What’s Session Like?
IN our 50-minute weekly sessions, we will:
1) Explore your strengths, stressors, and resources
2) Use the Enneagram to find your “autopilot mode” (your habits of thinking, feeling, AND doing)
3) See how your past is spilling into the present
Relationship patterns (e.g., family of origin, romantic)
Major life events and traumas
4) Use Brainspotting to work through unprocessed reactions
5) Find new ways of living to get your needs and wants met
Therapy for How Long?
In order to make the most of the momentum we build up front, I only meet with clients on a regular weekly basis at least for the first 4 months. The average number of sessions for clients who get what they came for is 30-40 sessions.
Research has shown that meeting less frequently is generally not as effective and in fact more costly in terms of overall time, energy, and money.
When sessions are spread out, each subsequent session becomes more of a summary of what’s happened, rather than working on the core issues that often contribute to those experiences.
Imagine having to build momentum repeatedly for each session! Instead of focusing our energy on putting out all these fires, let’s find out what’s causing these fires in the first place and deal with that directly!
I want to help you reach your goals as quickly, efficiently, and painlessly as possible. Let’s direct your precious resources where they’re needed and spare you some heartache!
I only work with clients who are ready to do the heavy lifting because they’re worth it. That might not be what you’re looking for, and that’s okay! I’d be happy to connect you with another therapist who may be a better fit.
Fees
My fee is $275 for a 50-minute session. Payments are made at the time of each therapy session.
On average, clients who are a great fit take 30-40 weekly sessions before they switch to maintenance phase (every other week, 1x/month, or 1x/quarter) or termination (graduate from therapy).
At the moment, sliding scale slots are all full, but I can provide referrals to other therapists who have different fees. Email me if you’d like a referral!
Cancellations must be made at least 48 hours in advance to avoid being charged for the full session.
Check Your Insurance Benefits!
I partnered with Mentaya to help people use their out-of-network benefits to save money on therapy. Use this tool below to see if you qualify for reimbursement for my services!
Good Faith Estimate
You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical and mental health care will cost.
Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the expected charges for medical services, including psychotherapy services.
You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency healthcare services, including psychotherapy services.
You can ask your health care provider, and any other provider you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule a service.
If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill. Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate.
For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises.
Insurance
TL;DW (Too Lazy; Didn’t Watch)
I am out-of-network and do NOT bill insurance.
However, I can provide you a superbill, an invoice summary of sessions that you may submit to your insurance company for potential reimbursement. Note that superbills often require a mental health diagnosis.
Contact your insurance provider directly for more information.
Using Insurance for Therapy
Three Options for Paying for Therapy
Wanting to see if you could use your insurance for therapy sessions? All three options below are valid ways to provide for your therapy services. Consider which option is the right/best fit for you!
Option 1: Do you have an HMO or PPO plan?
HMO
only in-network therapists
PRO:
Payment is less expensive.
Process is straightforward: Contact your insurance company, find out which therapist is in-network, contact and schedule with them, then you're good to go!
CON:
Limited options of paneled therapists, often who also have a long waitlist.
Your insurance company has a great say as to which therapists, which issues, and which approaches it will and won’t cover.
PPO
can use out-of-network (OON) therapists
PRO:
You have many more options in the therapists you can work with in terms of fit, personality, personal fit, and scheduling.
After you pay for sessions out of pocket, you submit a superbill to your insurance company to give you partial reimbursement for the sessions.
CON:
You NEED to have a mental health diagnosis that goes into the superbill.
You need to initially pay for sessions out of pocket, and it may take a while for your insurance company to reimburse you IF they reimburse you.
Your insurance company may choose to delay or reject your request for reimbursement.
Option 2: Do you have an FSA/HSA card?
Both FSA/HSA cards work like debit cards, but only for qualified medical expenses. Some find therapy as an eligible expense. Both FSA/HSA accounts are pre-tax, thereby helping people save money.
FSA (Flexible Spending Account):
"Use it or lose it" system that's bound to your place of employment but easier to apply for it.
HSA (Health Savings Account):
It's more difficult to apply for it (e.g., you need to have a high deductible health plan (HDHP), but it's not tied to your place of employment and you can take it wherever you go.
Check with your FSA/HSA account to see whether therapy is covered.
Option 3: Paying out of pocket (Private pay)
CON: It's usually more expensive per session.
PRO:
You can work with any therapist of your choice, especially those who (like myself) have very specific niches or use less common approaches (such as Brainspotting or Enneagram) that generally may NOT be covered by insurance.
You don't have a third-party payer (i.e., your insurance) who could influence your treatment.
You're the boss!
Because you can choose who to work with, you’re likely to need LESS sessions overall. This might save you thousands of dollars (and months or years!) that you might have spent trying to make therapy work with a therapist who’s cheaper per session but not a great fit. This is exhausting, frustrating, and a waste of your resources!