Invest in Your Relationship | Pittsburgh Counseling

Think about the different experience you get with a travel agent versus a travel guide.  A travel agent gives you your itinerary and maps and tells you what to look for.

As your coach, I will tell you explicitly what you’ll want to focus on in order to achieve the results you want. This may help you make an informed decision about the therapy commitment or help you find an effective therapist in-network.

This service is also available for relationship first aid for those not yet hooked up with ongoing therapy. This is intended to disarm and organize distress - to stabilize the relationship until therapy is initiated.

A tour guide gets you from point A to point Z seamlessly, navigating the course and curating your experience. 

As your therapist, I will immerse myself in your experience, working hard to make sense of your experience in a felt way. From this place, I can get beside you to navigate distress, be heard and understood, and get loving responsiveness. 

I do most of my sessions Monday through Wednesday, 8:30 to 5:30.

I also see clients on Saturday for regular standing appointments.

I am a private pay therapist. Fees are paid after the session is complete.

I am an out-of-network provider. I can provide coded receipts, called Superbills, which can be provided to insurance companies for partial out-of-network benefit reimbursement.

Currently the mental health care system does not include reimbursement for relational or couple/family diagnoses. This means that in order for insurance to pay for services, one member of the couple must receive a psychiatric diagnosis. Additionally, managed care requires session notes and treatment plans to review for medical necessity. Subsequently, I choose not to work with insurance.

I am an out of network provider. You may have Out of Network benefits that would entitle you to partial reimbursement. There needs to be a mental health diagnosis in order to do submit for reimbursement.

HOW IT WORKS:

You pay the session fee at the time of service and I provide you with coded receipts, called superbills.

You can provide to your insurance company OR you can utilize Mentaya.

Check out Mentaya's free service of checking benefits and deductibles without the hassle of calling the insurance company.

Mentaya is a service that streamlines getting reimbursed for your therapy sessions through out-of-network benefits.

Mentaya is perfect if you:

• Have out-of-network benefits.

• Feel overwhelmed by superbills and insurance

• Have submitted superbills but failed to get any reimbursement

• Simply want to skip the hassle of paperwork!

Here's how it works:

1. Sign up for Mentaya: https://mentaya.co/inviteclient/sNuLMzvn1NaWUok7blr7

2. Our practice will enter your sessions into the platform.

3. Mentaya submits the claim and handles any insurance follow-up.

4. You get reimbursed by insurance!

Mentaya charges a 5% fee per claim, which I will cover for you!

It's risk-free: They guarantee claims are successfully submitted, or a full refund of their fees.

Typically, if your insurance card includes words like "personal choice," "preferred provider" or "PPO," that means you have out of network benefits.

If your insurance card includes letters/words like "HMO," that likely means you do not have out of network benefits. The best way to verify this is to call the member services number on the back of your insurance card.

What are out-of-network benefits? Here's a breakdown:

✨ If your insurance plan offers out-of-network benefits, it means they will cover a portion of the cost when you see a therapist who doesn't have a direct contract with your insurance company.

✨ Unlike in-network providers, who bill your insurance company directly, with out-of-network therapists, you typically pay for the session upfront and then submit a claim to your insurance for reimbursement.

✨ Insurance companies often reimburse a percentage of the therapist's fee, usually after you meet an out-of-network deductible. For example, after you meet a $1,000 deductible, your insurance may reimburse 50-80% of the session cost.

✨ Out-of-network benefits give you the flexibility to choose a therapist based on your needs and preferences, not just those in-network.

Couples:

Virtual therapy can be just as effective as in-person therapy if you are in the same location as your partner, have a stable internet connection, and are free from distractions. Your relationship deserves your undivided attention.

There are advantages to virtual couples therapy. For deeper work, you can relax in the comfort of your own space, with your pets and with more intimate holding from your partner. For intimacy work, the camera can be turned off as I guide insight work during intimacy exercises.

There may be times when you and your partner cannot be in the same location. This is the exception, not the norm. Being in the same room as your partner for therapy is important so you can practice sending clear signals and experience a felt response from your partner.

Individuals:

Virtual versus in-person is a personal preference. Some find they can do better insight work from the safety of their home. Others find the proximity of their therapist helpful for co-regulation.

Couples Therapy:

I use a blend of EFT and IFS with couples. EFT provides a roadmap for de-escalating conflict swiftly. The exception is highly escalated conflict cycles. This is where IFS can help and the depth of it requires slowing down and deepening.

EFT is meant to be a short-term model with three benchmarks for the relationship: de-escalating the negative cycle, restructuring the bond, and consolidating new skills.

Every relationship has its unique challenges and each individual is at a different place in their journey. Variables that contribute to faster healing include having individual therapy, having the desire to prioritize the relationship, and having curiosity about yourself.

Although this isn't a hard-fast rule, the first stage of couples therapy can take about three to four months. Some couples choose to stop here. For those who choose to continue deepening, we will discuss goals and expected length of treatment.

Individual Therapy:

Individual clients may choose to have weekly or biweekly sessions, or they may prefer to schedule sporadically. Every single session is impactful and ultimately contributes to healing.

IFS is a structured approach that heavily relies on slowing down and safely increasing tolerance for staying in the very place we find ourselves trying to avoid. The key to successful treatment here is NOT having an agenda of time. I will continuously collaborate with you to ensure that the sessions are resonating for you and moving you on your healing journey.

Benchmarks of progress include the 8 C's and 5P’s: compassion, curiosity, clarity, creativity, calm, confidence, courage, and connectedness, presence, perspective, patience, persistence, and playfulness.