Traditional-length Counseling Sessions:
- The fee per 45-minute counseling session is $160.
- Fee information for monthly ADHD coaching packages are available at adhdsolutions.net.
Extended-length Intensive Counseling Sessions:
These longer sessions make it possible to do deep work, using processes like EMDR, without the start-stop cycle of traditional weekly therapy. The likelihood of accessing painful material and running out of time before it can be fully processed is reduced. Therefore, sessions are safer and more effective.
- The fee per 90-120 minute intensive counseling session is $350. (We will start looking for a place to stop at around 90 minutes. However, the session may last up to two hours.)
- The fee per half-day intensive (roughly four hours including breaks) is $720.
The value of the intensive therapy format is the time saved in not having to ramp down before the end of a session, contain strong emotions, remember where we left off, and ramp up into the same material a week later - assuming nothing came up during the week that requires us to redirect our attention and put the trauma work on hold. It also reduces the amount of calendar time it takes to reach your therapy goals. So while it is more expensive initially, it is actually far more cost effective.
Unfortunately, insurance does not cover extended length, intensive therapy sessions.
Insurance (it's complicated):
I am an “out of network ” (OON) provider for most insurances other than Blue Cross / Blue Shield (BCBS). If your plan includes OON benefits you may be able to submit claims to your insurance company for partial reimbursement. Payment is due in full at the time of service. Please contact your insurance company to find out how much they pay for outpatient psychotherapy. It’s usually a certain percentage up to their “allowable amount”.
I am currently a provider for BCBS, however, I am in the process of terminating my contract with them. I am not accepting new counseling clients with BCBS even if you have OON benefits, until this process is finalized. I don’t like that is has to be this way, but the exit path is treacherous. I feel it would be unethical to begin a counseling relationship that is likely to end prematurely due to the insurance situation. And I am not permitted to provide OON services while I am still under contract. So it’s a bit of a catch-22 right now.
If you would like to work with me, and you have BCBS, please consider coaching instead of counseling. Coaching is not covered by insurance.
Why I no longer accept insurance:
- There is no such thing as a “negotiated rate”. Insurance companies decide unilaterally how much they will pay their providers for a given service. It’s the same amount for everyone within a profession (e.g. all licensed professional counselors, all psychologists) regardless of experience, specialization, advanced training, or certifications.
- Rates have increased only once in the eight years I’ve been a provider for BCBS. That was five years ago.
- They can “claw back” any payment if they later decide they don’t like the way our notes were written. They can go back years, taking all the money they paid right out of our bank accounts. We have no control over this.
- There is virtually no support for providers. BCBS gives us an email address and a phone number. The email auto-reply says to call them because they don’t respond to emails. Their recorded phone greeting says to email them (!), or wait 6-10 days for a callback (which will probably occur during a client session and they do not return calls twice.)
- Claims are often erroneously rejected or underpaid. When that happens, there’s no way to resolve it, because, no support. We all make mistakes - can't we just talk about it?
I love the work I do. I love my clients. But it’s time to set a boundary. The only power I have in my relationship with insurance is to end it. I’m trying to do so in the gentlest way possible. Thank you for understanding.