Frequently Asked Questions and Payment

How much is it for private pay?

My private pay rate is $165 per 50-minute session. I can provide a superbill if you’d like to see if insurance will reimburse any of the session costs.

Do you take insurance?

At Aletheia Counseling, I accept the following insurance:

Aetna

Optum(United Healthcare, Oscar, and others)

If you would like to utilize your insurance, please click on this link to get started with the verification process.

Is telehealth therapy as good as in-person?

Both have their pros and cons.

When you do in-person therapy, you get to sit in the same room as the therapist, there’s no risk of losing an internet connection, offices are private and secure, and it’s just a different feel than looking at a computer/phone/tablet screen. In-person therapy does require that you have to travel to the physical office, spend gas money, and any other preparations needed to leave the house.

Online or virtual therapy gives you the freedom and flexibility to schedule sessions at home, on a break at work, or any time you have access to the necessary equipment. Some people, often youth, say they feel more comfortable in the comfort of their own home or private space than in the same room as the counselor. You do run the risk of someone else being able to hear the session if you are not able to find a completely private place. There’s also a different feel looking at a computer/phone/tablet screen than being in the same physical room as someone else. If you do choose to do online therapy, I HIGHLY recommend that you have a solid and reliable internet signal. It becomes difficult when words get lost due to a bad internet signal.

What are the differences between paying with insurance vs. private pay?

When going through insurance, it often costs less but you need to look at your coverage to see if you might owe towards your deductible. One negative about using insurance is that you have someone else dictating your therapeutic journey and you might not be approved for a certain type or amount of therapy sessions. You are also limited to a much smaller group of therapists available to you so you run the risk of not finding the best fit if they don’t take your insurance.

When paying cash, you are the sole owner of your therapeutic journey and get to dictate who you see, how often you’re seen, and what kind of therapy you receive. You have a much larger pool of therapists to choose from and you don’t have to search a list of approved providers. The main con to private pay is that it usually costs more.

I urge people to look at their finances and resources to choose which venue is best and most doable for them.

There are parts of my past that I just don’t want to revisit, will I be forced to talk about things if I don’t want to?

I will never force you to talk about something, do an exercise, or complete homework assignments if you don’t want to. Often times in therapy we talk more about how something has affected you rather than the details of a past event. While I might ask difficult questions, I will never force anyone to do anything they don’t want to.