FAQ
Starting services
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Many therapists agree it takes 2-4 sessions with a new counselor to know if you’re a good fit. For assessment, that might be the bulk of our interactions. Either way, this is a big investment, so I encourage you to set up a free consultation call with me before booking, to help you feel more comfortable with scheduling those initial appointments.
More than anything else, I encourage you to notice if you feel safe and accepted when interacting with a therapist. The therapeutic relationship is known to be the most important healing element in therapy—more than any specific approaches or techniques.
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The PhD, along with my MAE and EdS degrees, show that after completing my 4-year college degree, I attended 7 additional years of graduate school to become a strong clinician and to understand research and theory in my field. While enrolled, I also held related employment.
LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counselor) is a license issued by individual states to show I am legally permitted to offer psychotherapy, generally requiring:
a clinical master’s degree and 2+ years of post-degree supervised practice
passing the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Exam (NCMHCE) and/or state law tests
regularly fulfilling professional continuing education on clinical, legal, and ethical topics.
While my professional identity is different than a psychologist or clinical social worker, we often do very similar kinds of work in therapy.
NCC (National Certified Counselor) means that I:
passed the National Counseling Exam (NCE)
meet ongoing continuing education requirements beyond what is required for state licensure.
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No, I am not a prescribing provider.
A general provider (MD) or psychiatrist are typically types of providers who can prescribe medications that may support your mental health. Other professions may also be able to prescribe, varying by state.
If you’re seeking assessment in order to get medications, please check with your prescribing provider about what they want to see in an assessment report to enable them to offer medications. Let’s make sure I offer what they want before we start the process.
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Visit my Next Step page to learn about my availability and how to begin working together. Or contact me with questions by email at counseling@apathwaytoyou.com or calling 352-234-3150 (leave a voicemail if I miss you). Let’s talk about what’s going on for you, and what you are looking for, to make sure we’re a good fit together.
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This depends on a lot of factors, so I can’t make any promises. I can say that, in my experience, many people experience initial relief in a few sessions. For situations involving more complex trauma histories or ongoing stressors, progress might feel slower, with more ups and downs. However, I have worked with people who have made satisfying progress with cases like this in a matter of a few months. Deciding when you’re done is always up to you.
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I protect your privacy as required by law, and according to multiple professional codes of ethics that can sometimes be even stricter than the law.
Confidentiality: If you are 18 years or older, your health information, including your status as a counseling client, belongs to you. This means that your family and other people (except for specific situations defined by the law) cannot receive information about your counseling, unless you give specific permission in writing and request the disclosure.
Technology: My telehealth platform (and backup platforms) and client management systems are HIPAA-compliant and used in HIPAA-secure ways. I also encourage you to use the secure messaging in the client portal, rather than email or text.
For full information on privacy related to this website, my HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices for clients, and additional information on the security of technologies I use in my practice, please visit this page: Privacy, Terms, Etc.
Attending appointments
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Appointments with me unfold organically, following your lead (though assessments will have a bit more structure). I will support you in raising your awareness of your experiences, life patterns, and needs. I’ll help you discover connections between various aspects of your experience, with reference to the goals you have identified.
Sessions with me feel like an accepting, warm conversation. When it seems right, I’ll invite you to opportunities for you to try therapeutic techniques in sessions, like creative arts, mind-body, or mindfulness techniques—you can always opt out of anything like this. If you want, I can also help you plan “homework” for between sessions. I may also offer validation through sharing information about mental health topics.
While I’ll be bringing my clinical skills, I believe you are the expert on you and are the one who will be doing the really important work. Like any goals, meeting your therapy goals will involve your effort over time. It is my role to help you approach your goals and therapeutic work in ways that support meaningful progress.
Sometimes therapy does put you in touch with difficult feelings, and healing and growth aren’t linear. I aim to help you engage with your concerns in a productive way and to provide support to help you gently but steadily move through the challenges towards your hopes. -
I offer online counseling and assessments, so you can meet me from wherever you are, anywhere in my licensed states (FL, NY, IN), as long as you have the necessary privacy, technology, and internet connection. We’ll use a HIPAA-secure and compliant video call platform. I can help you think of an appropriate place to be during video sessions, and can offer strategies for enhancing privacy on your end.
I do not do in-person sessions.
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You will need a device with a reliable internet connection that allows you to send and receive video and audio (camera and mic). This may be a desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. For privacy, you may want to also use headphones. I highly encourage having your charger available during sessions.
Our meeting platform is a confidential version of Google Meet. Some devices may need to download the app in advance (Android Play Store, Apple Store, web app).
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I offer appointments on a synchronous online platform that includes video, optional auto-captions, and a chat box. You’re welcome to communicate in your preferred way, including AAC (unfortunately, though, my ASL isn’t worth much for real conversations). I try to adjust my communication to each person based on their feedback. I offer clear sound through a good quality microphone and quiet environment, and a clear image through good lighting and camera in an uncluttered environment on my end. It is possible for you to connect via phone audio, if this helps. I understand sometimes you may want to be off-camera, or moving around during appointments, and I gladly encourage you to use any other self-accommodations that are helpful! I am open to a support person joining you for some of our interactions, once we are able to confirm your informed consent and how you want them to be involved.
You can view my Accessibility Statement here. Please let me know of any other ways I can make our work more accessible to you!
Payment & insurance
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Individual therapy sessions are 50 minutes, with a $165 fee per session.
If you want to use insurance, please see the FAQ about that, below.
Assessment fees depend on what your needs are. Learn about your options and associated fees on my assessments page.
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I ask for 24-hours’ notice by portal/email/phone/text to cancel or schedule a session.
I allow one late-cancellation or no-show without fee, and after that (with exception for extreme circumstances) there is an $80 fee (or 50% of an agreed-upon reduced session rate).
The late-cancellation/no-show fee can be applied towards a rescheduled session, if that session falls within the typical frequency (e.g., weekly or every-other-week).
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I offer limited fee reductions, which are negotiated individually based on circumstances and availability. Those joining my wait-list can indicate interest in this option, with the understanding that the wait time will most likely be longer.
Alternatively, you can find providers with current availability for long-term low-fee spots ($40-70) at OpenPathCollective.org.
Open Path is a nonprofit that serves clients who cannot afford market rates for therapy, lack adequate mental health insurance coverage, and have an annual household income below $100,000.
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These are the ways you might pay for counseling:
1) You may self-pay for therapy or assessment to avoid several pitfalls of using insurance that I’ll note below.
The rest of the options all involve insurance:
2) If your insurance will cover out-of-network (OON) telehealth therapy or Autism/ADHD assessment (check first & check often), I can provide you with a receipt called a “superbill” to submit claims for reimbursement of a percentage of what you pay. Please note, this method requires a diagnosis to be assigned.
The way to check your out-of-network benefits is to call the support number on your card and ask if you have coverage for behavioral health via telehealth by a Licensed Mental Health Counselor for CPT codes 90834 and 90837 for therapy.
You may also want to ask about your deductible, coinsurance, number of visits allowed per year, whether pre-authorization is needed, and how to submit your claim and superbills. You can reach out to me for support in this process.
Click here for a demo of Mentaya’s quick claim submission process. Or, learn how you can use ThrizerPay to only pay your final responsibility up-front. (No financial conflict to disclose.)
3) Pay with your HSA/FSA card, or submit for reimbursement from those accounts according to their policies.
4) In-network: I am not in-network for insurance. You can find providers who are in-network at Headway.co or by contacting your insurance plan. You may be able to search for providers in an online portal through your plan. Or, you can call the member support number on your card to request a list of in-network psychotherapy providers, who you can then research online and contact.
Important notes about using insurance (any means of covering sessions other than full self-pay without reimbursement):
Insurance companies can require me to submit thorough information to them about your concerns, session content, treatment, and more, when you use your benefits, even if they are out-of-network. This can introduce privacy and confidentiality limitations that are beyond my control. You would have consented to this to use your benefits.
Insurance will only pay for therapy if you receive a diagnosis that they agree indicates treatment is necessary, and they may also require further documentation so they can decide if they agree with the treatment itself. You will be responsible for any costs not covered by insurance. The insurer’s records of diagnosis and treatment can affect some things like job and insurance opportunities. (With self-pay, your records stay with me except at your request or if there’s a court order.)
Using insurance limits the flexibility of treatment. Insurers can dictate treatment type, frequency, session limits, and end coverage at any time with little or no notice.
You may also find the information about medical records and privacy on my Assessment Considerations page useful.
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Autism and/or ADHD assessment package fees range from $750 to $2,000. For more information about the options and specific package fees, please see fee details on my Assessments page.
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All assessment services are self-pay only. At your request, I will provide superbills that you can submit to insurance for out-of-network (OON) coverage, depending on your plan.
You can see a demonstration of how Mentaya quickly helps with superbill claim submission (opens in new tab). (No financial conflict to disclose.)
Not all insurance plans will cover diagnostic assessments, and some may cover only certain parts of it. Confirm coverage with your insurance provider in advance using the following codes:
The CPT codes to check with your insurance are:
1 unit of 96130 Assessment: psychological testing, evaluation by qualified healthcare provider, first hour
2 units of 96131 Assessment: psychological testing, evaluation by qualified healthcare provider, each additional hour
1 unit of 96136 Assessment: psychological test administration and scoring by qualified healthcare provider, first 30 minutes
2 units of 96137 Assessment: psychological test administration and scoring by qualified healthcare provider, each additional 30 minutes
2 units of 90834 or 90847 Individual Psychotherapy, 38-52 minutes or 53-60 minutes
Be sure to mention that it's telehealth, with the Place of Service (POS) code: 10 (if you log into assessment calls from home) or 02 (if you log in from somewhere else). Specifically ask if there are telehealth exclusions. Some insurers don't mention that and it can cause an issue later.