What to Expect During Your First Session
If you are visiting this website, you are likely feeling very strongly that there are some things
you could use help with. Whatever the issues are, reaching out for support is one of the first steps you can take to help resolve those concerns. That is why people seek my services. They have something about their lives that they want to change.
Psychotherapy will provide you with a more balanced view of what is causing you difficulty,
allowing you to feel heard and supported. It will help you recognize and utilize your strengths, and teach you
tools to make the adjustments necessary to find more contentment, and create the life that you want.
During our initial communication, prospective clients provide a brief overview of what is bringing them in for
services. This allows me to ensure that my training and experience is well matched to address those current needs.
Our first session will begin with a comprehensive evaluation so that I can get a clear picture of your unique history,
life experiences, and concerns. This can take one or more sessions. With this information, we will then create a plan together to achieve your goals.
Fee Schedule
Counseling fees are as follows:
- $330.00 for initial evaluation appointment
- $165.00 for 45 minute therapy session
- $220.00 for 60 minute therapy session
Payments
I am contracted directly with a limited number of insurance companies. However, even if an insurance company I work with agrees to pay for mental health services, I caution clients to think carefully about it. I encourage you to read the article
Why Wouldn't I Use My Insurance Benefits
to Pay for My Therapy? by Judy C. Roberts, former Ethics Consultant for the Washington Mental Health Counselors Association. This is a brief overview of things that should be considered when making an informed decision to use insurance benefits to pay for mental health counseling.
By leaving insurance out of the equation, I am free to provide the services that I clinically determine to be in a client's best interest, and am not constrained by insurance regulations that limit services or interventions that I might otherwise be able to offer. Be advised that insurance plans require that I indicate a client is “diagnosable” per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) before they will agree to reimburse them for services. A record of these diagnoses is then held by the insurance company. When paying for services privately, you have the right to instruct me, for the sake of safeguarding your privacy, to keep limited records in therapy. If you were to use your insurance, you forfeit some of your privacy rights.
My commitment as a therapist is to make every effort to protect the confidentiality of your personal information, and anything that you choose to share with me. For these and other reasons, my preference is to provide psychotherapy services on a private pay basis.
Insurance Coverage
I am currently a contracted provider with Premera and Regence. My fees are also covered by many of the Blue Cross/Blue Shield PPO plans. It is the client’s responsibility to contact their insurance carrier prior to initiating care to verify coverage and to assess all relevant benefit details.
Other insurance companies may reimburse clients for my services as an out-of-network provider. If this is the option chosen, upon request I will provide a receipt for the session, which may be submitted by the client to the insurance company for direct reimbursement. In these cases, session fees are payable in full at the time of service. Clients will need to contact their insurance company to assess the level and conditions of coverage that may exist, as individual plans vary.
Please be advised that this practice is moving toward a fee for service structure, and is transitioning away from involvement with insurance contracts entirely. Ample notice will be provided as contract terminations approach, and options will be presented for clients to continue their care with this provider, to wrap up services if their work is already nearing completion, or to locate alternate providers. It is my genuine belief that this will allow me to provide my clients with a higher level of care, more flexibility in terms of treatment options, and strengthen my ability to protect your privacy, all of which are constrained when operating under insurance regulations.
Medicare
Due to the administrative complexities involved for sole practitioners, I have chosen to opt out of
working with Medicare. If you have Medicare coverage and would like to work with me, I am able to do so on a
private pay basis. As I have separated myself from this federal health insurance program, and the treatment contract remains between you and I exclusively, Medicare cannot be billed for any portion of these services.
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