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.