Diagnosis-Free Counseling: When insurance is not always the best option

As a mental health practitioner, I understand that some people may not want to use their insurance to pay for their therapy sessions, whether these are online or face-to-face. This is especially true for people seeking counseling for minor issues concerning some of life’s challenges. One of the main reasons for their choice is that insurers insist on a mental health diagnosis before they pay for any therapy sessions, and this may impact some areas of their life.

Compelling reasons to not use health insurance for counseling

As I mentioned earlier, insurance companies insist on a diagnosis because they will only cover the costs of your counseling if they are treating a mental illness. The consequences for you can be distressing because the diagnosis and treatment become part of your medical record. The reasons you may want to avoid this vary but include:

  • Your problem may simply be that you are seeking counseling to deal with some highly stressful trials or new challenges that do not warrant a diagnosis.
  • If you are diagnosed with a mental illness your insurance payments may be increased.
  • Your diagnosis, treatment and progress notes must be made available to your insurer and then ceases to be confidential because non-medical professionals then have access to them.
  • If you are looking toward any future job prospects (especially in the military or other special forces) or need to obtain security clearance for your job, then the fact that the insurer has a record can affect these prospects.
  • This information can be used against you if you are going through a divorce or are facing a custody battle.
  • The amount of sessions covered by insurance companies may be limited and not allow you to complete the therapy.

Opting for private pay allows me as your licensed professional counselor to offer you the highest quality of personal care. Together we work out how many sessions you need, and I am not bound by any restrictions.

Diagnosis-Free Counseling means that no diagnosis will be given or recorded, and I guarantee that all my records are kept to a minimum and private. Your therapy is confidential because no one else has access to anything about it.

Contact me today to schedule your initial counseling session.

Contact me for a free initial consultation!

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