Are therapy sessions covered by insurance?

Therapy, also called counseling, is an effective treatment for myriad mental health issues and the bumps we often experience in life’s path. Counseling has a mountain of research support for its effectiveness with anxiety, depression, personality disorders, and more. For this reason, most health insurance plans cover therapy treatment.

Employee assistance programs commonly provide a limited number of counseling sessions for some issues as a free benefit for some employees at certain companies. Check with your human resources department to find out if you have an employee assistance program or EAP, and if so, ask for a list of benefits. Contacting your EAP can get you more details on benefits provided, and a list of therapists in your area or online that provide therapy through the EAP, often at no cost to you at all.

Your health insurance plan will have its own set of parameters regarding therapy treatment. You will need to contact your insurance company to find out about specific mental health benefits. Therapy is usually covered, but some restrictions may be in place to be considered. These may include:

• Your choice of therapist will likely be limited to those who accept the insurance you have. You will need to ask for a list of therapists who accept your insurance.
• Your diagnosis or problem to be addressed in therapy may impact how many sessions your insurance will pay for and the frequency of your treatment.
• Insurance may not cover 100 percent of the cost of your therapy sessions, and you may owe either a copay for visits or a balance of what the insurance does not pay.
• Some insurance companies do not pay for online therapy, limiting you to providers in your specific location.
• Often, insurers limit the type of therapy the therapists who are paneled with them can provide. For example, some companies may not cover hypnotherapy or other types of therapy that may interest or benefit you.

Contact your insurer to ask about your mental health benefits as they pertain to therapy. If your benefits are very limited or don’t suit your needs, consider contacting a community based mental health center where therapy may be provided on a sliding scale at a more affordable rate, and research online counseling options and subscriptions, which may also provide a more affordable way to attend therapy.