When telling people about the counseling services I offer, I am often asked if I accept health insurance as a means of payment for my services. In short, I do not. There are a number of reasons for which I do not directly accept and bill insurance. First and foremost, when a mental health provider directly bills an insurance company for counseling or psychotherapy services, a significant amount of personal information is required to ensure “medical necessity” and support the need for counseling services. Medical necessity means that you have a mental health diagnosis that is severe enough to be impacting your daily functioning, namely your ability to accomplish your day to day tasks (eg. work, school, social interactions, activities of daily living such as bathing, eating, etc). Direct billing through your insurance provider is a rigid process that requires a diagnosis, as well as strong justification of how this diagnosis it impairs you from being a functional individual. Most insurance companies also require treatment plans which itemize the issues we are working on in therapy and the goals we have set to help you resolve these issues. Further, some insurance carriers only approve a certain number of visits and require reauthorization, by asking the therapist to share more of your personal information with the health insurance provider, each time you need more sessions. This can be extremely invasive and detrimental to progress in other areas of life. I am dedicated to protectecting my clients’ privacy as much as possible. I also avoid labeling with a medical diagnosis which your health insurance will then keep on file permanently. The diagnosis given to you stays on your permanent health record, and can affect your future. For example, if you would want a job that requires a security clearance, or you would like to adopt a child, mental health diagnoses are taken into account. Therefore, I offer a monthly superbill to clients who request them for reimbursement purposes. A superbillitemizes the services rendered, how much you paid for your services, and a diagnosis that is sufficient enough for the insurance carrier to pay you back a portion of the fees you paid for your services. As an “Out of Network” provider, I am classified as outside of your insurance company’s preferred provider network, but some of the fees for services might be reimbursable to you directly. This is typically only applicable to people who have PPO type insurance plans. Please note, it is ultimately your responsibility to understand your insurance benefits and to make sure what percentage of the therapist’s fees will be reimbursable. ​

Your appointments are very important to our practice and time is reserved especially for you. This cancellation policy allows me to help as many people as possible. In my desire to be effective and fair to all clients, the following policies are honored: Payment In order to schedule an appointment, a credit card is required in our booking system. You will not be charged until the time of service and you will have the option to use another form of payment at your session. This credit card will be kept on file to be charged should any of the following circumstances arise. Cancellations While we request 48 hour notice as a courtesy, 24 hour advance notice is required when canceling an appointment. This allows the opportunity for someone else to be scheduled. If you are unable to give 24 hours advance notice, your credit card on file will be charged the full session fee. Missed Session If you forget or consciously choose to forgo your appointment, you will be considered a “no-show,” and your credit card on file will be charged the full session fee. Late Arrivals If you arrive late, your session may be shortened in order to accommodate others whose appointments follow yours. You will be billed the full amount of the session.

On the east side of the office building, there is a garage that offers free 2 hour parking. This garage is located on the Southeast corner of Ferndale Ave and Oakland Ave. Alternatively, there are many metered parking spots throughout downtown Birmingham.

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