Frequently Asked Questions

There is no definitive answer to this question. Though it's safe to say more than a session or two is necessary to make any headway on what brings someone in, some individuals find a few sessions are sufficient, while others choose to continue long-term (over 20 sessions).

Often clients choose to continue to work with me through additional items as they arise, while others choose to address additional items outside of the therapeutic context. There isn't necessarily a correct answer, but we can collaborate together to help you make the ultimate choice for yourself.

My goal is to get you feeling better about what brought you into therapy, as soon as possible. I do not want a person(s) to feel like they have to come to therapy. When you or both of us identify therapy is no longer needed, that is a great thing. And I am very happy when this happens.

Occassionally tune-ups are needed, and I have an open door policy that allows my clients to come back to work out some newly occurring things through my counseling.

No I do not accept insurance. I am an out-of-network provider and can offer a superbill. The superbill is an electronic form that will be emailed to you upon request. It will have the information your insurance company requires that you can be either electronically or physically send to your insurance company

You will need to contact your insurance company to determine if you have out-of-netwok benefits and if you will be able to receive reimbursement for portions of the cost of therapy. To determine if you have mental health coverage through your insurance carrier and how much your insurance will cover an out-of-network provider, the first thing you should do is call them.  Check your coverage carefully and make sure you understand their answers.

Some helpful questions you can ask them:

• What are my mental health benefits for an out-of-network mental health provider?

• Does the company reimburse for services provided by a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, registered by the state of New York.

• Do I have to meet a deductible, and if so, how much is it?

• What is the coveraged amount per therapy session?

• Does your insurance company cover couples or family therapy (if you are seeking these service)?

• How many therapy (individual/couples/family) sessions does my plan cover?

• How much does my insurance pay for an out-of-network provider?

• Is approval required from my primary care physician?

I can only speak for myself and not other therapsts. I do not accept insurance for so many reasons.

• When a person is seeking counseling, insurance requires an individual to have a mental health diagnosis.

• This diagnosis stays on a person’s permanent health record.

• A lot of times, an individual is seeking counseling services to address a life challenge and does not necessarily have a mental health diagnosis.

• Therapy sessions are limited to solely focus on an individuals diagnosis. I like to focus on an individual’s strengths, values, personalized needs to get an individual where they are wanting to be in life.

• Couples counseling is typically not covered by insurance companies, unless the focus of a session is the individual’s mental health diagnosis. Plus sessions will be limited by insurance coverage, as insurance is typically focusing on an individual’s mental health needs.

***I believe that a therapist working with an individual/couple/family, knows other therapies that would be a better fit to help a person. Insurance companies want to see Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as the therapy provided. CBT is typically a good place to begin, but there are other types of therapies that are more beneficial to really address a person’s needs.

For example, If a person is flooded by a life experience, they would love to change their thoughts to change the way they feel. But CBT in that session would not help. A person would benefit by learning grounding exercises such as Mindfulness, Emotional Freedom Tapping, Distress Toleralnce, etc, These therapies would not be covered as they are not focused on thoughts.

I like to be present in sessions, know what would possibly be beneficial and offer different interventions based off of what you need and report as being helpful. I do not want to offer limited therapy based off of an untrained non-mental health provider and be limited by what insurance companies tell therapists what they are limited to, especially since CBT does not work for a lot of people. I like to work with clients and see them succeed in finding ways that are effective to meet their needs based off of what they report as successful. I also do not need to have a person in therapy who has met their goals quicker than CBT.

A number of years ago I was on a few insurance panels and billed insurance for my clients. Unfortunately, I found that all too often my clients were still finding the full bill landing in their laps after I would properly complete the insurance paperwork.

Given the unpredictability of insurance coverage, I've chosen to charge out of pocket to avoid any surprise bills in your inbox. This allows me to offer more individualized care to each of my clients. And this also allows my clients to have continuity of care, even if insurance limits coverage.

However, I can provide a superbill for you to submit to your insurance company. Once payment is received for services, I can electronically send the superbill document to you via email for you to submit to your insurance company. If you need help with this, I can help walk you through this process.

When an appointment is booked, you are able to cancel a session within 24 hours of your scheduled session, unless there is an unpredictable life experience, such as illness.

I charge the full session fee rate for sessions canceled with less than 24 hours notice.

Please know that without appropriate time notification, canceled sessions do not allow me to rebook with someone else. I book sessions with an understanding that we both will show up.

I look at the therapeutic relationship with both the client and therapist as working together, with mutual respect.