Sessions and Fees
The initial intake session lasts 1.5 hours long and costs $250. Your therapist will spend extra time during this first meeting to do an overall assessment, discuss your concerns and desires for therapy, as well as provide you with some goals for what to expect in therapy. This session will give you the opportunity to ask your therapist any questions you may have regarding counseling. We have a wide variety of therapists who have different personalities, and we want to ensure you are working with a therapist you feel comfortable with.
Ongoing therapy sessions generally last about 50 minutes long. Depending on the nature of the presenting problem, we schedule one session per week. This may vary according to the needs of each client. It is difficult to predict how many sessions are needed beforehand for current issues until we have completed the intake session and have completed a full assessment of your needs. Your therapist is better able to discuss with you an approximate length of treatment after exploring your situation in some detail, usually after two or three sessions. All licensed clinicians charge $200/session. We do have registered interns with provisional licenses who are able to reduce their rates based on total family income from all sources according to the sliding scale below, ranging from $125 to $200. Evening time slots from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. and weekend time slots are available at full rate.
Income Sliding Scale:
*The standard rate for therapy is $200/session. We strongly believe that therapy should not cause financial hardship for an individual or a family. If you are not utilizing insurance and are planning to privately pay for your treatment, we offer a sliding scale as suggested below:
- $125,000 or higher: $200/session
- $110,000 – $124,999: $175/session
- $100,000 – $109,999: $150/session
- Less than $100,000: $125/session
*There is a reduced rate of $100 for requesting to see a mental health counselor or marriage and family therapist graduate student intern.
Payment
Payments are due in full at the time of service and can be made by cash, check, or credit/debit card (including FSA and HSA cards).
Insurance
We accept Aetna,American Behavioral Health,Bluecross, CHAMPVA, Cigna, CMS/Pedicare. Florida Blue, Humana Military, Medicare Advantage Plans, Straight Medicare, Sunshine, and United Health Care/Optum. We are a preferred provider for TRICARE. We are considered an out-of-network specialist provider for all other insurance panels.
About Using Out-of-Network Insurance Benefits
If you choose to use your insurance, we are able to submit the claims for all insurances. We are able to coordinate with your insurance company to create a Single-Case Agreement, which means being able to offer services at an “in-network” rate. Please talk to our office staff for more details.
Here are some questions to ask when talking to your insurance provider if you choose to use your insurance:
- Do I have insurance benefits for mental health?
- Can I use out-of-network benefits?
- What is my deductible?
- How much has been met so far?
- How many mental health sessions per year are covered?
- What dollar amount or percentage is reimbursed per therapy session for an out-of-network provider?
- What length of sessions are covered? (e.g., 50 min, 60 min, or for couples, 75 min)
- Do I need approval from my primary care doctor?
- What forms do I need to file? How do I file these forms?
For couples:
- Are sessions with my partner covered? (Session code would be 90847 if they need this information)
Things to Consider When Using Health Insurance:
We believe that it is important that only you and your therapist have control over the direction and content of your treatment. When using insurance, coverage is based on the rules of that insurance company. This means that the insurance company could determine the length of our appointments, the type of therapy covered, and the number of appointments that they would cover.
In addition, it is a requirement to provide a mental health diagnosis (such as Major Depressive Disorder) when billing insurance, which then becomes part of your permanent medical record.
For Couples: Many insurance companies do not cover couples counseling. If they do cover couples counseling, one individual of the couple would have to be identified as the “patient” and be given a mental health diagnosis. From our point of view, when working with a couple, it is the relationship and not an individual in need of treatment. In fact, most individuals act in a functional way, given the difficulties within the relationship. Unfortunately, at this time in our healthcare system, there is no billing code or diagnosis for a couple’s relationship, which often leads to an unnecessary mental health diagnosis being given.
When paying for therapy out-of-pocket, you and your therapist can determine the best treatment and length of appointments. No diagnosis is required. There is no third-party involvement, and therefore, your treatment remains private unless you choose to disclose that information.
This means that we can focus on what is important, you healing and growing, rather than what is necessary as part of the rules of the insurance company.