In-Network Coverage
Aetna, Blue Cross / Blue Shield, Humana, Preferred One, Tricare, Ucare, UnitedHealthcare, United Behavioral Health, Medica, Medicare, Medicaid/Medical Assistance and South Country Health Alliance.
Copay and private pay fee is due at the beginning of the session. We are in the process of obtaining contracts or being in-network with various insurance companies.
Out-of-network Coverage
Out-of-network coverage may be available with your insurance company.
Private Pay
While paying privately for therapy may not be right for everyone, there are some definite drawbacks of using insurance, and some surprising benefits to paying out-of-pocket or private pay.
Following are drawbacks of using insurance:
Limits – Insurance companies are interested in reducing their costs. Clients often only have a certain amount of covered sessions in which to address and work through their struggles which can result in pressure which can interfere with effective therapy. Often, important or deep-rooted issues are not explored due to having to stay on track with the scope of treatment. The time and freedom to explore to notice fine detail is compromised when therapy needs to be ended after only a limited amount of sessions.
Loss of Privacy – Insurance companies require therapists to diagnose their clients in order to authorize and cover treatment. Once the diagnosis is recorded and sent to insurance, it becomes a part of a permanent record. Some diagnoses carry stigma, can be used to justify decisions about life insurance coverage, or may impact security screenings for some forms of employment. Also, insurance companies can audit records of clients to review.
Controlling treatment decisions – Therapy is a collaborative and private relationship between the therapist and client, but involvement of third party payers, such as insurance companies, necessarily intrudes on that relationship. The insurance companies take control of critical treatment decisions and do not even know the client.
Benefits of paying out-of-pocket:
Effective and deep therapy – Mental health issues are often complex and based on multiple underlying causes which can leave client vulnerable to relapse when only brief, symptom-focused treatments are used. When private-pay is used for therapy, the duration of treatment is dictated by the client’s individual needs. The client and therapist are free to explore and work through any underlying causes, making symptoms less likely to return after therapy has ended.
Quality of the Relationship – When private pay is used for therapy, the client and therapist have time to build the trust that is so vital in helping clients work through difficult issues. It is difficult to trust a therapist after only knowing them for five or ten hours because learning to trust someone enough to let them in takes time. Lasting change is achieved in the later phases of treatment where there is trust between the client and his/her therapist.
Increased Value – Therapy has more mental and emotional value when it requires some level of sacrifice to obtain. When a client uses private pay, he/she has to budget and pay for therapy out of his/her own pocket which makes the relationship more significant, gives the client personal investment in the process. Negotiating and working through the practicalities and dimensions of payment can significantly increase the depth and effectiveness of therapy.
When therapists treat clients who use private pay, they have discretion over whether or not to provide an official diagnosis which offers the highest level of privacy.
Health Savings or Flex Savings Account
Another option to use for paying for therapy are Health Savings or Flex Savings accounts.