Fee

I offer free 20-30 minute phone consultations in order to hear what your challenge is and assess if we might be a match.  510-686-3390  or schedule a time online.

Fee:  My fee is higher than average.  I have heavily invested in myself with literally thousands of hours of trainings and consultation groups.  For many clients, my work is much more quickly effective than typical talk therapy.  And  please feel free to email me to find out what it is now.   todd@toddharveymft.com

Cancellation Policy:  I have a 7 day cancellation policy.  You can reschedule for anytime in the same calendar week, and if you don’t, I have one “freebie”, otherwise, I charge for the session.

Same Day Appointment:  My online schedule does not allow you to sign up for same day appointments.  If you are time sensitive, do not hesitate to give me a call at 510-686-3390 or email me at todd@toddharveymft.com  If there is a slot, I can let you know.

Payment Method:  Paypal Friends Mode, Venmo, or Zelle

Insurance:  I am not on any insurance panels.  I do not work directly with insurance companies, however I am happy to provide a monthly statement for PPO reimbursement.

Flexible Spending Account (FSA)  If you have a health care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) though your employer, the cost of psychotherapy may be an eligible reimbursable expense. Check with your employer’s Summary Plan Description for more information.  Often they do cover psychotherapy.

Why I am not on any insurance panels:  I do not work with insurance companies for four reasons:
1)  Most of the lists are filled.  Insurance companies do no quality control other than affirming you’ve a license.  They often underpay the therapists that are “in network” which can create an incentive to filter out higher quality therapists.   
2)  Insurance companies typically make me categorize you as disordered in order to provide coverage.  Most of my clients, I do not see as “disordered”.  I see them suffering from normal responses to mal-adaptive circumstances that get stuck.
3)  The paperwork is a pain in the butt.  They often make me categorize the client every few weeks and make ridiculous statements like, “the patient is 55% better this week.”  In reality, therapy does not work like that.
4)  Unless you’ve amazing insurance, I recommend not using it for mental health.  My fear is that insurance companies will use the fact that you went to therapy against you in the future by raising your rates (seeing you as a higher risk).  I think this is unfair.  They may think that because you struggle with a life transition or need some assistance in enhancing your relationship that you will be a expensive client over your life.  I personally have always paid out of pocket in order to keep future medical insurance bills lower.