Fees and Insurance
Everything about cost, in one place, so there are no surprises.
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Is therapy worth what it costs?
It is a fair question, and I would rather answer it here than leave you wondering. Therapy takes money and an hour of your week. What you are paying for is what happens in the other 167 hours.
What tends to change
For many people, the arguments at home come less often and end sooner. Saying no stops costing a week of guilt. The inner critic gets quieter, and you notice a trigger before it runs your whole day. People who came in drinking to switch off find other ways to unwind, while their work and their license stay protected. Relationships that felt stuck start to move again.
What waiting can cost
The things that bring people in rarely stay the same size. Stress that goes unaddressed shows up at work and at home. A drinking pattern grows quietly. The same fight, repeated for years, is harder to repair than one caught early. Starting sooner usually means less ground to cover.
How I keep it worth your time
We agree on goals together, and we look at whether we are getting there. I check in with you regularly about how therapy is going, so if something is not helping, we notice early and change course rather than carrying on out of habit. My aim is for you to leave the first session with something you can use that same week.
Keeping the cost manageable
I am in network for individual therapy, where covered, so many people pay a copay rather than the full fee. Senior clinicians downtown often charge $350 to $500 an hour for private pay.
Session fees
| Session | Length | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Individual, first session | 75 minutes | $250 |
| Individual, ongoing | 60 minutes | $200 |
| Couples, first session | 90 minutes | $300 |
| Couples, ongoing | 75 minutes | $250 |
| DBT Skills Group | 90 minutes | $60 |
| Breakups, Separation and Divorce After 40 group | 75 minutes | $60 |
First sessions are longer because there is too much ground to cover in an hour. Payment is due at each session. I accept cash, check, credit and debit cards, and health savings account cards.
Intensives
Intensives are private pay.
| Intensive | Length | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Couples, half-day | 4 clinical hours | $1,200 |
| Couples, one-day | 6 clinical hours | $1,900 |
| Couples, two-day | 10 clinical hours across consecutive days | $3,000 |
| Individual, half-day | 4 clinical hours | $950 |
| Individual, one-day | 6 clinical hours | $1,400 |
Assessment sessions before the intensive are included. Follow-up sessions afterwards are at the regular individual or couples rate. A 50% deposit holds your date when you book, and the balance is due two days before the first appointment. If you cancel more than 14 days out, the deposit is refunded in full. Within 14 days it is not, because the day has been held for you. One reschedule is permitted with the same notice. See intensives.
Reports, letters and records
Billed at $200 per hour for the time it takes to prepare them.
Insurance
I am in network with Medicare, Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, Anthem PPO, and Aetna POS II, for individual therapy, where covered. Billing is handled by me. If you are in network, you pay your copay or deductible amount at each session and I submit the claim for you.
Before your first session, please check your benefits with your insurance company, either by calling the member services number on the back of your card or through its website. Anything your plan does not cover is your responsibility.
Deductibles
Insurance benefits do not begin until your deductible is met. Until it is, you pay at the time of service and I bill toward the deductible.
A diagnosis is required
For insurance to cover therapy, I must give you a diagnosis, because a diagnosis is what insurance pays for. It becomes part of your insurance record. If that matters to you, we can talk about private pay.
Couples therapy is not billed like individual therapy
For insurance to cover a couples session, one partner has to be given a diagnosis. Please check with your plan before the first session. Couples intensives and extended couples sessions are private pay, because they do not fit the billing codes.
Intensives and groups
Intensives and groups are private pay. The intake session before a group, and any individual therapy with me, can be billed to insurance where covered.
Out of network
If I am not in network with your plan, I provide a superbill you can submit for possible out-of-network reimbursement. There is no guarantee your plan will reimburse it, and I would rather tell you that here than have you find out afterwards.
If you need to cancel
Your time is reserved for you. Please give at least 24 hours’ notice if you need to cancel or move a session. A session missed or cancelled with less notice is charged the full session fee, which insurance does not cover, unless we can find another time in the same week, in which case there is no charge.
Good Faith Estimate
If you are not using insurance, you have the right to a written Good Faith Estimate of what your care is expected to cost. I will give you yours before or at the start of our work, and at least one business day before your first session if you ask for it in advance. If a bill ever comes in at least $400 above your estimate, you can dispute it, so keep your copy. More at www.cms.gov/nosurprises (opens in a new tab).
Questions about cost are welcome
Ask me on the first call. It is easier to talk about money before we start than after.
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