Where is your office?
1395 Piccard Dr, Suite 200 A-36, Rockville, MD 20850
Can you work with my child if their trauma isn’t sexual abuse or assault?
Most likely, yes. The core principles of trauma therapy are not specific to any one type of trauma, and my clinical experience and training have prepared me to support clients with a wide range of traumatic experiences. If you want to talk specifics, contact me to set up a consultation.
Can you work with my child if they don’t have a specific trauma?
Maybe! The trauma therapy models that I use have many elements that research indicates are helpful for depression, anxiety (including school refusal, social anxiety, panic attacks, separation anxiety, generalized anxiety, and selective mutism), and making parent-child interactions go much more smoothly. These common elements include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), collaborative and proactive solutions, and approaches based on attachment theory. To share the kind of help you’re looking for, contact me to set up a consultation.
Do you work with adults?
I specialize in trauma therapy with kids and teens, but I also enjoy working with adults. I’d be happy to talk with you about what therapy could look like for you. Contact me to set up a consultation.
What is care coordination?
I believe strongly in providing wraparound support to clients. Every three months, every client has access to three hours of care coordination at no additional cost. This may include preparing written reports or letters to help your child access accommodations or services; phone calls, virtual, and in-person meetings with other professionals who work with your child (e.g., IEP or EMT meetings, meeting with childcare providers); or gathering information about services, activities, and referrals that will benefit your child. You have a say in how this time is spent so that it can be most helpful for your child and family.
Why do you have these scheduling and attendance policies?
These policies protect my time and energy so that I can consistently offer your child high-quality therapy. I think about your kid a lot between sessions, I consult research and attend continuing education to further develop my skills, and I consult other clinicians to inform the next steps with your kid. With these policies in place, I do not need to overbook my practice. This preserves the mental space that makes our time in sessions most effective.
Why aren’t you in-network with insurance?
For most healthcare needs, it’s natural to look for an in-network provider. After all, for patients, the whole purpose of health insurance is to keep health care costs expected and manageable, whether it’s a time of good health or a time of crisis. There are known problems with the ways that private and public insurers manage mental health benefits. I have chosen not to work as an in-network provider in order to preserve the time, energy, and mental space I need to provide the best quality care while also taking care of my personal needs.
What do I need to know before using out-of-network benefits?
Most insurance companies require a psychiatric diagnosis in order to reimburse for psychotherapy, and any diagnosis made will become part of your child’s permanent insurance records.
The estimate from the benefit checker is not fully accurate because insurance companies do not publicly disclose what they consider to be the “allowed amount” for therapy services. This rate can also be known as the usual and customary rate, eligible expense, payment allowance, or negotiated rate. It is the maximum amount that a plan will pay for a specific healthcare expense. This rate determines the amount of each therapy charge that can be applied towards your deductible. If your plan uses co-insurance for out-of-network benefits, it will be used as the basis for calculating the percentage that is the insurance company’s responsibility, and if your plan uses a copay model, it will determine the cap on the insurance company’s payment. If you call your insurance company and ask them directly for the “allowed amount” for a 45-minute psychotherapy session (CPT code 90834), you might be able to get an answer. In my personal experience, I have only known the exact amount that my plan will cover when I’ve seen the Explanation of Benefits after a claim I’ve submitted for reimbursement has been processed.
Finally, insurance reimbursements are tied to billing codes with specific definitions and time-limits. For example, there is no insurance-recognized billing code for sessions longer than 60 minutes in most cases, or for caregiver-only sessions that are shorter than 26 minutes. Insurance may or may not reimburse for phone-only sessions (vs. video sessions). Please let me know if insurance reimbursement is an important part of your strategy for paying for therapy, so that we can schedule our appointments accordingly.
Mentaya explains some key terms related to insurance reimbursements here.