Private pay counseling
Some clients prefer to do private pay for therapy, rather than using their insurance. You are always welcome to do this and I’m happy to talk through payment options with you so that you can make the best choice for yourself and your health.
Private pay fees
Private pay sessions are $145 for 50-55 minutes.
Shorter sessions are available at a pro-rated cost. Longer sessions are unavailable upon request but not often recommended unless as part of an intensive treatment plan.
Private pay versus insurance
Some clients choose private pay because they do not want to deal with insurance, they do not have adequate coverage, or they do not want their treatment determined by the insurance company. If you’re on the fence about how you’d like to pay, here are some considerations.
Why wouldn’t I use insurance for therapy?
Paying privately allows us more flexibility for treatment - for example, we can do intensives (longer sessions) or we can do intensives. Insurance typically only pays for 45-60 minutes per week, with few special exceptions.
When you use insurance, your records may be seen by the insurance company because they are the “payer” for your services.
To use insurance, you must have a diagnosis attached to your case. Some people do not want any kind of diagnosis or label attached to them (understandably so).
You don’t want to deal with insurance.
Your insurance doesn’t have helpful mental health coverage or it’s more expensive to use your insurance than to pay privately.
Private pay policies
If you no-show for a private pay session, you will still be responsible for the full session fee.
If you cancel a private pay session within 48 hours of the scheduled session time, you will be responsible for ½ of the session fee.
I reserve time on my calendar specifically for you, making it unavailable to others; late cancels and no-shows prevent that spot from going to someone else in need and thus you are still responsible for the cost of that time.
Private pay vs. out of network reimbursement
Out-of-network reimbursement is when you see a therapist who does not take your insurance, you pay out of pocket for therapy, and then you submit a superbill (proof of service and payment) to your insurance for reimbursement. It is different from private pay because insurance is still involved and is still paying toward your sessions.
If you would like to pay out of pocket and then seek out-of-network reimbursement from your insurance, you should consider it the same as using your insurance when thinking about the pros and cons of doing so (see above, “Why wouldn’t I use insurance for therapy?”).
Even when you seek out-of-network reimbursement from your insurance, we are subject to the same parameters as when using insurance. Your insurance can request documentation such as notes or treatment plans as proof of treatment or medical necessity even when you submit a superbill. If they’re paying in any capacity, they will want to know what they are paying for and make sure it’s within their guidelines.
If you don’t want to worry about these parameters, then you’ll want to pay out of pocket.
To get started, schedule a free consultation so that we can talk about what you’d like to work on and what you’re looking for.
I can share more background on my approach and therapy style, and we can chat about logistics and scheduling.