Frequently Asked Questions

No, I am a private pay therapist. I do not participate in any insurance networks. I do not bill insurance companies, communicate with insurance companies, or accept payment from insurance companies.

While it is typically cheaper for a person to use health insurance, I prefer not to be on any health insurance panels for the following reasons:

(1) Insurance companies limit the privacy and confidentiality of my clients. Insurance companies are paying for services rendered so they are able to request your records at any time and for any reason. As a private pay therapist, your sessions and progress stay between us (almost always). Since I do not have to involve insurance companies, your personal information remains securely within our therapeutic relationship.

(2) Insurance companies require a psychiatric diagnosis for reimbursement (even in persons who don’t have clearly diagnosable symptoms). Once a diagnosis is on file with insurance, it is unclear how that data is maintained or distributed. Insurance companies also have rules about which diagnoses deserve reimbursement and which do not.

(3) Insurance companies have a primary goal of managing your access to services in order to keep their costs down. They are a business trying to make a profit, and the limits they place on your care regarding frequency, type, and duration of therapy are not tailored to your specific needs.

(4) Working with insurance companies requires extensive paperwork and long phone calls which decreases the amount of time I have to dedicate to client care-related activities.

(5) Insurance companies can hinder a provider’s ability to practice effectively by setting limits on number of sessions, type of treatment, etc. I believe that decisions regarding care should be up to me and you.

In short, I believe you should be in control of your care and being out-of-network permits me to offer a higher quality service to my clients. It is important for you to carefully consider what approach best suits your needs when deciding whether to work with me as a private pay therapist or utilize insurance coverage with a different provider. By weighing the pros and cons of each, you can make an informed choice that aligns with your unique circumstances, preferences, and goals.

HOWEVER, my services may be eligible for out-of-network [OON] insurance reimbursement from health insurance companies and employee benefit plans that offer OON mental health coverage. Your insurance or benefit plan may reimburse you for a portion of the cost of therapy. I can provide the necessary documentation (receipt, superbill) to you which you can submit to your insurance company for possible reimbursement. Please know that not all insurance plans offer reimbursement for OON services. Also, it is important to know that insurance companies generally require a psychiatric diagnosis and proof of medical necessity.

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE for checking your insurance coverage to determine what portion of my services may be reimbursed by your insurance plan. The best way to do this is to contact your insurance company directly by calling the customer service phone number on the back of your insurance card (there may be a separate number for mental health services information). When speaking with the insurance company representative, you will want to ask the following questions:

•Do I have mental health benefits?

•What are my out-of-network outpatient mental health benefits?

•How many sessions per calendar year does my plan cover?

•What is the coverage amount per therapy session?

•What is the "usual and customary rate" allowable for an initial individual consultation (procedure code 90791) and for a subsequent individual therapy session (procedure code 90837)?

•Must I meet a deductible before my benefits will begin paying? What is it and has it been met?

•Is approval required from my primary care physician?

Please Note: reimbursement for intensive EMDR sessions is more complicated. Please speak to Dr. Robinson about CPT coding issues involved in extended services.

Many individuals who have health insurance decide not to use it for coverage of mental health services, and instead pay for therapy as an "out of pocket" expense, or via a flexible or health savings account. Typically, this is due to privacy concerns and the potential release of personal information to health insurance companies and their affiliated entities. If you decide not to use your health insurance to cover my services, your personal information and records will not be released to third party payors or their affiliates.

MORE INFORMATION ON OUT-OF-NETWORK BENEFITS: https://blog.zencare.co/guide-to-out-of-network-benefits/amp/

NEED HELP SUBMITTING OON INSURANCE CLAIMS: If you need help submitting claims, there’s a service called Reimbursify that will submit the insurance reimbursement paperwork for you. The first claim is free, and then they charge a small fee per claim. https://reimbursify.com/

• $300 for 70-minute initial consultation which focuses on history taking, diagnosis, treatment planning, and (if clinically indicated) referral

• $200 per 55-minute follow-up sessions

• $230 per hour for intensive sessions lasting 90+ minutes

• Visit the EMDR Intensive Page to learn about intensive program rates

Payment is due at time of service. I accept debit and credit cards, Flexible Spending Account (FSA) cards, or Health Savings Account (HSA) cards. Payment will be processed through my HIPAA-secure practice management system.

In accordance with the No Surprises Act, you will receive a Good Faith Estimate outlining costs of services and treatment. You may also request a Good Faith Estimate any time during treatment. To learn more about the No Surprises Act, click here.

I am committed to clinical excellence. I will stay informed and up-to-date on the latest research. I continuously pursue advanced training and receive ongoing consultation with experts in EMDR and related fields. I will adhere to the ethics of my profession and do my best in responding to your needs, including making a referral to another provider if I believe that I am not the best fit for your needs.

No. I only work with persons 18 years old and up.

No. I do not work with couples or families.

All sessions are held virtually using a HIPAA-compliant, secure telehealth platform. I live in North Carolina but am able to work with any adult who is physically located in North Carolina or Texas. I do not offer in-person appointments at this time.

No. I am currently only offering virtual appointments to adults who are physically located in TX or NC.

As a first step to starting therapy with me, I offer a free 15-minute telephone consultation. The purpose of this call is to help us determine if I am a good fit for you.

I’ll ask you about your treatment needs, you can learn more about my approach to therapy, and I’ll answer your questions about me and my practice.

If we agree that I look like a good fit for your needs, then you will have the option to schedule a virtual intake/initial appointment with me.

Absolutely. I have been working successfully with clients virtually since 2019. Research shows that treatment delivered via telehealth (virtually) is as effective as in-person treatment. In addition, there are several advantages to having treatment delivered this way including:

(1) the ability to participate in therapy in a place that is most convenient for you;

(2) the ability to have therapy where you are most comfortable and/or can have comfort items around you (pets, blankets, favorite coffee mug, etc…);

(3) no travel time or hassles;

(4) increased access to therapy for those who simply can’t make it to a clinic for lots of different reasons (e.g., kids, anxiety, transportation, time constraints…);

(5) increased access to providers and therapies that would otherwise be out-of-reach.

There are very limited instances where I may recommend in-person services for a particular person, but most often it comes down to client preference. Almost everyone I’ve worked with virtually has been pleasantly surprised by how convenient and effective this option is for them.

It’s rather simple. You will need a device with a camera (computer, laptop, phone, ipad…) and a secure internet connection. I send you a link via email to the secure platform a few minutes before your appointment time. You click on the link and then will be brought to the secure videoconferencing platform. At the time of your appointment, I will connect us to the virtual ‘meeting room.’ We will be able to see and hear each other just like you do in a zoom meeting or during a Facetime call.

Yes for military/Veterans and First Responders. When space is available, I offer a 12-week, sliding scale program for military/Veteran/First Responders who wish to work with me on targeted treatment goals and are not able to pay my full fee. Currently, the sliding scale program is full.

Our first appointment will last about 70 minutes and is a consultation to determine goodness-of-fit between what you are wanting to work on and what I am able to offer. The focus will be on gathering information about your history and what brought you in now as well as answering any questions you have about my practice or how we might work together. As time permits and if clinically appropriate, we will also work on helping you define your goals for treatment and developing a treatment plan for getting you there.

If based on our first meeting (or subsequent appointment), I believe that I am not the best fit for your presenting concerns and needs, I will offer a referral and/or assist you in identifying a provider that is a better fit for you.

I typically offer appointments during regular daytime hours. My private practice hours include:

Mondays: 8am - 7pm EST

Thursdays: 8am - 5pm * EST

Fridays: 8am - noon EST

Friday afternoons - PRN

*A limited number of evening hours are available on Mondays at premium pricing.

The short answer is – it depends on a variety of factors, including the complexity of your history and needs and the number of treatment goals you have. I've had clients who achieved their goal in as little as a couple sessions, and I've had clients who took a year or more to reach their goals. My goal is always to help you reach your goals as efficiently and effectively as possible. Please note that EMDR Intensives typically involve fewer sessions that are longer in length with accelerated treatment gains.

Is there any issue or condition that you don’t work with?ss work with?

I do not specialize in / provide services for the following issues:

•Couples/marital therapy

•Child/adolescent/family services

•Eating Disorders

•Sexual functioning issues

•Conditions in which the primary issue (i.e., focus of therapy) is substance abuse

•Severe personality disorders

•Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

•Primary psychotic disorders

•Severe social anxiety

•Severe dissociative disorders

Note: As a part-time private practice clinician, I am not as available or flexible as some other providers, and I am not often immediately available by telephone. We will both need to take this into account when deciding whether or not I’m the most appropriate provider for you to work with. Persons with more intense issues/needs or those needing frequent between-session contact, may be better served by a different provider with more availability/flexibility in their schedule.

As a part-time private practice clinician, I am not as available or flexible as many other mental health providers, and I’m often not immediately available by telephone. As such, I am unable to provide 24-hour emergency coverage for my clients. This will be taken into account when deciding whether or not I’m the most appropriate provider for a particular person. Persons with more intense issues/needs may be better served by a different provider with more availability/flexibility in their schedule.

If you have an emergency or crisis and feel unsafe or unable to wait for assistance, you or your family member(s) should do one of the following to obtain immediate assistance: (1) Call 911; (2) Go to the nearest emergency room; and/or (3) Call a crisis hotline (e.g., 988 or 1-800-273-8255).

I believe that current symptoms more often than not have deeper roots that need to be the target of treatment – in other words, a heal-the-cause not just the symptom approach. I utilize the powerful effectiveness of EMDR Therapy with clients who are ready to live without anxiety, depression, dissociation, phobias, fears, and post-traumatic stress. I'm continually astounded by how powerful and flexible EMDR Therapy is in helping people change what hurts. My clinical approach is also informed by polyvagal theory and what we know about the mind-body connection, neurobiology, attachment, and ego states. I 'grew up' in the cognitive-behavioral therapy tradition, and I utilize pieces of this approach when clinically indicated. We will choose a mix of techniques and frameworks that are most beneficial for you.

Imagine being able to save yourself weeks or even months of therapy, achieving results more quickly while also enjoying the compounding effect of your breakthroughs in a much shorter period of time. EMDR intensives are personalized treatment plans that allow you to skip the waitlist by giving you faster access to select spots, and are designed to support your preferred schedule and timeline for your treatment goals. Learn more about the benefits of working intensively here

Effective January 1, 2022, under Section 2799B-6 of the Public Health Service Act (the “No Surprises Act”), you have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate of how much your medical and mental health care will cost.

Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the expected charges for medical services, including psychotherapy services.

You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency healthcare services, including psychotherapy services.

You can ask your health care provider, and any other provider you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule a service.

If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill. Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate.

For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit: www.cms.gov/nosurprises.