Questions
Counseling & Credentials
I don’t feel like I have a major crisis happening in my life, can I still benefit from therapy?
YES! A huge resounding yes. Therapy is a space for YOU to show up how YOU want to, with whatever you have, with no judgment from the person sitting across from you. It’s a space that you can count on to be consistent, where you can fully be all of you and have that be okay. Our current world is so void of all of the above - and we all need what therapy can offer. There is more to therapy than solving a crisis. It is also about gains in self-growth, self-awareness, and self-compassion. As a therapists, we still attend personal therapy when needed. This is a consistent check-in with ourselves through the aid of a skilled clinician - and it is invaluable.
What was your education like?
I hold a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Palo Alto University. Major course work included: Counseling Skills, Theories of Counseling & Psychotherapy, Legal & Ethical Issues, Appraisal & Assessment, Crisis & Trauma Counseling, Diagnosis & Treatment Planning, Addiction Counseling, Psychopharmacology, and Multicultural Theory & Techniques. I also co-facilitated four counseling skills course sections at my university with a professor. This allowed me to deepen my understanding and technique while supervising and teaching over 48 students.
My pre-graduation internship was through William Temple House (WTH), a local non-profit. I saw individual adult clients for a year and clocked over 415 direct, face-to-face counseling hours with clients. During this time, I also attended the weekly seminars WTH holds for their student clinicians in various topics (i.e., working with trans clients, exposure therapy for anxiety treatment, motivational interviewing intensive, community resource building for LGBTQ+ folks). My work with clients focused on coping with difficult life transitions (and during COVID no less!), grief, relationship troubles, self-compassion, and self-awareness. I incorporated IFS and humanistic theories into every session.
Insurance & Fees
What is your pricing?
Individual therapy is $150/hr out of pocket. Clients are welcome to ask for a superbill to seek reimbursement from their insurance company, though Waystone does not bill insurance directly.
What is a Good Faith Estimate?
Good Faith Estimate for Health Care Items and Services
You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical care will cost
Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services.
You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency items or services. This includes related costs like medical tests, prescription drugs, equipment, and hospital fees.
Make sure your health care provider gives you a Good Faith Estimate in writing at least 1 business day before your medical service or item. You can also ask your health care provider, and any other provider you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule an item or service.
If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill.
Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate.
For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises or call 866-226-1819.
Why don’t you accept Insurance?
In short, it’s because it isn’t allowed for associates. At this time, insurance companies do not accept claims from associates in private practice. Unfortunately, this extends to superbills (where you, the client, request repayment from insurance for seeking services).
The long answer is: there are a LOT of benefits to not billing insurance for both the client and the therapist. Mainly:
Far More Confidential - Insurance companies require that the clinician send information to them about you and our sessions so they can deem whether or not the services are necessary and valid. That also means they get information about you that you may not want them to have (i.e., treatment plan, session notes, diagnosis). This information then becomes a part of your permanent health record which can impact various benefits (life, disability, health) and premiums.
No Diagnosing Requirements - We generally do not provide diagnoses unless there is a clear treatment protocol that requires a diagnosis before it can be utilized (i.e., medication, various in-person treatment programs) OR it is important to the client - unfortunately this has changed with the Good Faith Estimate requiring a diagnosis. Insurance companies decide if treatment is necessary, in part, through your diagnosis - making it a requirement. The problem is, not everyone who wants to see a therapist has a mental health disorder. And even if your therapist could justify a diagnosis to get insurance to pay, they may cap your sessions depending on the diagnosis and treatment modality. A lot of things people come to counseling for are not billable to insurance. So, depending on the counselor and your situation, you may not be allowed to use insurance.
Freedom - You can decide who you want to work with for your mental and emotional health goals. You also get to decide your goals for treatment, how long you want to see the clinician, how often, and what kinds of modalities you favor for treatment. All of this is no longer dictated by your insurance company, as there are no ‘in-network’ counselors for private pay. You can also see a therapist for whatever your heart desires - Relationship problems? Of course! Trouble grieving? Definitely. Having problems with your communication? All of these (and truly anything else) qualifies you to go see a private pay clinician. Insurance would deny the service.
So, how do I pay for sessions then?
All sessions are paid out of pocket. That means you will be paying for the session at the time of service. Before our first session, you will receive a text message from IvyPay the morning of your first session asking you to input your payment information by clicking the link provided. Please do this before the session starts so we can troubleshoot if there are any issues. IvyPay is secure and HIPAA compliant. After this, the clinic will be able to charge for payment each morning before our appointment and you will receive a text message letting you know the session has been paid for. The card will be charged automatically on the day of your sessions between 7am-9am PT. This is done so we will know if there are any issues with payment that we need to discuss at the beginning of our session. If you cancel a session within the cancelation window (no less than 24hrs before your scheduled session) then the payment will not be charged for that session. If you do NOT cancel before 24hrs, then your card will be charged for the full session fee at the same time as all other client payments for that day.
What about emergencies? Will I still be charged the full fee if I can’t cancel on time?
Things come up in everyones lives that are unexpected and cannot be adequately planned for. We provide all clients with one freebie cancelation to be used at your first late cancel or no-show. All other cancelations will be charged the full fee.