If we accepted insurance, we would only seem to be working in your best interests, but by law, we would be working for and responsible to your insurance company first, with your best interests a secondary consideration.  

Insurance companies do not work for you or for us counselors – they are profit driven entities that try to control and use you and us for their profit.  Per our mission and values, we are dedicated to working for you, not an insurance company.    

One:

• At the end of your first session, counselors are forced to diagnose clients via the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.  Forced?  Yes, without a diagnosis, your insurance plan does not work, and counselors-therapists do not get paid
• We believe it is highly unethical to diagnose a client after their first session, and industry reports prove the majority of diagnoses are incorrect.  Reality – how can anyone truly understand you, your life, and your clinical issues after a 50-minute session?
• The therapeutic relationship is leveraged and monetized by your insurance provider
• Documented diagnoses are a permanent record, becoming what is called a pre-existing condition, and could be legally harmful.  Think divorce, future employment, military, education, new insurance provider, or other.  Worldwide, there are documented cases of people being rejected from employment because they sought treatment for minor grief/loss, but were diagnosed with severe depression (the provider makes more $ with a severe depression diagnosis) 
• In our opinion, diagnosing minors is potentially harmful and questionably unethical.  In nearly all instances, unless there is confirmed biological pathology, this issue speaks to the natural psychosocial-physical-cognitive development process that all humans experience (e.g., defiant teenagers).  Typically, as we age and mature, we outgrow many of these stage development traits/behaviors.  Also, it is well known that diagnosing minors may cause a negative labeling/stereotype effect, e.g., leading to other maladaptive issues such as learned helplessness, and/or poor coping/resiliency skills.  Lastly, we believe US minors are both overdiagnosed and medicated.  It’s a new social and cultural norm, fueled by a multi-billion-dollar industry/system that profits from treating the symptoms, not the cause.  Research proves, especially for depression, that mindfulness-based cognitive therapies are as good and/or better than treatment as usual  
• Cultural needs could be diminished, or entirely ignored
• We will not engage in hidden fees business practices (e.g., surprise billing)
• Privacy and confidentiality may not be guaranteed – data breaches happen all the time, e.g., Data potentially exposed for 2 million people

Two: Here’s what happens behind the client-counselor therapeutic scene – the reality of mental health care insurance, or as we call it, the ‘system.’

• As a client-consumer with insurance, you could be forced to work with a contracted ‘in-network’ counselor/therapist, i.e., not the most qualified and/or the counselor/therapist of your choice
• If you work with an out-of-network counselor/therapist, you might receive a balance bill (a.k.a. surprise bill)
• As a private practitioner or business owner, we are forced to accept the terms/conditions of the insurance companies (e.g., pre-designed limited client treatment plans, periodic audits, and the lowest reimbursement rates for our professional services) 
• We have to diagnose to get paid, and if our diagnosis do not fit into the formulated ‘system,’ they are frequently challenged and denied
• We can spend up to 40% of our time on the phone justifying our diagnosis (i.e., diagnosis and reimbursements effect their profit model)
• All insurance companies contract with professional services (e.g., physician, dentist, counselor) utilizing a formulae profit model.  In turn, they provide client-consumers an affordable co-pay, yet your treatment plan has already been pre-designed, and most likely capped.  Reality? Diagnose, reimburse the least expensive treatment plan, and get you in and out of therapy as quickly as possible.  It’s the main reason why in-network counselors/therapists promote quick fix therapy services (i.e., if a counselor goes beyond the reimbursable treatment plan, and or capped sessions, they do not get paid).  Also, therapy is rarely a quick fix process, e.g. what if you and your family need more sessions, but your plan is capped – now what?
• The insurance model pushes clinicians towards a ‘quantity vs. quality’ dysfunctional business-clinical model.  Therapy becomes a numbers game, e.g. the more clients seen per day, the more likely the counselor/therapist makes money.  It is the number one reason why many clinicians must see a large amount of clients per day 
• The business-clinical ‘quantity vs. quality’ issues could lead to poor professional performance, and burn out/drop out rates for counselors/therapists are at an all time high 
• Finding a therapist who takes your insurance can be nearly impossible. Here’s why

Three: Please watch video 

After watching the above video, we hope you are convinced that our counseling-coaching therapeutic approach and business model (i.e., services, fees, policies) are the very best for the client-consumer.