learning how to cope with life changes, gaining more effective communication techniques for your relationships, increasing personal insight, and developing healthy new skills.
Risks of Using Insurance
Reduced Ability to Choose: Most health care plans today (insurance, PPO, HMO, etc.) offer little coverage and/or reimbursement for mental health services. Most HMOs and PPOs require “preauthorization” before you can receive services. This means you must call the company and justify why you are seeking therapeutic services in order for you to receive reimbursement. The insurance representative, who may or may not be a mental health professional, will decide whether services will be allowed. If authorization is given, you are often restricted to seeing the providers on the insurance company’s list. Reimbursement is reduced if you choose someone who is not on the contracted list; consequently, your choice of providers is often significantly restricted.
Pre-Authorization and Reduced Confidentiality: Insurance typically authorizes a limited number of therapy sessions at a time. When these sessions are finished, your therapist must justify the need for continued services. Sometimes additional sessions are not authorized, leading to an end of the therapeutic relationship even if therapeutic goals are not completely met. Your insurance company may require additional clinical information that is confidential in order to approve or justify a continuation of services. Confidentiality cannot be assured or guaranteed when an insurance company requires information to approve continued services. Even if the therapist justifies the need for ongoing services, your insurance company may decline services. Your insurance company dictates if treatment will or will not be covered. Note: Personal information might be added to national medical information data banks regarding treatment.
Some Diagnoses May Not be Covered: It is also important to note that some psychiatric diagnoses may not be eligible for reimbursement.
Negative Impacts of a Psychiatric Diagnosis: Insurance companies require clinicians to give a mental health diagnosis (i.e., “major depression” or “obsessive-compulsive disorder”) for reimbursement. Psychiatric diagnoses may negatively impact you in the following ways:
1. Denial of insurance when applying for disability or life insurance;
2. Company (mis)control of information when claims are processed;
3. Loss of confidentiality due to the increased number of persons handling claims;
4. Loss of employment and/or repercussions of a diagnosis in situations where you may be required to reveal a mental health disorder diagnosis on your record. This includes but is not limited to: applying for a job, financial aid, and/or concealed weapons permits.
5. A psychiatric diagnosis can be brought into a court case (ie: divorce court, family law, criminal, etc.).