Avani Counseling accepts Aetna, Cigna and United Healthcare/OPTUM insurance.

Once you have shared your insurance card with us and we verify that you have mental health benefits, we will bill your sessions to your insurance plan. In order to bill your insurance, however, we must assign a mental health diagnosis and confirm that the sessions are considered ‘medically necessary’ by the insurance plan. We are happy to be in collaborative dialogue with you about the diagnosis. Keep in mind that you might have a limit on the number of sessions per year that your health plan will cover, and that if the services are no longer considered ‘medically necessary’ that you can opt to continue sessions through private pay.

For all other insurance plans, we can provide you with a super bill as an out-of-network provider so that you can file an insurance claim for reimbursement yourself. Our team also accepts flexible Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).

We believe that everyone should be able to access mental healthcare, not only the affluent and insured. And therefore, it’s important to us that clients can find therapy services that fit their budgets. Private practice therapy by a licensed practitioner can be costly, anywhere from $120-350/session. This investment in one’s mental health can seem out of reach for many people already struggling to make ends meet.

For clients who are uninsured or prefer not to use their insurance, we have several options for you to consider:

• Currently, Associate Therapist provide services for $80-95 for a 45-minute session. Starting June 1st, their sliding fee scale will be $80-125 based on annual income.
• Licensed Therapists offer a sliding fee scale based on annual household income as follows:

We offer extended sessions for couples and families who are paying out of pocket. These 75-minute sessions are 1.5x the standard fee you qualify for.

If these fees feel out of reach, you may also contact NISD Counseling, the non-profit counseling center in Hillcrest where Mona serves as Co-Director. At NISD Counseling, we train and supervise marriage and family therapists who can offer discounted therapy sessions (starting as low as $40/session) while they gain clinical experience. We have hand-picked each therapist-in-training for their relational skills and each one is mentored by a licensed practitioner to ensure that clients are being supported compassionately and responsibly.

Lastly, a wonderful resource is the Open Path Collective, which is a directory of therapists who have committed to keeping therapy affordable by offering sessions for $30-60/session for individuals or up to $80/session for couples and families. Their site is geared for clients who are uninsured or low income who would not be able to afford standard therapy rates.

Please contact us if you have questions about accessing affordable therapy.