Costs & Insurance

Because costs can fluctuate based on market conditions, I choose to discuss current rates with potential clients during a consultation call rather than publishing them here. A limited number of sliding-scale slots are available for those who would find the full rate overly burdensome. Please reach out if this is the case for you.

I am not in-network with any insurance providers. Some plans allow healthcare recipients to be fully or partially reimbursed by their insurance company for out-of-network mental healthcare costs. While I have no control over whether your insurance plan will offer reimbursement, I can provide you with a “superbill,” a document which your insurance may require for reimbursement. See below for an important discussion about superbills.

Why I don’t take insurance

There is a really good reason to take insurance: because healthcare is a right, and it should be affordable. There are also several good reasons why I choose not to take insurance:

First, I want to work for you, my client, not your insurance company. Your needs and your insurance company’s needs are not always going to align, and I never want to be in the middle of a conflict-of-interest that may compromise your care.

Second, insurance does not pay for preventative mental healthcare. In order to cover therapy costs, insurance companies require that I diagnose clients with a mental health disorder. I find that, while this is often a non-issue, it is rarely beneficial and is sometimes harmful for my clients. Being labeled with a stigmatizing condition can be traumatizing and painful. I refuse to take part in that practice. Further, any covered condition would be reported to the insurer and potentially become a source of concern about your healthcare privacy. I have ethical problems with that.

Lastly, I believe insurers do not reimburse therapists commensurate with our level of education, training, and value. They also demand that extra time be spent on paperwork and they frequently delay payments to clinicians for extreme lengths of time. In the same way that I help my clients advocate for their worth at work and in relationships, I also advocate for my own worth as a therapist.

When I weight the very strong arguments for and against accepting insurance, I conclude that, for my practice, I am not willing to participate in this system.

Some notes about superbills

Superbills are a specialized type of receipt that shows how much you have spent on your therapy. Depending on your plan, you may be able to use this document as part of your request to be reimbursed by your insurance carrier for some or all of your out-of-network mental healthcare expenditures. I feel there are some possible pitfalls you should be aware of:

• Many plans will not reimburse for out-of-network expenses whatsoever.

• Some plans that do reimburse will require you to pay out-of-pocket until you reach your deductible, after which they will cover some percentage or a flat rate.

• All superbills must include a diagnosis of a mental health disorder. Based on your symptoms, you may or may not meet the criteria for a formal diagnosis. If you do, you may have strong feelings about being labeled with a disorder diagnosis, and you may also have serious concerns about sharing this diagnosis with your insurance company. Today, it is the law that a pre-existing condition cannot be used to deny healthcare insurance, but if that law ever changes, a diagnosis on a superbill could become a major obstacle to your future insurance needs.*