Payment is required at the time of service, before your session begins.  For in-person sessions, payment is in the form of cash or check only.  For telehealth sessions, a credit card on file (including HSA/FSA cards) will be charged on our HIPAA-compliant credit card platform.

For child and adult clients seeing Melissa Lawrence, LPC, NCC, RPT-S™, PMH-C, intake sessions are $275 and all sessions thereafter are a standard $250.  Group counseling rates vary along with the length and frequency each group will meet.  We also offer longer sessions when appropriate, and often encourage couples and families to attend longer sessions whenever possible.  Rates for longer sessions and additional services vary based on additional time and specific requests.  Please call to inquire about the rates of our team of clinicians.

You will be charged the full fee of your scheduled session when you miss or cancel an appointment without proper 24-hour advanced notice.  If you are due to arrive more than fifteen (15) minutes late to your session, you will be charged a $75 late fee and your appointment will be rescheduled.  Kindly inform your therapist of your tardiness as soon as possible.

Currently, LWC Counseling accepts Anthem, Aetna, and Husky insurance.  For all other plans, we are considered an out-of-network provider, which means that we do not bill insurance companies directly.  Your counseling services may be eligible for reimbursement through out-of-network benefits, medical spending, or health care savings accounts.  Health insurance plans and benefits vary.  If you are interested in using your health insurance, please call your insurance provider to inquire about reimbursement for out-of-network coverage for behavioral health counseling services.  Upon request, LWC Counseling will provide you with the required information for you to submit to your insurance company for potential out-of-network coverage/reimbursement.  Provisionally licensed clinicians cannot provide superbills.

In order to have therapy services covered under insurance, a mental health diagnosis must be made.  This information then becomes a part of your permanent health care record.  This may lead to limitations such as denial for quality life insurance, specific occupations, or health insurance in the future.  Many clients choose not to involve insurance companies in their mental health care.  Their therapy is not limited by the diagnosis, treatment plan, or session limits that health insurance companies dictate.  Insurance companies often limit the number of sessions and even the type of therapy.  Many insurance companies do not cover couples/relational or family therapy.  Additionally, since a mental health diagnosis must be made to obtain reimbursement, the insurance company often will request a significant amount of information about you in order to be covered.  The insurance company can review all of your records at their discretion.

By paying privately or out-of-pocket (aka self-pay), your records are exempt from insurance reporting.  We are able to assure self-pay clients the highest degree of privacy, flexibility, and control of their mental health record allowed by Connecticut state law.  At LWC Counseling, we work collaboratively with our clients to decide how often you should attend therapy, and you decide what you want to focus on.  This allows you have the control, not the insurance company.  Many insurance companies require a deductible to be met before they start paying for mental health coverage, so you may be paying out-of-pocket anyway!  Learn more about the Benefits of Self-Pay below.