FAQs

 

  • We charge $150 for a 53-minute counseling session. Payment is due at the end of each appointment. If you have an insurance plan with out-of-network mental health benefits, we can provide you with a superbill that you can submit to your insurance company for reimbursement (we can assist with this!). We do not offer services on a sliding-scale fee system.

  • At this time, we accept the following insurance:

    • Aetna

    • Ambetter

    • Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS)

    • ComPsych

    • Evernorth (formerly Cigna)

    • Illinicare

    • Magellan

    • Medicaid

    • Medicare

    • Meridian

    • Molina

    • MultiPlan

    • TRICARE East

    • UnitedHealth (Optum)

    • Wellcare

    If you have a health plan that offers out-of-network mental health benefits, we can provide you with a superbill after each appointment that you can submit to your insurance provider for reimbursement. As a courtesy to you, we can submit the superbill on your behalf if requested.

  • A superbill is like a receipt for your counseling appointment that can be submitted to your insurance provider for service reimbursement. Superbills contain certain required information such as identifying information, date of service, cost of service, and diagnoses. You may choose to submit the superbill to your insurance provider yourself, or we can do this on your behalf if requested.

    Please note that not all health plans offer out-of-network coverage for mental health treatment or may not reimburse you for the full cost of service. It’s important for you to contact your insurance provider to determine what out-of-network benefits you have. If requested, we can complete this step for you!

    When reaching out to your insurance provider about out-of-network coverage, here are some important questions to ask:

    1) I want to work with an out-of-network mental health provider. How much will you reimburse me?

    2) How many appointments/sessions will be covered?

    3) What is my out-of-network deductible?

    4) What is the best way to submit my claim with a superbill?

    5) Do I need prior authorization for any mental health out-of-network claims?

    Please let us know if there’s any way we can assist you to better understand your health benefits.

  • We aim to provide the highest standard of care regardless of client pay status. However, it is worth noting that your pay status may have certain implications that you might find important with respect to billing, privacy, and treatment. Some of these implications are outlined below:

    Billing — Self-pay clients are required to pay out of pocket for the full cost of service. MindVault Health requires payment due at the end of each appointment. If you have out-of-network mental health benefits through your insurance provider, we can provide you with a superbill after each appointment which you can use to seek reimbursement through your provider.

    Privacy — Self-pay clients are afforded a greater degree of privacy with respect to their health information which is kept strictly confidential unless written consent is provided (or in cases of certain legal mandates). In contrast, certain health information must be shared with a client’s insurance provider, including (but not limited to) their diagnosis. Mental health diagnoses may constitute a “pre-existing condition” and may have implications on future health benefits coverage.

    Treatment — Both the client and the counselor are afforded greater flexibility with respect to treatment when a client chooses self-pay. Insurance companies impose a range of restrictions on treatment including the requirement of “medical necessity” for treatment coverage (including a diagnosis), the number and length of sessions covered, and even the type and course of treatment provided. Self-pay clients and their counselors are unbound by these restrictions and have greater freedom to construct the course of treatment.

  • Making the decision to seek mental health treatment can be challenging, so let us first congratulate you on taking this important step!

    We view therapy at its core to be a collaborative effort between you and your counselor. We won’t tell you what to do, but instead will listen to you and communicate with you to help us both determine what’s most important to you, what you’d like to achieve, and what changes you would like to see in your life. Together, we’ll develop treatment goals individualized for you alone, and chart a course for accomplishing them.

    For simplicity, we can think of counseling as having 3 stages. These stages are fluid, and accordingly the counseling process may not always adhere to them in precise order:

    Initial — The initial stage of counseling typically centers around relationship-building, exploration, and assessment. We’ll meet with you to establish a collaborative, trusting relationship, learn about who you are, listen to your story, and explore your symptoms, strengths, and values. This information will be used to complete a diagnostic assessment. (Note: A mental health diagnosis is required by health insurance providers for service reimbursement).

    Middle — The middle stage of counseling is typically focused around in-depth exploration, skill development, and goal-planning. Based upon information gathered during the initial stage, we’ll work with you to target the issues which are most important to you and begin to explore possible ways of addressing them. We’ll also introduce and explore valuable skills you can use to manage stress and other symptoms. Then, using your values as guideposts, together we’ll develop realistic, achievable goals that will create meaningful and impactful change in your life.

    Final — The final stage of counseling centers around committed action and maintenance. We’ll work with you to channel and sustain motivation to help you attain your goals and evaluate your progress. As you begin to accomplish what you had set out to achieve, we will discuss ways to maintain your progress, during both the remainder of your time in treatment and beyond.

    As a final note, not everyone progresses through these stages in the same way. Each person is unique, and recovery looks different for everyone. We will always treat you as an individual and work with you at your own pace.

  • Our counseling appointments last 53 minutes. Several additional minutes may be used to discuss your future needs or for scheduling your next appointment. This is an industry standard.

  • We treat a range of conditions and symptoms including depression, anxiety, ADHD, OCD, trauma, grief, substance addiction, and more.

    We encourage anyone interested in mental health services to contact us to discuss whether our services are right for you. We offer free client-centered consultations to explore whether we are best-suited to assist, and we can help refer you to another mental health treatment provider if you fall outside of our service demographic.

  • We primarily work with adults aged 18+, and will work with adolescents aged 14+ on a case-by-case basis (please contact us to discuss). We do not currently see clients under age 14. We may expand our services to include children in the future.

  • We reserve a number of evening appointment openings. Weekend appointments are currently unavailable.

  • No. We do not currently have any staff who are licensed to prescribe medicine in the state of Illinois. Depending on your symptoms and level of interest, we may discuss or suggest seeking psychiatric care during counseling.

  • No. At this time, we only work with individual clients. Please check back with us later as we may expand our services to include couples and families in the future.

  • As a qualified mental health provider in the state of Illinois, we are required by federal law to employ various safeguards to protect your personal health information. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) determines privacy guidelines, and accordingly we:

    • Use TherapyNotes’ HIPAA-compliant electronic medical record system for secure documentation storage, client portal access, and telehealth video-conferencing.

    • Have entered into a Business Associate Addendum agreement with Google to utilize Google Workspace as a HIPAA-compliant email solution. We use application-based two-factor authentication for secure email protection.

    • Never share your personal health information with any 3rd-party unless authorized by written consent, required for insurance billing purposes, or mandated by law.

  • Please see below for our no-show, late-show, late-cancellation, and repeated no-show/cancellation policies:

    No-show — If you do not attend your scheduled appointment and do not provide sufficient notice for cancellation, you will be charged the full session fee ($150).

    Late-show — If you are more than 15 minutes late to your appointment, you will be charged the full session fee ($150) and will be asked to reschedule. We may still be able to accommodate you, but this is not guaranteed and is both dependent upon your counselor’s schedule and up to their discretion.

    Late-cancellation — We require a full 24-hours advance notice prior to your appointment start time for cancellation. If notice is not provided more than 24 hours in advance of your appointment start time, you will be charged the full session fee ($150). A voicemail is considered sufficient notice.

    Repeated no-show/cancellation — Frequent cancellations (3 or more in 6 months or 2 consecutive) and/or missed appointments (no-show) will result in the termination of treatment. If you have arranged with your counselor to have recurring appointments, the next recurring appointment will stay in the calendar. Therefore, please contact us if you choose to cancel that appointment to avoid a second no-show/late-cancellation charge of $150. A voicemail is considered sufficient notice. The recurring appointment will be removed after the second consecutive no-show/late-cancellation.

    Exceptions — The aforementioned policies will remain in effect except in the event of a serious illness or emergency. Some examples of emergencies are car accidents, deaths in the family, or extreme illness. Work-related issues do not constitute emergencies. This cancellation policy also applies even if missing the appointment was an unintentional act.

  • Sox! (We know, we know.)