Insurance

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My practice uses a self-pay model.  While I do not work directly with insurance, most health insurance plans are required to cover mental health and behavioral health services.

If you would like to seek reimbursement for my therapy services, first inquire with your insurance plan about what information they need in order to provide coverage (or whether they even cover couples treatment).  I can then work with you to provide the required documentation.  This is usually what is called a "superbill", which has the cost and nature of services on it.

This is actually much easier than you would think.  Apps like Reimbursify make the process almost painless, for a minimal fee.  You can just take a photo of your superbill and upload it, and they take care of the rest and send you the reimbursement.

While the cost is clearly a consideration in treatment, there are advantages to not working directly within insurance networks.

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Advantages to Non-Network Therapy Practices

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Insurance companies often require a diagnosis for the individual before they will provide payment for services.  For some people, this is not a problem, but for others, they may not want a diagnosis on their record.  A diagnosis might not be appropriate for everyone.

When insurance companies get involved, they often control the number of sessions you are allowed to have, or how often you can/must be seen.  They may even completely deny coverage in some cases.  In other words, someone in an insurance office gets more control over the course of treatment than the therapist sitting in front of you who knows your issues!  This might result in your therapist trying to rush through issues or treatments that really would benefit from taking it slower.  It's like if you're learning a subject in school:  if the course zips through too fast, you're really not getting as much as you could out of the experience.  Therapy can be challenging sometimes!  It really helps to have someone assuredly take your hand and guide you through at the pace you need to make the most progress.

Finally, as an individual practitioner, there is no billing department.  Dealing with insurance billing means more time spent on administrative tasks, and less time for attending to the important details of your case.  I believe you are best served by having your therapist focus on your mental health.