Fees and Insurance
Cost should not be the thing you have to guess at before making the first call. Here is what a session costs, how payment works, and why I am no longer taking new clients on insurance.
Session fees
- Intake session — $165
- Individual session — $145
- Couples session — $185
- Initial phone consultation — free, about fifteen minutes
The phone consultation is a conversation about what you are looking for and whether I am the right person for it. There is no obligation attached to it.
Insurance
I am no longer taking on new clients who want to use insurance. If you are starting with me now, sessions are self-pay at the fees above, and I do not provide a superbill for out-of-network reimbursement. Anyone already coming in is unaffected by this.
For a new client that means paying out of pocket, and I would rather explain why than leave it looking arbitrary.
Insurance only pays for the treatment of a diagnosed mental illness. To bill your plan I would have to give you a diagnosis in the first session, before I know you, and it would have to be one the insurer accepts as medically necessary. That diagnosis becomes a permanent part of your medical record. A good deal of what people quite reasonably come to counseling for — a marriage under strain, a job that has hollowed out, grief, wanting to understand yourself better — is not a mental illness, and either goes unfunded or gets recorded as one so that it can be paid for.
The insurer also gets a say in the work. Plans authorise a certain number of sessions, ask for treatment plans, and can request clinical records in an audit. That puts a third party in the room with an interest in the shortest course of treatment that clears the bar, which is not always the work you actually need.
From my side, being on panels means administration measured in hours a week, reimbursement set by the insurer, and payment arriving late or not at all. Therapists absorb that by carrying more clients and giving each of them less. I would rather see fewer people properly.
None of this is a comment on anyone who uses their benefits, and it is not a judgement of your choice. If paying privately is not workable for you, say so on the phone: there are good counselors in the area who are in network, and I would rather point you to one than have you go without.
Payment
Payment is due at the time of the session.
- Visa
- Mastercard
- American Express
- Discover
- Venmo
- Cash
Your right to a good faith estimate
Under federal law, anyone who is uninsured or who is not using insurance to pay has the right to an estimate, in writing, of what their care will cost before it begins. That covers everyone starting with me now.
You will be offered one before we start, covering the expected cost of the work we are planning, and you can ask for an updated one at any point.
Cancellations
Life interferes, and I would rather you tell me than not come. If you need to move or cancel a session, let me know as early as you can and I will do what I can to find another time.
There is a notice period after which a missed session is charged. It is set out plainly in the paperwork you receive before the first session, and I will walk you through it then so there are no surprises.
