Fees & Payment

Fees for services are as follows unless we have discussed alternative arrangements:

  • Diagnostic Interview: $175
  • Individual, couples, family, or child psychotherapy: $130/45-55 minute session (licensed clinicians, postdoctoral residents, doctoral interns); $80/45-55 minute session (Master’s interns)
  • Group therapy: $50/60-90 minute session
  • Psychological Assessment: $200/hour
  • Preparation, travel time, and testimony for court proceedings:
    • $300/hour or any portion thereof for appearances or documents requested more than one calendar week (7 days) in advance. Again, this includes travel time to and from court, meetings with your attorney, paperwork related to the court proceedings, and actual testimony.
    • $400/hour or any portion thereof for appearances or documents requested less than one calendar week (7 days) in advance. This increased fee is justified by the expedited nature of the request.
    • If subpoenaed for testimony, we require a non-refundable deposit of $1200, due no later than one calendar week (7 days) prior to the date of testimony, for each day we are required to appear for testimony, regardless of whether we are called on that day or not.
  • Administrative tasks: $100/hour, prorated to 15-minute (.25 hour) increments – includes email, telephone conversations with you or professionals whom you have authorized us to speak with on your behalf, and/or any other tasks that you ask for outside of scheduled therapy sessions.
  • If sessions or services are shorter or longer than the defined payment schedule, fees are prorated accordingly.
  • Miscellaneous fees
    • Lost evaluation paperwork: $15 per “packet” (i.e., parent packet, teacher packet)
    • Travel time for school observations (travel times are one-way trips, estimated through Google Maps)
      • Less than 15 minutes: $50
      • 16-30 minutes: $100
      • 31-60 minutes: $200
      • Greater than 60 minutes: Varies. Please consult your clinician for an estimate.

PAYMENT:

Payment may be made by check, cash, or credit/debit card. Payment for services is due at the time of service unless other arrangements have been discussed.

UNPAID ACCOUNTS: If you experience difficulties in meeting your payment obligations, please discuss this with us so we can establish a reasonable payment agreement. 

Overdue accounts (i.e., which remain unpaid for 60 days or for which an agreed-upon payment plan has not been followed) will be turned over to a collection agency as a final resort for non-payment. 

INSURANCE REIMBURSEMENT:

In order for us to set realistic treatment goals and priorities, it is important to evaluate what resources you have available to pay for services. If you have a health insurance policy, it may provide some coverage for mental health treatment. We will provide you with whatever assistance we can in helping you receive the benefits to which you are entitled; however, you (not your insurance company) are responsible for full payment of fees. It is very important that you find out exactly what mental health services your insurance policy covers. You should carefully read the section in your insurance company booklet that describes mental health services. If you have questions about coverage, call your plan administrator. We will provide you with whatever information we can based on experience and will be happy to help you in understanding the information you receive from your insurance company. If necessary, we are willing to call the company on your behalf.

Insurance benefits have increasingly become more complex. It is sometimes difficult to determine exactly how much mental health coverage is available. “Managed Health Care” plans such as HMOs and PPOs often require authorization before they provide reimbursement for mental health services. Some plans may require you to receive treatment from a therapist who is on their provider panel. These plans are often limited to short- term treatment approaches designed to work out specific problems that interfere with a person’s usual level of functioning. It may be necessary to seek approval for more therapy after a certain number of sessions. While a lot can be accomplished in short-term therapy, some clients feel that they need more services after insurance benefits end. You should also be aware that most insurance companies require you to authorize us to provide them with a clinical diagnosis. Sometimes we have to provide additional information such as treatment plans or summaries, or copies of the entire record (in rare cases). This information will become part of the insurance company files and will probably be stored in a computer. Though all insurance companies claim to keep such information confidential, we have no control over what they do with it once it is in their hands. In some cases, they may share the information with a national medical information data bank.

Once we have all of the information about your insurance coverage, we will discuss what we can expect to accomplish with the benefits that are available and what will happen if they run out before you feel ready to end our sessions. It is important to remember that you always have the right to pay for services yourself to avoid the problems described above (unless prohibited by the contract with the insurance company).

PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING

PAYMENT: Payment for psychological assessment is due in three parts. Prior to your initial appointment, we will provide you with an estimated total cost for the evaluation (including insurance coverage if you choose to use insurance). The first charge is on the day of the intake appointment/diagnostic interview, for the amount specified in the coverage email that we send out about two weeks ahead of time. The second charge occurs on the first day of testing, for half of the estimated remaining balance. Again, you can find details of these charges in the coverage email we send before your first appointment. The remaining balance is due when your insurance claim is processed at the end of the calendar month, or if you are not using insurance, at the feedback session.

INSURANCE REIMBURSEMENT: At times, insurance companies do not fully reimburse psychological testing services, whether we are an in-network or out-of-network provider. There are two situations when this occurs: 1) the insurance company does not consider psychological testing “medically necessary” for “experimental” or “investigational” diagnoses. Diagnoses considered “experimental” or “investigational” vary depending on the insurance carrier; or 2) when insurance companies reimburse fewer hours than billed. For example, some insurance companies only reimburse up to 12 hours of psychological testing, whereas 12-18 hours are typically billed for a full evaluation. It is your responsibility to verify coverage with your insurance company prior to consenting to services. While we do all we can to provide accurate estimates of coverage and benefits, you are ultimately responsible for all charges incurred from our services.