Fees

The cost of therapy is an investment in yourself.  

 What does that investment include when you choose
Michelle F. Moseley Counseling, PLLC?

Michelle F. Moseley, LCMHC provides professional counseling services directly to individuals, without the interference of outside entities, including health insurance companies.  Read on to learn more about how this aligns with with Michelle’s values.

From your intial contact, you are able to interact with me, Michelle, the licensed therapist behind this website. You never have to wait for an office manager to verify availability or be the go-between regarding inquiries. 

You have the convenience of creating a Client Portal to complete paperwork and access your appointments.  We are able to work together in a way that works best for you and your situation.

I manage the billing for all services, rather than having another person handle that. If there is ever an issue, I will contact you directly and we can work together to resolve the situation. Because my pricing is clear and you pay at the time of your session, you never need to worry about unexpected bills or insurance not covering a service.

Other benefits of private pay (versus insurance):

  • You choose your provider, and will not have to change providers if your insurance changes.
  • The length of your sessions is not restricted - if we need to have a session longer than the typical 50 minutes, you and I are able to make the decision to do so.
  • The frequency of your sessions is determined by you and I collaborating regarding your needs, not an outside entity (i.e. the insurance company) telling us what is allowed.
  • You are able to receive services that are entirely confidential, and I do not have to share documents with insurance companies.  
  • You do not have to be given a mental health diagnosis.
  • You are able to seek support before things deteriorate to the point of meeting criteria for a diagnosis.  
  • You do not have to worry about having a diagnosis as part of your permanent medical record. 
  • You do not risk having an outside entity, such as the insurance company, suddenly deny payment for services.  This could leave you with a large, unexpected bill and/or cause you to have to stop beneficial therapy services.

Fees

Initial Appointment

(60-90 minutes)  –  $150 

Initial Therapy Appointment

(45-60 minutes) – $100

Family Therapy Appointment

(45-60 minutes) – $125

Group Therapy

$50-60 per session – variable based on structure and content of the group

Contact Michelle

Frequently Asked Questions

I have heard that health insurance makes mental healthcare more accessible for people.  If that is true, why don’t you accept health insurance?

The use of health insurance does make mental healthcare more accessible for some people and in some circumstances.  However, the involvement of a third party, such as a health insurance company, can also make the process of receiving mental healthcare more difficult in a variety of ways.  I have experienced this firsthand as both a client and a provider; therefore, I choose to provide services with a more straightforward payment model that allows me to support my clients in the ways that we collaboratively decide are most helpful. 

What are some possible issues you have seen when health insurance is utilized?

The following are just a few of the issues I have personally experienced with health insurance and mental healthcare:

An official diagnosis is required to utilize health insurance for mental healthcare.  This becomes part of your permanent medical record, which can be accessed by any future medical providers and potentially in other situations as well.  
Our current diagnostic system is based on highlighting the deficits a person experiences – you must be sick enough by this criteria in order to utilize your health insurance for support.  This criteria also has large gaps in the understanding of and application to the wide range of human experience, which may pathologize aspects of survival or resiliency for many, particularly in the case of trauma.
With the use of insurance, someone not directly involved in your mental healthcare (often someone without any training or background in mental healthcare) makes decisions about how often and for how long you can see your therapist.   
You and your therapist may agree that maintaining monthly sessions is an important part of your wellness, yet the insurance company can determine that frequency doesn’t meet criteria of being sick enough to need regular care and unexpectedly deny payment for those sessions.  
The insurance company may decide you have been in therapy for too long, even in the midst of a global pandemic and all the related increase in stress, and cut off payment with no warning.  This leaves you either needing to end services or find a way to pay this unexpected cost.  
The insurance company may initially indicate that services will be covered and that you will pay $xx for each session.  Yet, they can decide months or even years later that those services weren’t actually covered, and demand all payment back.  This situation either leaves providers with thousands of dollars of unpaid labor, which hinders our ability to best serve our clients, or gets passed along to clients as unexpected costs for services your insurance company said were covered.  

These are just a few of the ways that the involvement of insurance in counseling has prevented me from being able to offer the best possible support to folks, and has actually hindered access to mental healthcare.  

I have an HSA with my insurance.  Can I use that for counseling services with you?

Yes!  Many insurance plans include an HSA, or some other type of account where funds are set aside for medical expenses.  These funds can be used to pay for counseling services with me.  

I have heard of a Superbill.  What is that?  Do you provide them?

A Superbill is a type of receipt that may allow you to receive reimbursement from your insurance company for counseling services.  You will still be responsible for paying for services directly, but I can provide you with a Superbill that you can submit to your insurance for possible reimbursement.  This requires that you have out-of-network benefits with your insurance plan, which you will need to confirm.  A Superbill also requires that you meet criteria for an official diagnosis and that you are comfortable with that diagnosis being provided to your insurance company.  I’m happy to discuss this option with you during a free consultation chat.  

Do you offer any sliding scale options for payment?

I try to keep my fees in the lower range for my training and experience level in order to increase access to support for folks.  Yet, I also acknowledge that my current rates may not be accessible to some.  I have a small number of sliding scale spots available on my caseload, which slide down to $75 per session.  Please let me know if this is a need for you, and we can discuss options during a free consultation chat. 

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