Insurance companies require a diagnosis to pay for your session.

If you’re lucky, they’ll accept a soft diagnosis. Something like “Adjustment Disorder” which is temporary and non-threatening. But many insurance companies are on to that trick. They refuse to reimburse for “softer diagnoses”, and require more severe diagnoses to pay for your sessions. Even common experiences like “Depression” go into your permanent record. You might not think this matters for you. However, if you ever have to buy insurance for yourself and family (health or life) it might matter a great deal, and can make the difference between getting preferred coverage, or none at all.

The even harsher reality? Couples relationship issues or “just having a hard time” are things that are often NOT covered. Which means that your therapist will have to slap at least one of you with a diagnosis just to get you coverage.

Your Insurance company decides what treatment the therapist is allowed to give you.

This one is the scariest of all. In addition to limiting what can be treated, they limit how you can be treated.? Some insurers even require that your therapist spend time on the phone with a bill “pre-authorizer” justifying their treatment goals, and planned interventions before they can even treat you; before the insurer will approve any payment.

This means, you might not get the best care. You might not be allowed to receive therapeutic interventions that I know will be helpful. If it doesn’t fit the decision tree of the insurer, then it doesn’t need to be paid for.

The truth of the matter is clients who come for marriage coaching or relationship coaching are nearly always normal people who tend to be stuck in their relationship problems, who want to learn how to create a happy marriage or partnership. Some have a good relationship they want to deepen. Others have a growing or major rupture in their relationship.We do have some people who think their partner is ‘crazy’, but that’s a different story!

 

We do not view most of our clients as having a disorder and we do not want them viewing themselves or their partner that way. Most often it is not true and that view of self or other only promotes feelings of helplessness. It is also illegal and unethical for therapists to report to insurance that you have a mental disorder when they believe you do not…

. . . .therefore as a Pastoral counselors we do not participate in HMO / PPO plans and do not accept insurance.

Need Financial Assistance??? ? ?What can you do?

We understand that it may be financially difficult for some to utilize self-pay coaching services. If you feel you cannot afford the full fee per 50-minute session, then calculate the sliding fee for each session as follows: divide your annual gross income for all wage earners in the household during the most recent tax year by the number 1000. This will give you an approximation of the sliding fee for each 50-minute session.

Example: if the gross annual income for all wage earners in the household is $60,000, then divide it by 1000, and the sliding fee is $60 for each session. A minimum fee of $55 is requested per 50-minute session. Minimum of 8 sessions required. * additional fees may apply

We can discuss this fee scale when you come in for your first free consultation or call us at 239.435.3989