Reduced Fee Options
Reduced Fee Options
I care deeply about making therapy accessible, and I also believe accessibility has to be sustainable. To honor both values, I reserve at least 25% of my caseload for reduced fee spaces while also maintaining a practice that allows me to offer thoughtful, consistent care over the long term for all of my clients.
You’ll often see this referred to as a “sliding scale,” including on therapist directories. In my practice, I think of it more as a limited number of reduced fee spaces. Rather than using a rigid income formula, I try to look at the bigger picture and work collaboratively with clients when the standard fee would make consistent therapy financially unrealistic.
My standard fee is $200 for individual therapy and $225 for relationship therapy per 50-minute session. When reduced-fee space is available, I can currently offer rates as low as $150 per session at any appointment frequency. For clients who are able to commit to weekly therapy, I may be able to offer a more substantially reduced rate, beginning at $100 for individuals and $125 for relationship therapy.
These are the lowest rates I’m currently able to offer sustainably, and reduced-fee availability changes as my caseload changes. Maintaining a sustainable practice allows me to keep my caseload manageable, continue investing in training and consultation, care for my own wellbeing, and have the time and energy to be fully present in the work.
The Green Bottle framework below can be a helpful way of thinking about where you fall financially. Reduced-fee care isn’t about proving that you are struggling “enough.” It’s about honestly considering your overall access to resources, whether the standard fee would require sacrificing necessities or create meaningful financial strain, and what rate would allow you to participate in therapy consistently.
It’s also worth considering the difference between financial hardship and the normal tradeoffs that come with choosing to invest in something important to you. If the standard fee is affordable but would require prioritizing therapy over some discretionary spending, paying the full fee helps preserve reduced-fee spaces for people with less financial flexibility.
If the standard fee genuinely isn’t workable for you, please ask. I can’t guarantee that I’ll have a reduced-fee opening available, but I would much rather have an honest conversation about what is workable than have uncertainty about cost prevent you from reaching out.
What About Insurance?
I am a private-pay provider, which allows decisions about your therapy to remain as much as possible between you and me rather than being shaped by a third-party insurer’s requirements around diagnosis, medical necessity, or treatment. It also means your clinical information is not routinely submitted to an insurance company unless you choose to use your out-of-network benefits.
If your plan includes out-of-network mental health coverage, you may be eligible for partial reimbursement. Many plans reimburse a meaningful portion of the insurer’s allowed cost for out-of-network care (sometimes 50–80%, after your deductible is met) and many people don’t realize they have this coverage! I partner with Thrizer to make accessing these benefits considerably easier. You can use the insurance benefits checker below to see an estimate of your out-of-network coverage and expected cost for therapy.
If you choose to use Thrizer, they can submit claims to your insurance company on your behalf and help manage the reimbursement process, rather than requiring you to submit Superbills yourself. Depending on your plan and where you are in your deductible, Thrizer may also offer options that reduce how much you need to pay upfront for sessions. For example, if your plan covers 60% of my $200 fee, ThrizerPay may allow you to pay only your estimated $80 portion while Thrizer covers the remaining $120 upfront for me.
You are never required to use Thrizer. If you prefer, I can provide a detailed receipt (“Superbill”) that you can submit directly to your insurance company for reimbursement.
One important consideration: using out-of-network insurance benefits requires an official mental health diagnosis, which must be included on insurance claims. If you prefer not to have a diagnosis submitted to your insurance company, you may choose to remain fully private pay instead.