Happiness, How Much is YOURS Worth?

Facts: What Insurance Actually Pays for & what it does NOT

Confidentiality & Reality of Benefits:

Facts about using an in-network therapist:

1. Your therapist MUST diagnose you with as having psychiatric illness.

2. That psychological is then transmitted to your insurance company for payment consideration for services rendered by your therapist. This is the only way your insurance company will CONSIDER (note: keyword, consider) to pay or not to pay.

3. What's unfortunate here, individuals usually seek therapy for a particular reason to sort out past or present issues, which may be affecting their lives currently.

4. Unfortunately, insurance doesn't pay to sort things out!

5. Regardless of whether or not you have a true mental illness is not the point?

6. FACT: a therapist must disclose your confidential information and label you as having some sort of "mental illness". Health insurance companies require this information to determine (pay or NOT PAY). You have now become a LABEL!

7. Your confidential information regarding a supposed mental illness is then entered into the National Medical Data Bank and is accessible to other companies.

8. Still doesn't bother you? What about your future capacity to obtain health and/or life insurance?

9. If you are going to involve your insurance company when it comes to therapy just remember, your information ALL OF it including the private notes about your session are now open to the eyes of many! You're a label (you have been labeled as having some sort of mental illness) even if you do… Do you want others to know about it?

10. Therapy is about trust, and when we confide in another we expect our personal private information to be kept confidential. But when you involve your insurance company your confidentiality is lost!

11. Benefits:

The Catch

1. Coverage can be denied after 10 visits!

2. Just as you start to succeed, your progress, which has been reported to your insurance company that positive progress you just begun to make is now the reason you will no longer be covered for any further visits as in no longer a medical necessity!

3. Your insurance company can define your need for therapy any way they like (and can change it at anytime).

4. Now what? You wait (your progress lessens) as some untrained mental health professional determines whether or not they feel you need to continue therapy.

5. You can appeal for mental health coverage, but at what price? Your time + Your Sanity = go find a good therapist and change the mind-set you originally had from getting your insurance company to pay for it which will equate to (loss of confidentiality + loss of forward motion) to self-pay.

6. Invest in yourself! You ARE WORTH IT!

7. The appeals process can take months! Do you have that much time to invest? Just because you are not shelling out cold hard cash, doesn't mean you are not still paying!

8. Staying in therapy should be your decision! It should be your freedom to choose whom, when, and how long you will need in order to explore the issues not covered by insurance! In-Network Benefits: And HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEELAre YOU Happy

1. In-Network therapists: You get what you pay for!

If you are laughing right now, then you know exactly what I am talking about!

2. How many times have you come across someone who sits there and stares at you! They ask that question we all CAN'T STAND! And how does that make you feel? Don't tell me you have not come across one, two, or even three of the stereotypical therapists that sits there like a lifeless form. Do you think this person can really help you? i. CHANCES ARE VERY LOW!!!!

1. The problem, most of the time? You have not solved a thing! You are feeling more hopeless and begin to wonder if you will just have to live with the unresolved issues affecting you in life.

Finding an In-Network Provider: Are we There Yet?

It takes an incredible amount of time to find a therapist in your network!

First you have to make initial contact to see if they are even accepting new patients.

2. The next question, do they have times that coincide with your busy schedule?

3. The most important question, how much will my insurance cover? Is it 30 minutes once a month? Is it 45 minutes twice a month? Let's not forget that a portion of this visit is spent on paperwork, which will reduce the actual amount of time you get to spend with your therapist.

Out of Network Benefits:

1. If you have a PPO your therapist may provide you with a receipt, which can provide some reimbursement for the cost of therapy.

2. This also provides more confidentiality then using an in-network professional, but be aware the therapist still has to give you a diagnosis if you want your claim paid. Remember this, The Best Things in LIFE are not FREE! Investing in your happiness means you are investing in yourself! Face it, the good therapists usually do not take insurance for the very reasons we listed above. Be willing to forgo any preconceived notions about how much is too much and why should I pay for therapy, take a leap of faith to make the changes needed in your life to become better in all areas and more fully connected to (your family, your friends, your co-workers, and yourself). You will find that your happiness is not quantifiable and in the end, investing in yourself was well worth both your time and money!Finding the good ones (therapists)Look at businesses ratings & their reviews on Yelp, Google Plus or both. A business rating on either Yelp, or Google Plus can be as high as 5 (not easy to get) and is considered an exceptional business or can be somewhere in the middle like a 3 which is considered okay (or mediocre), or the rating can be as low as 1 (most likely the least expensive service). Don't forget, you get what you pay for! When it comes to therapy, every individual must realize to truly succeed in gaining a perspective on how to overcome the issues they are currently faced with, they will need the guidance of a truly gifted therapist one who will understand you, make you feel both comfortable and safe, who will be open, honest, listen, make you feel heard, and is good enough to understand that therapy must be developed and suited for each individual they work with based on the patient's needs and preferences The most important thing a therapist can do for someone who is faced with past or current issues is to give the individual a sense of connection, safety, and support that is needed to overcome the problems they face.