Therapy Fees & Payment

What are your fees?

• Adult therapy appointment: The fee is $125 for a 45-60 minute session.
• Teen therapy appointment: The fee is $150 for a 45-60 minute session.

**A sliding scale (reduced rate) is offered to those that are unable to pay the full rate**

How is payment collected?

You will be responsible for paying for each session in full at time of appointment. For payment, I use the Ivy Pay system. This is a HIPAA compliant application that is very easy to use. You can enter any debit, credit, HSA, or FSA card and this card will be held on file with the system for each visit, and can be paid with a simple click in a text message. We will set this up in our first appointment.

Do you accept insurance?

For Texas residents, I accept the following insurances: Aetna, Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Cigna, United Health, Oscar and Oxford. Many insurance plans provide some coverage for out-of-network mental health services. However, I cannot guarantee reimbursement from your insurance. Please contact your insurance company to see if you have out-of-network benefits.

For Illinois clients, I accept the following insurances: Aetna, Blue Cross & Blue Shield, United Health, Oscar, Oxford.

For those that are uninsured or out of network, I am happy to negotiate a sliding scale (limited slots available) or provide a super-bill to present to your insurance company for reimbursement (see below). 

What is a superbill? What do I do with it?

A superbill is an invoice your therapist provides you when they are not in network with your insurance panel. This invoice has information such as dates of sessions, a diagnosis code, and other personal information such as your date of birth and address.

Once you have a superbill and have confirmed your insurance coverage, you can submit this to your insurance for reimbursement. The timeframe and percentage of reimbursement depends solely upon your policy and coverage.

What is your cancellation policy?

Be mindful of our cancellation policy as you may be charged cancellation fees. We require 24 hours notice for cancellations or rescheduling appointments. If you fail to cancel or reschedule within 24 hours, you will be charged for the full rate of the session. When you cancel a session, I request that you reschedule it within a 2-week period. This enables you to make consistent progress in therapy.

What is a Good Faith Estimate (GFE)?

As of January 1, 2022, under Section 2799B-6 of the Public Health Service Act, health care providers and health care facilities are required to inform individuals who are not enrolled in a plan or coverage or a Federal health care program, or not seeking to file a claim with their plan or coverage both orally and in writing of their ability, upon request or at the time of scheduling health care items and services, to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” of expected charges.

You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical care will cost.

For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises

Therapy Services

Can you work with clients anywhere in the country?

No, therapists can only provide services in the states they are licensed. I am currently only licensed to practice therapy (whether this is in-person or online) in the state of Illinois and Texas. So what that means is that I can only work with residents of Illinois and Texas. I will be adding additional states in the near future.

Do you prescribe medication?

I do NOT prescribe medication. If you have questions about psychiatric medication, consult with a licensed prescriber to best assist you. Therapy is an excellent way to supplement treatment when taking medications. However, you do not need to be taking any medication to come to therapy. Some people prefer to try therapy as a drug-free method to seek help.

What can I expect from my first session?

Our first in-person meeting is what’s known as an intake session. It’s different from a traditional therapy session because this will be a time for me to gather your case history, and together we’ll talk about why you have decided to pursue therapy and what your goals are for our time together. It’s also an opportunity for you to get to know me, to ask me any questions you may have, and to see your comfort level with teletherapy and with me. At the end of the session, we can decide together if it feels right to move forward in scheduling another session and beginning the rest of the therapeutic journey. Please note that this first session is not complimentary; it is a fully paid session.

How frequently will we meet?

Clients are required to meet on a weekly basis. This will allow us to start off on a strong foot, so you can start seeing progress right away. After you have maintained consistent progress on your goals, I may recommend that we decrease the frequency of sessions to best meet your needs.

Is what I share confidential?

Absolutely. What you share with me in our sessions is completely confidential except in the case of 1) immediate threat of harm to self or other, 2) suspicion of child or dependent elder abuse, 3) in the case of a court subpoena. We’ll discuss all of this and my other office policies during your initial intake session.

How long does therapy last?

The duration of therapy looks different for everyone. My approach is solutions focused. This means you won’t have to be in therapy forever. Many of my clients find that they’ve met their goals in 3-6 months and no longer need therapy. I also have clients who choose to remain in therapy for much longer; they have seen improvements and still really enjoy having ongoing support and a place to process their thoughts and feelings each week.

You can trust that you and I will keep checking in throughout our work together to determine if it feels appropriate and timely to end therapy.

What if you’re not the right therapist for me?

Before scheduling a therapy session, I hold a free 15 minute intro call with all potential new clients. This gives us the chance to get to know each other and determine fit. Here’s what you can expect:

• I’ll ask you about why you’re seeking therapy
• I’ll tell you a bit about myself and my approach as a therapist
• You can ask me any questions that I didn’t cover

We’ll talk about your therapy goals, rates, insurance, availability, etc. If it turns out that I’m not the best therapist match for you, I will provide with you additional referrals to other therapists who may be a good fit.

So we’re a good fit, what’s next?

If we both decide we’re a good fit after our consultation call, I’ll send you onboarding paperwork to complete. Once paperwork is completed, we’ll schedule your intake appointment.

Teletherapy Services

What is telehealth / teletherapy?

Teletherapy is therapy provided over a secure video link or a telephone connection instead of in person at an office.

All services are provided via telehealth, predominantly using video platforms. I utilize Google Meet and occasionally Doxy.me for video session. Completing the Informed Consent form acknowledges your understanding of the risks and benefits associated with telehealth, and acceptance of the risk that may be associated with this format of care.

How does teletherapy work?

When the time for your appointment arrives, log into my secure Online Appointment Room: (will be given at time of booking appointment and in your client portal).

All you need to participate are:

*A browser on a computer, tablet, or smartphone that has a camera, a microphone, and an Internet link

*A private, well-lit area

*Internet access

You can use a cell phone data plan or hotspot if you don’t have easy access to another Internet link; but be aware of data charges from your phone plan.

How is teletherapy confidential & private?

Yes! As much as it possibly can be. I conduct online video counseling on a secure, password laptop here at my office using a video conferencing software that is a trusted, HIPAA-compliant telemedicine solution and I also insist that our clients take their online video sessions in a closed, private room to ensure privacy. I do everything I can to comply with data privacy and security provisions for safeguarding your medical information.

What are the benefits of teletherapy?

Teletherapy minimizes the inconvenience of travel time and associated costs. Factors such as the weather, traffic, getting childcare, and so on can make traveling even short distances an inconvenience. In addition, clients from anywhere in Texas can still meet with me by teletherapy.

The benefits of teletherapy are supported by research. Research has found that video therapy is as effective as in-person therapy, and thanks to a highly secure connection, our sessions will remain private.

Many major insurance companies cover teletherapy appointments. The billing summary (“superbill”) I issue generally meets the billing requirements for plans that support teletherapy.

Teletherapy requires no special technical skills. All you need is a computer, smart phone, or tablet with a microphone, camera, browser, and Internet or cell phone access.

How can I make the most of a teletherapy appointment?

Make sure you have privacy. A separate room with a closed door is best. But if you don’t have access to that, then sitting in a safely parked car or sitting outdoors away from other people can provide you the physical and emotional space to dive deep during your session.

Make sure your devices are charged. The worst thing to happen in the middle of a good session is your phone cutting off because of a low battery. To avoid this from happening, try to make sure you have a good charge at least 1 hour before your scheduled session, or have a long charging cable nearby just in case you forget.

Attend to your physical comfort. A comfortable chair with a good angle for viewing your screen and good light on your face (from the side, not behind you) helps make a productive therapy space. Please also be appropriately dressed for sessions.

Have things you need or want nearby. I recommend tissues and a cup of water as the basics. But consider: what makes you feel comfortable? Do you want your journal? A notepad? Your list of things you thought of during the week and said, “I should talk to Khiara about that”? A fidget? A pillow or a weighted blanket? Your pet? Bring what helps you.

Give yourself the gift of time. When you travel to a therapist’s office, the travel time provides an automatic break between your regular life and therapy. It’s a good idea to give yourself a break like this before and after your teletherapy session, too. So try to end your work or other obligations a few minutes before your therapy starts, with time for a break. And whenever you can, give yourself a little time after your session to stretch, take a walk, or journal, and start to integrate the material from your session before you dive back into your daily life.

What if I have problems accessing the online appointment room?

The software I use is generally very reliable. The vast majority of appointments proceed with no trouble. Nevertheless, like all tech, there can be problems with the connection. So here are some tips just in case.

If you are having trouble logging into the session, phone or text me (number will be provided at intake), and we will troubleshoot the problem together.

If I don’t “arrive” and start our appointment within a few minutes of our start time, you can phone or text me to check in, just like you’d knock on my door for an in-person appointment.

If we get disconnected, reload the Online Appointment Room page and try to re-connect. If that doesn’t work, restart your browser and try again.

After you reload your browser, use the “pre-call test” button to let the software check out your video and audio.

If our connection drops and you don’t return, I’ll try to phone or text you at your number on file so we can troubleshoot.

If you’re in the room, but your signal is breaking up, try using the secure text feature of the appointment software to text me.

If the sound signal is delayed or the video freezes up, wait a moment to see if it resolves. If the problem doesn’t resolve quickly, try turning off your video (click the Camera icon on the page). This may improve our sound connection.

It’s rare, but if we are unable to complete our appointment online, we can switch to a phone connection.