Frequently Asked Questions

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We will do a free, 15-minute phone consultation, where we will talk about your therapy needs, answer any questions you might have, and make sure I am a good fit for what you are looking for! I can also offer an email consultation if life is too busy for phone calls or you don't prefer to talk on the phone (don't worry, I get it).

If we do establish that we are a good fit, we will schedule our first appointment together (yay!). I will gather contact information during our consultation to send you a link for creating your client portal, where you will fill out the paperwork for our first session. 

If we decide that we are not a good fit, it is not a problem at all! I can provide you with referrals for others who might be a better option.

During our first session, we will briefly review the paperwork you will have already completed in your client portal prior to  your appointment. I will answer any questions you may have had while filling it out and will also ask you any questions that I had when reviewing it. 

I will also ask questions related to what is bringing you in for therapy and will work with you to come up with a blueprint for how to make sure we meet your goals. 

Mostly, this session is a get-to-know-you session, so I will have a lot of questions to ask about you and your personal history and am happy to answer any questions you have about me as a therapist, my areas of expertise, and/or my approach to treatment.  

I wish I had a concrete answer for this question, but the complicated (and perhaps, annoying!) answer is that it depends. Each person or couple is unique, so the the number of sessions varies depending on individual situations and needs. Many clients make great progress within 10-12 sessions and others make great progress after several months or years. 

However long it takes, please know that there is nothing "wrong" with you if it takes longer than someone else you know with similar challenges. Each healing journey is unique. Remind yourself that it wasn't overnight that you started experiencing the issue that brought you into therapy, so it won't be overnight that you fully heal from it.

Good question, but no. I can only do one or the other.

When doing couples therapy, it is important to me that I keep things as unbiased as possible. If we are already doing couples therapy and I then only see one of you individually on top of that, that could potentially lead to me becoming more biased toward one partner over the other. To make sure that doesn't happen, I recommend either choosing couples therapy or choosing individual therapy, but not both with me. 

If you would like to do couples therapy with me, I can definitely give you some referrals to other therapists I trust for individual therapy. If you would like to do individual therapy with me, I can definitely give you some referrals to other therapists I trust for couples therapy. 

At the moment, no. Though, if your insurance policy has out-of-network benefits,  I can provide you a superbill for our sessions for possible reimbursement directly from them. 

If submitting paperwork is not your thing, you can seek reimbursement through a company I've partnered with - Mentaya. They submit the superbill on your behalf, make all the phone calls to insurance about your claim for you, and help you sort through potential denials. 

Feel free to check out your out-of-network benefits here:  https://mentaya.co/checkbenefits/nhcw 

Basically, a superbill is a specialized receipt that you can submit to your insurance when you are trying to access your out-of-network benefits. Some people get reimbursed 80%. Some people do not get reimbursed at all, so it is important to call your insurance beforehand to check what your specific policy allows for.  

Once you confirm that you have out-of-network benefits with your policy, I will collect the full, self-pay session fee from you at the end of our session. From there, you can either submit your superbill on your own (usually you upload it to your insurance portal online) or opt-in to using a third party company I am partnered with to submit superbills on your behalf - Mentaya.

Feel free to check out your out-of-network benefits here:  https://mentaya.co/checkbenefits/nhcw 

Don't forget, you can use your HSA or FSA card for services to help cover session costs while you wait for your reimbursement!

Mentaya is a service I am partnered with that streamlines getting reimbursed for your therapy sessions through out-of-network benefits.

See if you qualify: https://mentaya.co/checkbenefits/nhcw

    Mentaya is perfect if you:

    • Have out-of-network benefits

    • Feel overwhelmed by superbills and insurance

    • Have submitted superbills but failed to get any reimbursement

    • Simply want to skip the hassle of paperwork!

    Here's how it works:

    1. Sign up for Mentaya: https://mentaya.co/inviteclient/nhcw

    2. Our practice will enter your sessions into the platform.

    3. Mentaya submits the claim and handles any insurance follow-up.

    4. You get reimbursed by insurance!

    Mentaya charges a 5% fee per claim, which includes handling any paperwork required,

    dealing with denials, and calling insurance companies.

    It's risk-free: They guarantee claims are successfully submitted, or a full refund of their fees.

You can always use this free benefits checker (https://mentaya.co/checkbenefits/nhcw) to find out more about your out-of-network coverage. However, speaking directly with your insurance company is always going to be the most accurate answer. 

Using the Member Services phone number on the back of your insurance card, I would recommend asking the following questions: 

• Do I have mental health benefits?
• Do I have out-of-network benefits for my first session (CPT code 90791), individual counseling (CPT code 90837), and/or marital/couples counseling (CPT code 90847)?
• How much does my plan cover for these codes with an out-of-network provider?
• What is my out-of-network deductible and how much has been met?
• Does my policy limit how many out-of-network sessions I can have per calendar year? 
• Does an in-network provider have to provide a referral in order to see someone that is out-of-network? 
• How do I submit my superbill for reimbursement?
• When can I expect to be reimbursed after I submit my superbill?