Therapy Services
INDIVIDUAls
I provide individual support on topics including:
Stress and anxiety
Pregnancy, infant, or breastfeeding loss
Depression
Adjusting to parenthood
Coming to peace with birth and breastfeeding experiences
Working through medical challenges
Stress and sadness for new fathers and parenting partners
Couples
I provide couples support on topics including:
Communication
Challenges related to pregnancy, birth, parenting a newborn
Medical challenges
Life as empty nesters
Services Details
Location: I am currently seeing people by telehealth, at my near westside home office, or home visits. Contact me to discuss the options for you or for more information about safety precautions around contagious illness. Home visits are limited by travel scheduling constraints and current health status.
Appointments: In addition to daytime appointments, I offer some weekend times.
Before we schedule a visit, I want to make sure my services are a good fit for you. Please call me or email me to inquire.
Fees: I charge $75 for the first intake sessions and $50 per session for established clients. I do not bill insurance. If the cost of therapy is a barrier for you, let me know and we can talk and see if we can find a sliding scale fee that will let me pay my bills but still feel manageable to you.
Health insurance: I do not directly bill any health insurance providers. Under the federal No Surprises Act my clients are entitled to a “Good Faith Estimate” of the cost of receiving services from me. To meet this requirement I will give you a form that includes the legally required information. The summary of that information is that I charge per session, as described in my fees above, and that my clients can choose the frequency and total number of appointments that they choose to attend. I do not offer or require additional assessments, tests, supplies, or referrals that would create surprise expenses. Transparency and affordability of healthcare costs is an important part of what I value as a healthcare provider and is part of the reason that I do not bill insurance.
My credential: I completed my Masters Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy (MS-MFT) from Edgewood College in December 2018. I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Wisconsin, license #1340-124.
Privacy: As your therapist, I keep records of our visits and necessary information about you. I store these records using an industry-standard electronic health record system. The system meets HIPAA legal standards for security and privacy. I will explain my record keeping during our visit. You can also read a copy of the privacy practices here.
More about my pricing:
How did you decide how much to charge?
You may be thinking things like “Is she cheap because she’s not very good?” (if you’ve been comparing my fees to list prices at other practices) OR “How can she expect me to pay this much for just an hour of time?” (if you’ve been looking at therapists that bill your insurance so you are paying a nominal copay or nothing out of pocket for the appointment). I’ve heard both questions over the years!
I want to be clear: I offer quality care, staying up to date on training and research in my field. I arrange my work load so that clients can access appointments in a timely manner. I offer flexibility in scheduling and location (in person as well as telehealth). I never compromise on services to economize. I do flex on my own salary and use an in-home office to keep my overhead expenses as low as possible.
I know that seeing a therapist can be really helpful to improve quality of life - but it’s realistically less critical than paying rent, buying groceries, or covering childcare! I deeply value being able to work with people from a wide range of income brackets, without putting them in the position of having to pursue grant money or jump through hoops to qualify for government program support. I value supporting people who own or work at small businesses. I realize that charging a higher price could send a signal that my services might be more valuable. I’m willing to let go of the potential benefits of that pricing signal in order to work with families from a wider range of backgrounds.
So why don’t you bill insurance? Wouldn’t that let you offer me lower cost appointments while still charging a higher price?
The US system of health care payment is broken. It is broken for controlling costs. It is broken for clients/patients who have to deal with complicated referrals, copays, cost sharing, and fighting with insurance companies. It is broken for providers who spend time and money to figure out how to bill and get reimbursed. Just because insurance covers a service doesn’t mean that patients/clients don’t bear that cost eventually through higher copays, higher insurance premiums, or lower salaries (as employers cover higher premiums). I have been concerned about this since I first started working as a healthcare provider. I am fortunate to be at a life stage where my income is not critical to raising kids or keeping a roof over our heads so I can do my best to step out of the broken system.
There is so much to read about our broken healthcare pricing and payment system. If you’re interested, here is one starting place: