At Affirming Therapy Center, our standard sessions are 50-minutes in length. Extended sessions (75-minutes) are available at a pro-rated basis.

Our evening/weekend rates apply to appointments that start at or after 5:00pm and appointments on Saturdays or Sundays.

Fees for Individual / Personal Therapy (per 50-minute standard session)
Associates — $170 (Daytime), $190 (Evening/Weekend)
Licensed — $200 (Daytime), $220 (Evening/Weekend)
Licensed, CST, Clinical Director — $290 (Daytime)

Fees for Couples / Relationship / Family Therapy (per 50-minute standard session)
Associates — $190 (Daytime), $210 (Evening/Weekend)
Licensed — $220 (Daytime), $250 (Evening/Weekend)
Licensed, CST, Clinical Director — $350 (Daytime)

The State of California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) recognizes two types of Marriage and Family Therapists: Associate Marriage and Family Therapists (AMFT) and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT), and two types of Social Workers: Associate Social Workers (ASW) and Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW).

Associates must work under a Supervisor (a licensed mental health professional with additional experience and training) and must track their clinical hours.  When they have enough hours, they are eligible to take a BBS licensure exam.  When they pass, BBS issues them a license.

All of Affirming Therapist Center’s associate therapists have the same rates.  When they become licensed therapists, their rates increase to reflect their growth and experience.

Our therapists are encouraged to continue their education.  When they acquire additional training and certifications that are specific to the needs of Affirming Therapy Center’s clients, such as AASECT Certified Sex Therapist (CST) or becoming a clinical supervisor or a clinical director, their rates may increase to reflect that special knowledge and certification.

Each of our therapists have their current fees posted on their biography page, which is found under the “Meet the Team” menu, then clicking on the therapist’s name.

We accept credit card payments at this time. Fees are paid through Autopay and will be charged automatically following each session.

Some HSA (Health Spending Account) and FSA (Flexible Spending Account) cards may also be accepted.

Credit Card payments appear as AFFIRMING THERAPY CNTR on bank statements.

Insurance

Therapists at Affirming Therapy Center are not on any insurance panels, HMOs, or PPOs, and we cannot process insurance claims.

Although we do not take insurance, we are considered “out-of-network providers”. This means, depending on your insurance plan, a portion of the fees may be reimbursable to you. Billing statements can be provided for you to submit to your insurance company for reimbursement.

Please check with your insurance provider about your specific member benefit plan to find out about out-of-network coverage.

Here are some questions to ask your insurance provider:
1. Is a referral and/or pre-authorization required?
2. Is there a deductible? Has it been met?
3. What portion of the fees will be reimbursed for an out-of-network provider? (Note that their reimbursement rate may use a different base fee than our actual fees, so be sure to clarify the actual reimbursable dollar amount.)
4. Is there a limit on number of sessions that are reimbursable?
5. Is a mental health diagnosis required for fee reimbursement?
6. What is the process for filing a claim and what forms are required for reimbursement?

If you have an HMO plan, you must see a provider that is on your insurance plan’s list of providers in order to use your insurance coverage.

Many people choose to avoid using their insurance plans for seeking therapy, in part because the insurance companies may control the treatment (i.e., number of sessions, frequency, duration, etc.), and/or because the insurance companies will pay only for the services if there is a mental health diagnosis, which is then included in their medical records.

Financial Concerns

If finances are a concern, we offer options that can help to reduce your monthly budget. These options include scheduling fewer sessions per month (instead of weekly sessions, either attending every other week or even “on-3, off-1” which can be helpful to gain traction in progress while also reducing the amount of money spent per month), or, scheduling shorter sessions (a regular psychotherapy session is 50-minutes in length, and we offer half-sessions at 25 minutes, which are charged at 50% of the fee). These options are all dependent on being clinically appropriate and should be discussed with your therapist.

If these options are not suitable for you, we can also help by making a referral to a low-fee mental health clinic. Please let us know what you are looking for and we will do our best to find a good fit for your therapy needs.