Do you take insurance?
Yes! I am currently in-network & able to accept the following insurance:
- Aetna
- Anthem/BCBS
- Cigna
- UnitedHeathCare/UMR/Optum
- Medicaid (KY Medicaid, Aetna Better Health, Anthem, CareSource, Humana, Passport & United)
If you would like to use your health insurance to cover therapy, please include who your carrier in your request for services.
Do I have to use my health insurance for therapy if you’re in-network with my insurance?
It depends!
As a LCSW, I am required by law to bill your insurance for covered services if you have Medicaid. If you are covered by Medicare, a commercial or marketplace insurance plan, you are able to opt out of using your insurance coverage and opt into private pay.
What is the benefit of Private Pay if you are in-network with my insurance?
Confidentiality & client privacy!
Both of these are extremely important to me and therefore encourage you to consider privately paying for services. If you opt to use your health insurance for therapy, I am required to provide a mental health diagnosis in your health record and include it on all billing forms sent to your insurance company. This information then becomes part of your permanent health record, which may potentially impact your ability to obtain certain insurance or employment opportunities in the future.
Insurance companies are also known for randomly denying claims/refusing to cover a service or determine that you no longer need the service. While I am able to appeal these decisions, in order to do so I am required to provide documentation to your insurance company to justify payment for services. This means your clinical records (assessment, therapy notes, symptoms reported, etc.) are subject to review by health insurance companies. Additionally, just because an appeal is submitted, that does not mean insurance will reverse their decision. In this case, the responsibility for payment falls onto you as the client.
How much does therapy cost?
If you opt to use your health insurance benefits, the cost of services will vary depending your insurance carrier and what your individual plan covers. While I do have a system that allows me verify insurance coverage and estimate cost based on the information I am able to access, it is recommended that you contact your insurances’ Member Services department to get a more accurate estimate of how much you will be responsible for your therapy sessions.
If you opt for private pay, initial appointments are $175 and each subsequent individual or family therapy session is $140. A sliding scale option may be available to you as well.
What is your rate for supervision?
Currently I am open to taking on new Certified Social Workers as both their primary and a secondary supervisor. Individual supervision is $60 per hour.
How and when do I pay?
For therapy services, I currently accept payment via Cash, Check, Credit/Debit or HSA/FSA Card. Payment is due at the time of services, so if you are planning to pay with Cash or Check please be ready to provide payment at the end of session.
If you are using a Credit/Debit/HSA/FSA card to pay for services, at the end of your first appointment you will receive a text message via IvyPay with a link to input your card information and pay for your portion of the session. Once you have input your card information the first time, it will be securely kept on file via IvyPay and will be the card charged for subsequent sessions. A new card can be put on file at any time, however you will need to let me know if you would like to do this so I can send a new link for you to update the information.
For supervision, I currently accept payment via Venmo, Zelle, Cash or Check. Your payment is due at the time of services.
Do I still have to pay if I cancel/don’t attend my appointment?
My cancellation policy requires a 48-hour notice to avoid paying a fee. If you cancel your appointment less than 48-hours prior to the start of the appointment, you will be charged a $75 Late Cancellation fee. If you do not attend your appointment, or cancel less than 1 hour prior to the start of the appointment, you will be subject the full fee of your session.
If I am able to reschedule you within the same week (depending on availability), the fee will be waived.
What are your hours / do you have appointments available after work/school?
Scheduling can sometimes be a tricky thing to navigate! My office hours vary by day. I currently see clients on Mondays (8:30am-6pm), Tuesdays (8:30am-5pm), Wednesdays (8am-3pm) and Thursdays (1pm-5pm).
A large majority of my clients either attend school or are employed during regular business hours. While some school schedules and jobs are flexible to allow for individuals to attend appointments during school/work hours without issue, I know that is not everyone’s case. Because of this, and in order to be fair to all, I am unable to provide reoccurring after school/work appointments and instead use a rotation of during work/school and after work/school appointments for those that are unable to attend appointments consistently during the day. This typically looks like scheduling every other session during the school/work day and then the following session would be after school/work hours.
For any appointments that are scheduled during the school/work day I am able to provide a doctor’s note to be turned into attendance/HR confirming the date/time of your appointment.
Can I do both Individual & Family therapy with you?
I happily invite intermittent family therapy sessions for any clients who I see on an individual basis. This looks different for each client, however of the goal of these sessions is to help the client practice communication skills, address any barriers that are occurring within the client’s environment, or find ways for the family to support the client within various aspects of their life.
If you are seeking consistent family therapy, the family system as a whole would be considered the “client”. To maintain confidentiality and a non-biased approach to treatment, it would not be clinically appropriate for concurrent individual therapy work to be done with me as the individual therapist for anyone within the family system. I am happy to provide referrals to other excellent clinicians for individual and/or family therapy work!
What do I need to do PRIOR TO my first session?
Once your initial appointment has been scheduled, you will receive an email with a link to set up your client portal (it will come from AD Counseling LLC <noreply@sessionshealth.com>). Occasionally, these emails get filtered into spam/junk folders; if you do not see the email in your inbox, please check there first. If you have not received the email by the end of the same business day that I confirm the date/time of your first session, please let me know.
In the client portal, you’ll be prompted to input your demographic information and read/review and sign all documentation & consent forms that are required prior to the appointment. You will also need to input your insurance information (if you choose to utilize these benefits) prior to your first appointment so that I can verify your benefits are active. It is requested that forms be completed no less than 72 hours prior to the start of your first session to avoid forfeiting your appointment slot.
You will also receive appointment reminders leading up to your first (and subsequent) session via email (3 days prior) and text (1 day prior), unless you have opted out via the portal.
What should I expect DURING my first session?
On the day of your appointment, I ask that you arrive to the building about 10 or so minutes prior to the start of your appointment so that you can park and find your way to the office. Once you have found the suite, please enter and have a seat in the waiting room [I frequently am working in back-to-back appointments, so upon arrival you may have to wait just a few minutes before I am ready to bring you back into the office].
Your first session will consist of a biopsychosocial assessment. This will consist of me asking you a LOT of questions about your history, family history and current experiences. We’ll also discuss goals for therapy, determine the frequency of ongoing treatment, and schedule your next appointment.
Who should attend the first session?
For anyone who is starting individual therapy & over the age of 18, just you! You are welcome to have someone come with you, however I request that they either remain in the car or in the waiting room for the duration of your appointment. We can chat during the session about any important people in your life and determine if bringing them in for future sessions may be clinically appropriate!
For any clients under the age of 18, the client and a parent/guardian should plan to attend. The parent/guardian may not be present in the office throughout the entire session, however it is vital to the therapeutic process that parents/guardians are present to provide historical information and context for how the client exists within their family unit. While not preferred, if the parent/guardian is unable to attend the initial appointment, a separate parent/guardian only appointment can be scheduled [this needs to be communicated / scheduled PRIOR to the first session].
For any systems that are coming in for family therapy, everyone who will be participating in family therapy should attend. To avoid alienation of any member of the family system, if someone is unable to attend we will need to reschedule/find a date and time where everyone is available.
How often will I have therapy / how long is each session?
Therapy is not a one-size fits all prescription, so the frequency of services varies by client! I see clients anywhere from weekly to monthly, depending on their level of need, but this is something we will discuss during your initial appointment what frequency makes sense for you! The frequency of sessions can also fluctuate throughout our work together; I am happy to adjust within my availability for more/less frequent sessions as life ebbs and flows.
Most therapy sessions will last for approximately 53 minutes (based on the insurance standard). If you are seeking sessions that are consistently longer/shorter than this, please let me know upon reaching out to request services so we can discuss.
What is EMDR & is it right for me?
EMDR is a structured and evidence-based psychotherapy approach designed to help people heal from trauma and distressing life experiences, including PTSD. It works by allowing the brain to resume its natural healing processes.
Although EMDR was originally developed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), research and clinical practice have shown that it’s effective for additional mental health concerns such as:
- Anxiety and panic attacks
- Depression
- Phobias
- Chronic pain
- Grief and loss
- Low self-esteem
- Performance anxiety (e.g., for athletes, public speakers)
- Addictions and compulsive behaviors
- Attachment and relationship issues
EMDR helps the brain reprocess distressing memories and beliefs — whether they come from big, overwhelming experiences or more subtle, repeated ones that build up over time. These might not seem like “trauma” in the traditional sense, but they can still have a lasting impact. EMDR can be helpful not just for major events, but also for the ongoing emotional patterns that affect how we feel, think, and relate to ourselves and others.
EMDR therapy requires minimal talking and almost no verbal processing. Instead, you briefly focus on a traumatic event or distressing memory/belief, while simultaneously engaging in bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements or alternating hand pulsers. The dual attention allows your brain to internally reprocess the information that has caused emotional distress, while remaining in the present. This leads to an “update” to your internal system, reducing the vividness and emotional intensity of painful memories, to create new neural pathways that carry adaptive beliefs about yourself and your abilities, despite what you have previously experienced/believed about yourself.
If you are interested in doing EMDR, please let me know and we can discuss whether this could be an effective treatment modality for you. More information on EMDR can be found on emdria.org.