Rates and Frequently Asked Questions
What is your rate for therapy and how does payment work?
50 minute initial assessment is $200.
50 minute therapy session is $200.
85 minute therapy session is $300.
Current therapy market rates in the Phoenix metro area:
Interns (still in graduate school): $85-$130 per session (Insurance reimbursement range)
Associates under supervision, in their first few years of practice: $140-$170 per session
Therapists with less than 10 years experience: $150-$190 per session
Therapists with 10-20 years experience: $170-$225 per session
Therapists with over 20 years experience: $200-$300 per session
I am an out-of-network, outpatient (non-emergency) provider. I do not work with any insurances. Scroll down to the insurance section to read why.
I take electronic payments by credit card, debit card, or Flex and Health Savings accounts with a Visa logo. You will be asked to keep a valid payment card on file in your secure patient account and your payment will be processed automatically within 24 hours of your scheduled session.
Therapy services are considered medical expenses for tax purposes and you may be eligible to claim your payments as unreimbursed medical expenses on federal and state taxes. Please consult a tax professional to see if this applies to you, because I am not qualified to give tax or financial advice.
As part of the No-Surprises Act, you are entitled to a good faith estimate of the cost of services. However, people come into therapy with multiple issues, of varying severity, and have varying motivation levels and responses to treatment. Therefore, it is impossible for any therapist to predict exactly how many therapy sessions a person may need ahead of time. I have had clients who complete their treatment goals within a few sessions, some within a few months, and some who I have worked with for several years. In addition, there are no set amount of sessions that are recommended for any particular mental health problem. No minimum amount of therapy sessions are required (you may schedule as many or as few as you wish), and you may attend sessions for as long as you find it benefits you. YOU are empowered to decide how many sessions you want, not me or an insurance company.
You can read more about the No Surprises Act here https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises
What is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR therapy is an integrative, client-centered approach that treats problems based on disturbing life experiences that continue to have a negative impact on a person throughout their lives. The Adaptive Information Processing theory hypothesizes that current difficulties are caused by disturbing memories that are inadequately processed, and that symptoms are reduced or eliminated altogether when these memories are processed to resolution using dual attention bilateral stimulation. The resolution of these targeted memories is hypothesized to result in memory re-consolidation.
The standard application of EMDR therapy is comprised of eight phases and a three-pronged approach to identify and process: (a) Memories of past adverse life experiences that underlie present problems; (b) Present-day situations that elicit disturbance and maladaptive responses; and (c) Anticipatory future scenarios that require adaptive responses.
There is strong empirical evidence for its use in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, and it has also been found to be an effective, trans-diagnostic treatment approach for a wide range of diagnoses in a variety of contexts and treatment settings with diverse populations.
From "What is EMDR Therapy?" by Deany Laliotis.
To read more, please see EMDRIA.org
If you would like a detailed explanation and description of EMDR, please see this article from the National Library of Medicine:
Therapy FAQ
Do you work with children or adolescents?
I only work with people age 18 and older. There is no legal protection of confidentiality for people under the age of 18 in therapy, and I am not comfortable having a therapy relationship without the protection of confidentiality. Parents have the legal right to request all session content and info, which can jeopardize a minor client's emotional or physical safety. therapy FAQ
Do you accept insurance payments? Why not?
I do not accept payments from any insurance companies. You may have out-of-network reimbursement benefits with your health insurance. Please contact your insurance company directly to find out.
You can access monthly superbills to submit to your insurance company from my patient portal. These count towards your out-of-network deductible. Superbills are therapy receipts that state your diagnosis and dates of services, which will then become part of your health record with your insurance company. Superbills are available on the 1st of each month in my patient portal. My superbills contain all the information your insurance company would need to process your reimbursement, despite what they may tell you. Remember, many insurance companies have the directive to deny or delay payment however they can.
Insurance pays minimum wage/far below market rates and is very difficult to work with, despite the fact that the biggest insurance companies made a combined 43 BILLION dollars in profit just in 2023. Insurance companies make these enormous profits by underpaying service providers and refusing to cover services already provided whenever possible.
Insurance companies take 60-90 days to pay for your therapy session, and that is intentional. Keeping track of which session has been paid for or not, by which insurance company, is a full time job that would also require hiring and paying an insurance billing employee. Insurance companies require additional time by the therapist to do additional paperwork and fight to get paid for the session, which is unpaid time when the therapist could be seeing other clients. That very low hourly rate the insurance company will pay for the session now has to be divided by 2-3 hours, and even further reduced by paying the insurance billing employee.
Insurance companies often require the progress note from your session to be sent to them, to be read by an insurance company employee and added to your file, and they look for "keywords" or anything missing to use to deny payment for the session.
Insurance companies require a diagnosis for each session, and since many of my clients have complex trauma, and there is not yet a specific diagnosis for that, your therapy session is very likely to get denied. Many providers get around this by giving you a different diagnosis, but hey, now that inaccurate diagnosis is part of your medical records. I'm not interested in playing this game.
Insurance companies are also known to do something called "clawbacks." Clawbacks mean they have up to 2 years to decide they aren't going to cover the sessions they already paid for. They will send the therapist a letter demanding back all the payments they gave - often thousands of dollars, which the therapist is required to give back. Now the client owes all that money for the therapy sessions all at once. No thank you.
Why would any therapist work with insurance, given these circumstances? Well, there is the promise of a steady flow of clients, So a therapist who has trouble getting or keeping clients will be incentivized by that. Also, group therapy practices hire newly graduated associates under supervision, and accepting insurance is an easy way to get enough clients for them.
What if I need a therapist who takes my insurance?
Please contact your insurance company for a list of providers that are in-network with your insurance and have the specialties you are looking for. You can also look on Psychology Today's "Find a Therapist" listing and filter your search for therapists who are in-network with your insurance.
How often should I attend therapy?
You can expect the best results from attending therapy once per week, especially during the first several months when establishing a treatment relationship. Weekly therapy helps to build and maintain momentum in addressing the problems you want help for. therapy FAQ
How long should I attend therapy?
The answer to this is highly individual, and it really depends on how you are feeling. My outpatient therapy services are voluntary, and you are under no obligation to continue for any particular period of time. If you are feeling better and no longer want therapy support, you are welcome to discontinue. A reasonable expectation is to do six months of consistent weekly therapy, and then evaluate your progress and how you are feeling. I have had clients who complete their treatment goals within a few sessions, some within a few months, and some who I have worked with for several years.
My personal and professional values are to have people feeling better as quickly as possible. This is one reason why I use EMDR, as it works the most quickly and efficiently out of all the types of therapy. Single-incident traumas can be resolved or significantly improved in just a few sessions. Complex trauma and complex mental illnesses such as eating disorders take longer. therapy FAQ
What does Outpatient level of care mean?
Outpatient is the lowest level of care, meaning the least frequency of services. It is typically for mild or moderate problems, and people who are able to tolerate doing the deeper emotional work needed to resolve their issues.
Being at the outpatient level of care requires you to be fairly functional, able to take care of your basic needs and keep yourself safe in your day to day life, including avoiding self-harm and harm to others. If you have an eating disorder, it means you are able to comply with at least 90% of your meal plan, use skills to avoid eating disorder behaviors, and are able to eat consistently until your metabolic rate has restored to expected functioning (if your metabolism is damaged from restrictive eating). Weight alone is not indicative of metabolic health.
The next level of care up is Intensive Outpatient, which is typically 3 hours per day, 3 days per week of groups, meal support (for eating disorders), and therapy. You continue to live at home. The average cost of intensive outpatient is $1200 per week. (2021)
The next level of care up is Partial Hospitalization. Partial Hospitalization is about 6 hours per day, 5-7 days per week of groups, meal support (for eating disorders), and therapy. You continue to live at home. The average cost of Partial Hospitalization programs is $2000 per week. (2021)
The next level of care up is Residential treatment. In Residential treatment, you stay at a facility 24 hours per day. You are in groups and therapy for 8 hours per day, 7 days per week and have meal support for all meals and snacks (if you have an eating disorder). Residential is for people who need frequent support and supervision to avoid self-harm, avoid eating disorder behaviors and to have appropriate intake. The average cost of residential treatment is $30,000-$45,000 per month. (2021)
The next level of care up is Inpatient. Inpatient is for people who are actively suicidal or have the most acute eating disorder symptoms and the least ability to avoid behaviors. Average cost of inpatient treatment is $30,000-$45,000 per month. Inpatient cost for safety to avoid suicide is around $2000 per day. (2021)
Your insurance may or may not cover some or all of the cost of higher levels of care. However, it is my responsibility as a provider to recommend the adequate level of care for your current symptoms and functioning during your work with me. therapy FAQ
Why do you not take people with active eating disorder behaviors?
I have many years of experience treating hundreds of people with the full spectrum of eating disorders. Because of this experience, I recognize that active eating disorder behaviors are very challenging and very slow to stabilize with one 50 minute therapy session once per week (typical outpatient).
Intensive Outpatient Programs, Partial Hospitalization, or Residential treatment programs are much more appropriate for people who are currently restricting or binging and purging. There is a lot of medical risk involved in those behaviors. In my opinion, this very slow pace of progress while behaviors are continuing is not beneficial to clients.
I will take clients in Outpatient who have already learned to successfully manage their eating disorder behaviors, and they are ready and willing to tackle the deeper emotional issues that need processing and healing. therapy FAQ
Will I need to see other providers, too?
The standard of care for most mental health diagnoses is to use a combination of medication and therapy. Therefore, it is generally recommended to have both a therapist and a psychiatrist as part of your treatment team. Sometimes people prefer not to use psychotropic medication, which is each person's choice to make. However, please be aware that if your symptoms feel intense, the choice to not use medication tends to lengthen the course of treatment and the need for you to work harder to feel better.
Many mental health disorders, such as anxiety, OCD, and depression, have a biochemical component that can't be addressed through therapy alone. This does not mean you will always need to take medication. Medication often allows you to feel better enough to be able to use healthy coping skills and not be as overwhelmed by emotions or negative thoughts. This can improve your ability to tolerate processing of the underlying causes. However, it really depends on the individual and the symptoms they are experiencing.
If you have disordered eating, the standard of care is to have a medical doctor (Primary care physician), a therapist, a registered dietician who is an eating disorder specialist, and a psychiatrist. This is due to the high medical/mental-health crossover of disordered eating and medical risk involved. Trying to address eating disorder symptoms without a registered dietician who specializes in eating disorders is not recommended, and tends to stall progress with EDB's. therapy faq