I’m a private pay therapist, meaning I don’t accept insurance. Folks ask me about this, and I thought it might be helpful to explain why more and more therapists are opting out of being paneled with insurance companies.
When accepting insurance (even if out-of-network), therapists must play by insurance rules:
giving THEM access to lots of YOUR info,
giving YOU a diagnosis because THEY want it,
letting THEM determine what YOUR treatment looks like, and
letting THEM assign a price for YOUR therapy.
That being said, I get it. As a client, I SOOOO get it. And if you feel like using insurance is the best route for yourself, I honor and support that.
And reading all of these capitalize words, you can tell that it rubs me the wrong way as a provider, to put it mildly. So, by not taking insurance,
- I am able to guide YOUR care based upon YOUR needs.
- I am able to avoid diagnosing YOU just for the sake of it.
- I am able to keep YOUR confidentiality sacred and uncompromised.
- I am able to afford to work with YOU without burning out — which doesn’t help myself or YOU in the least.
That’s really it: I’m able to honor my ethics and knowledge of providing YOU with the best care as being my #1 priority. If you have questions about any of these pieces, let’s chat.
And if you’d like to know of some fabulous providers I know who do accept particular insurance companies, I’m always happy to pass along names, too.