Your Investment in Yourself

Fees & Insurance

  • Fees.

    Initial Assessment/Intake: $175

    Individual Session: $150

    Additional Services (letter writing, form completion, consultation): $150/hour prorated

    Cancellation Policy: If you need to cancel your appointment for any reason, please give 24 hours notice. If 24 hours notice is not provided, you will be charged the full session fee.

  • Insurance.

    I am currently in network with the following insurance companies. I recommend that you confirm my in-network status with your particular health insurance plan prior to reaching out for services.

    Ae, Ohio Healthy, OSU Employee, Medical Mutual, United Healthcare/Optum/UMR

  • Fair Play.

    At times when relevant to diagnosis and treatment goals, the Fair Play Method can be incorporated into regular ongoing sessions for established clients. At other times, it may be more appropriate to provide Fair Play consultation as a separate service outside the scope of ongoing psychotherapy sessions. For more information about standalone Fair Play consultations, coaching and workshop opportunities, click here.

What You Need To Know About Insurance

Insurance can be confusing and I want you to fully understand your investment prior to ever stepping foot in my office because I value transparency. To get a general overview of how health insurance works and what all the terms mean, click here. Below are some questions that can guide your conversation with your insurance representative as you are trying to determine your benefits. I do my best to help navigate general insurance questions, but it is ultimately your responsibility to understand your plan and your coverage. Just because you have insurance and they cover therapy, it does NOT mean that you will have no out-of-pocket cost. In fact, it is incredibly rare for someone to have sessions fully covered, no matter how “good” their benefits might be, so understanding your individual plan is the only way to know what your investment will look like. Most clients can anticipate between 2-4 sessions per month.

  • What is my deductible for in-network mental health coverage?

  • How much of my deductible has been met for the year?

  • Is there a limit on sessions my plan will cover per year? (If so, how many?)

  • Does my policy cover 53 minute sessions (Billing code 90837)?

  • How much is my copay, or coinsurance, for outpatient mental health services?

  • What is the policy year (i.e. Jan 1 – Dec 31)?

  • Does my plan require a referral or pre-authorization for psychotherapy?

  • Does my policy cover telehealth/teletherapy/tele-mental health/virtual visits using a secure HIPAA- compliant platform?

  • Are my behavioral health benefits carved out to an insurance company that is different than my medical benefits? (For example, State of Ohio employees mental health benefits are carved out under the Optum/United Healthcare umbrella even though their insurance coverage is through Medical Mutual.)

A Note About Utilizing Insurance

While I remain on many insurance panels because I believe it provides greater access to care, I also want you to be an informed consumer while using your insurance benefits. In order for insurance companies to provide any sort of coverage for therapy sessions, you must meet the criteria for medical necessity that is developed by each insurance company’s legal department. In short, this means you must meet criteria for a billable mental health diagnosis found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR). If you have ever used insurance for a therapy session, you have a billable diagnosis code in your medical file, even if you think you don’t. (I can’t tell you how many clients have come to me after years of therapy with other providers believing that they don’t have a diagnosis…if you’ve been getting insurance coverage for sessions, you are REQUIRED to have one as it is a key component of the medical necessity formula.) Insurance companies also get to dictate through their own internal protocols the frequency, intensity and duration of your treatment, which as I’m sure you can imagine is often driven by the feedback from earnings meetings and at times is not in line with what research and evidence suggest is best practice.

All that to say, utilizing insurance benefits in any capacity requires you to meet criteria for and to be diagnosed with a mental illness and therefore insurance companies will not cover sessions meant solely to bolster emotional well-being. (I don’t make the rules, but I do my best to follow them so that you don’t end up with unexpected bills!)

Transparency About Where I See My Relationship With Insurance Companies in the Future

Everything regarding my fees and network participation is accurate as of the moment you are reading this page, but I want to be transparent about where my practice policies may move over the next several months, again because I think transparency is important and foundational to the therapeutic relationship. As a therapist who specializes in women’s reproduction and identifies as a fierce advocate of reproductive justice and an affirming ally to the transgender community, the current political landscape is concerning as there may come a time where ethically and legally I am being held to two different standards of care. If the day comes where providing ethical treatment and accurately documenting it to insurance company standards could legally harm a client, my goal will be to uphold the ethical standard of client self-determination and right to privacy, which may be impossible while remaining an in-network provider with insurance companies. This is because the Ohio Revised Code requires I maintain much less detailed documentation than insurance company contracts and by virtue of you utilizing your insurance benefits, you are GIVING TACIT CONSENT agreeing to allow insurance companies access to your medical record at any time in order to justify coverage and payment. I will be upfront and direct with every client (or potential client) about any upcoming changes to my network participation status and there is a 60-90 day period between notifying an insurance company that I would like to terminate my contract and the effective date of that termination, so if you want/need to transfer to a participating provider and not continue with me as a self-pay client, there is time where I can help facilitate that process.

Good Faith Estimate

You may request a Good Faith Estimate from your provider prior to starting therapy services as outlined by the No Surprises Act. These estimates will outline expected charges over the course of treatment. Providers licensed by the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker & Marriage and Family Therapist Board have long been required to do this as part of our informed consent process. Our informed consents are required to outline the actual cost of sessions and are provided to and signed by clients prior to the first session. While we will provide you a Good Faith Estimate if requested, please note that it is difficult for us to estimate how many sessions you will need prior to completing a full evaluation of your presenting concerns and it is unethical for us to provide you with a mental health diagnosis prior to completing a diagnostic assessment.

Under Section 2799B-6 of the Public Health Service Act, health care providers and health care facilities are required to inform individuals who are not enrolled in a medical plan or have coverage or eligible for a Federal health care program, or not seeking to file a claim with their plan or coverage both orally and in writing of their ability, upon request or at the time of scheduling health care items and services, to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” of expected charges.

  • You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical care will cost

  • Under the law, health care providers need to give clients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services.

  • You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency items or services. This includes related costs like medical tests, prescription drugs, equipment, and hospital fees.

  • Make sure your health care provider gives you a Good Faith Estimate in writing at least 1 business day before your medical service or item. You can also ask your health care provider, and any other provider you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule an item or 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 rights to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises