Chelsea accepts the following insurance policies: UnitedHealthcare, Oxford Health Plans, Aetna, UMR, Oscar, UHC Student Resources, AllSavers UHC, Harvard Pilgrim, Meritain, Nippon, United Healthcare Shared Services, Allied Benefit Systems - Aetna, Surest (Formerly Bind), Health Plans Inc., and UnitedHealthcare Global. Clients who choose to utilize insurance will be seen through Hello Alma on a HIPAA complaint telehealth platform (Zoom).

Fees for sessions are due at the time of service. The fee for an individual, couples, or family sessions are $185. Therapy sessions are 50-60 minutes long. Sliding scale is available on a limited basis and is determined by the client’s ability to pay.

Out of Network or PPO:

Clients who are interested in utilizing insurance to pay for therapy and have a PPO plan can request a “super bill” to submit to their insurance provider for reimbursement. “Super bills” are invoices that insurance companies require in order for fees to be reimbursed to the client after the time of service. Insurance providers may or may not reimburse their consumers/clients for the entire cost of services. It is recommended that clients who are looking to utilize an out of network provider contact their insurance provider for information.

Yes. The benefit is that you have the ability to choice who your provider is and what they specialize in. You never have to worry about if you meet medical necessity for insurance to cover the cost of your care, there are no predetermined number of sessions you can have in a calendar year, and you get more control over your private health information. Let’s unpack medical necessity a bit. Medical necessity refers to the criteria that is used by insurance providers to determine aspects of mental health care available to a person. Not every problem or desire to grow is reimbursable or covered by insurance. Insurance companies can even limit the number of times you can see a provider in a given time frame. This is common practice for EAP programs. It is important to know that specialty status requires the provider has education/additional training or certification (independent of achieving license status as a psychotherapist) in a particular clinical focus, and is experienced in providing the stated specialty. It is encouraged that individuals looking for specialized care ask potential providers about their ability to provide that care. Going out of network/paying privately for therapy can be a game changer for individuals who struggle with problems that warrant expertise in their provider and for those who have not found therapy to be particularly helpful when being assigned to a provider by their insurance company or provided with limited options for providers.

Do not give up and do your homework! Services may be available to you on a community, county, state, or federal level. Please see resources page.

If you are thinking about how you might pay for mental health care, I would invite you to consider if there are any aspects of your current lifestyle or spending habits that impact your ability to prioritize paying for mental health care. Check out if your willingness to pay for services (whether this is a copay with your insurance, a sliding scale rate, or paying a fair rate for the service you are receiving) lines up with your values, desire for change, or level of importance you place on your mental health or the mental health of a loved one. Having some “skin in the game” can change the level of investment placed in utilizing the help provided.

Appointments that are cancelled within 24 hours of the scheduled appointment time or if a client fails to attend (also known as a no show) incur a $50 late cancellation/no show fee. Clients who have unpaid fees and do not fulfill payment after notification of unpaid fees may be subject to a pause on ability to continue to schedule appointments and/or provided referrals to other providers including community based resources.

This is a good question. If you are currently working with a therapist and are having some issues with how things are going, feel that can’t help you anymore than they already have, don’t like something they said, or don’t agree with goals or type of treatment, talk to your therapist about it. Therapy happens with two human beings in a room (or virtual room). Sometimes ruptures happen in the therapeutic relationship- this can be be very normal and even a sign that growth has happened, in addition to an opportunity to be skillful. Get clear with yourself and your therapist about what is going on in therapy. Then, proceed mindfully.

Therapy is for people. A person does not need to have a formal diagnosis or be “crazy” to benefit from participating in therapy. You don’t have to be in crisis, feel like you are falling apart, or like your life is on fire in order to be an ideal candidate for therapy. Some people come to therapy because they have stressful careers, struggle with things from their past, or simply because they want things to improve- even if they already feel like things are going well! In general, an ideal candidate for therapy is a person who wants to create intentional time in their life to increase acceptance, focus on making changes, is willing to learn and try new things.

If you are a potential client who has worked with different therapists or treatment programs and feel like you did not get all of what you wanted or needed, have history of 12 step experience or other self-help group and/or learning experiences, and want to continue your growth, you may be an ideal candidate for therapy with Chelsea. Chelsea enjoys working with individuals in the “helping field.” Examples include working in therapeutic settings such as developmental settings, substance use counseling, marriage and family therapy, social work, medical field, and emergency response. Other ideal fits are individuals from chaotic or dysfunctional families, codependency, productivity and achievement focused individuals, creatives, and individuals struggling with emotion regulation and acceptance.

Request a time to meet for either a consultation or to set up an appointment. After making the decision to become a client, you will receive an invitation via email to complete standard paperwork to get started including informed consent to participate in treatment, assessments, and provide payment information to be kept on file for billing purposes. When an appointment time has been established you will receive an email and or text (your choice) confirming your appointment. On the day of your appointment you will receive a link to participate in session through a HIPAA complaint Telehealth video platform. The first time you participate in a telehealth session you will be prompted to download an app which will be used for all sessions.

Initial sessions will focus on gathering information about you (ex: history of therapy or treatment, significant life events, interpersonal dynamics within family and close important relationships, medical history and history of psychiatric diagnosis), what is currently bringing you to therapy, and what you would like to get out of participating in therapy. Thorough assessment tends to take more than one session- for both client and therapist. It is generally recommended that a potential client take 3-4 sessions to determine if the therapist is a good fit for them.

DBT focuses on helping people who struggle to be emotionally regulated to learn the skills they need to build a life worth living. It is not uncommon for DBT to be mistaken as a suicide prevention program. While its not a suicide prevention program, it is often helpful for those who are struggling with self-harm (including non-suicidal self injury), suicidal, and parasuicidal behaviors. DBT teaches skills in mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance (including an optional focus on when addiction is the crisis). The dialectical aspect of DBT refers to the ability to hold in mind two opposite or different truths at the same time. An example of this and the main dialect navigated in DBT is acceptance and change.

DBT was created for individuals who are diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Since then DBT has been found to be helpful for people who are struggling with anxiety, depression, ADHD, relationship issues including codependency, histories of invalidation, impulse control issues, and general emotion dysregulation.

RO-DBT focuses on helping people who struggle with emotional loneliness, inhibition or being risk averse (including struggling to be open with others), rigidity or inflexibility (including autism spectrum disorder or Asperger’s), openness, novelty, perfectionism, avoidant or restrictive eating (including anorexia), and obsessive compulsive behaviors (including obsessive compulsive personality disorder).

RO-DBT treats maladaptive self-control or over control which makes it an ideal treatment for treatment resistant depression, treatment resistant anxiety, anorexia and restrictive eating, Aspergers (now referred to as autism spectrum disorder), and obsessive compulsive personality disorder.

Of course! Chelsea has experience working with other providers as both the primary therapist and ancillary therapist, and as part of changes in level of care. If a client needs to be transferred to a different level of care, Chelsea prefers to assist in the transfer in order to support a smooth transition for the client. Examples of ways in which Chelsea has functioned as an ancillary therapist include providing art therapy and DBT skills training, in conjunction with the work the client is doing with their primary therapist.

There is always a risk to participating in treatment. Sometimes that can look like outgrowing a situation or a relationship that you are currently in or things feeling worse before they start feeling better (this can happen with new insights or awareness). If you have specific concerns about participating in therapy, have had negative experiences in the past, or want to discuss your individual case, please reach out.

Of course. There are many different options for people to pursue in efforts to get help or make changes in their life such as yoga and other exercise, meditation, acupuncture, pharmacological interventions, TMS, reading self-help books or going to support groups (including 12 step programs) utilizing community and natural supports.

Fees for consultation or deliverables are due at the time of service or after receipt of an invoice for services provided. In cases in which consultation leads to contracts for deliverable items (ex: written content) a deposit is required to begin the work on the project and upon completion of the deliverable item. Rates for deliverable items are determined based upon skill level required, hours spent on the deliverable, and timeframe to complete the deliverable item.