Services
Individual & couples work
In honor of accessibility and inclusivity, I offer a sliding scale. These hourly-rate fees are based on annual household income, and in a three-tiered system:
Annual household income = Cost per session
$126k+ : $175/hour
$76k-125k : $150/hour
$75k or less : $125/hour
Group work
Customized length & pricing to fit the scope/needs of the group
*Please note that proof of annual household income may be required in order to establish.
**Payment is made at the time of service via cash, check, credit card, debit card, Health Savings Accounts (HSA), or Flexible Spending Account (FSA).
An investment in you
Taking the leap by investing in your mental health is huge, and it will change your life if you do it right. That means showing up to sessions consistently, prepping yourself to get a bit uncomfortable, and trusting that I am there in our sessions to offer insights, challenge, and validate so that you can grow. That also means our partnership will get stronger, and you will make quicker progress towards your therapeutic goals. If you don’t expect to do anything differently, history and experience has taught us that we won’t make any real change, either. But if we commit to ourselves and sink into the discomfort - at least a little - I promise that you’ll never regret it.
• I can offer longer and/or more frequent sessions, depending on what is in the best interest of my client(s). Insurance companies often do not allow for more than one session per week, unless need is specifically proven & outlined in client’s chart.
•Some insurance companies have a limit on the amount of sessions a client can have over the course of treatment. By paying out-of-pocket, the client and therapist can collaborate on how long the course of therapy might be.
•Insurance companies require a diagnosis in order to cover an individual’s therapy sessions. While diagnoses can be helpful in conceptualizing one’s experience, they are not always necessary. With self-pay, if you do not meet any diagnosis criteria, you don’t need a diagnosis. However, if you do meet criteria for a diagnosis, we will have a conversation about it, as I believe it is important for you to feel agency over any label.
Information on self-pay vs. insurance
•Self-pay allows for greater confidentiality (aka more privacy), as any diagnosis, treatment plan, and/or progress notes are for your benefit alone, not for insurance companies.
•Paying out-of-pocket avoids the mess that is deductibles, co-pays, paperwork, and pre-approvals. You know what and who you are paying for, what you owe, and what to monetarily plan for when it comes to your mental health treatment.
•From the perspective of living wages, you are paying an ethical wage to a highly-trained and skilled mental health professional, who has spent several years and many, many more unpaid hours learning and practicing to earn their graduate degree, and thousands of hours more of post-graduate work. Self-paying your therapist ensures they are being paid appropriately for the work they do.
Policies
•Payment is due at time of service.
•If you must cancel, a 24 hour notification is required or you will be charged half the appointment fee.
•No-shows will be charged the entire cost of the full missed session.
•Late payments will be subject to an additional $25 fee.
•In the event you are late to an appointment, I will wait 15 minutes before closing the appointment.
“No Surprises Act”
The No Surprises Act aims to increase price transparency and reduce the likelihood that clients receive a “surprise” medical bill by requiring that providers inform clients of an expected charge for a service before the service is provided. Starting January 1, 2023, behavioral health care providers have been required by law to give uninsured and self-pay clients a Good Faith Estimate of costs for services when scheduling care or when the client requests an estimate (whichever occurs 1st).
Prior to the implementation of the No Surprises Act, all psychotherapists already had/have an ethical obligation to provide advance notice of costs and fees for every patient. The No Surprises Act builds off of that and asks the private practice practitioner to provide further formal disclosures of anticipated fees.
All Archipelago Counseling, LLC clients will receive a Right to Receive a Good Faith Estimate Information Summary, outlining additional detail when establishing services.