Insurance: Covering Mental Health

In this day and age, we use insurance to cover costs for services that we do not want or cannot pay out of pocket for. Insurance coverage for behavioral health varies depending on the type of insurance but we find in the field of Mental Health not many people actually know or understand the fine print that comes with it. Now before reading further… know that it is still your personal preference.

Some reasons some therapists do not accept insurance varies but the biggest common factor is that in order to use your insurance to cover your counseling sessions you have to be aware that insurance companies require clinicians to diagnose from the first time of meeting in order to be reimbursed. As a clinician myself, I try to be very transparent about that by educating my clients about the diagnosis once one has been selected so that they can feel empowered and have a better understanding rather than seeing it as a “label”. Now, this is ONLY if they opt to use insurance.

If they decide to not use insurance, it allows for the clinician to get to know the client more than that initial session before diagnosing. Plus, in this case a diagnosis sometimes is not even necessary. Some other benefits from a client’s perspective are:

• Control of Treatment

• Control of Frequency

• Increased Confidentiality

  If you are not able to pay out of pocket, ask your clinician about a sliding scale and if they offer one. But, by all means if you need to use your insurance then absolutely use your insurance. We all want to make a informed decision and know the fine print. Hopefully, this helped to provide just that! But, as always do your own research. PEACE.