Many couples seeking marriage counseling want to know if their insurance company will cover the cost. Using your insurance benefits can make sense. Knowing what your coverage entails is important. Not every policy is the same. Understanding your unique coverage can make a difference in whether or not you decide to pursue marriage counseling. It is also important to understand the pros and cons of using your insurance company to pay for marriage counseling.

The most significant reason for using your insurance company for marriage counseling is the cost. If you elect to use your insurance company you may have some or all of your sessions covered. This is certainly worth exploring. Before you decide to pursue that route; however, there are some cons you should consider.

Some of the factors involving the cons for using your insurance company are the following:

Confidentiality

When you elect to use your insurance benefits to pay for marriage counseling some of your information may be disclosed. To some people this may be concerning, especially when there is personal and confidential information involved (i.e., affairs, substance abuse, sexuality).

Psychiatric Diagnosis

Many insurance companies do not cover the cost of marriage counseling. Although this may be surprising, many simply do not. Most insurance companies require a psychiatric diagnosis for coverage. In many cases in order to have your marriage counseling covered by insurance either you or your spouse must meet the criteria for a mental health diagnosis (i.e., Adjustment Disorder, an anxiety disorder, depressive disorder).

What this means is that there will be a psychiatric diagnosis given and it will be on your record. For many, this does not present an issue; however, for some high-level professionals or those in certain industries (i.e., medical professionals, attorneys, individuals with security clearances) may want to keep their counseling private and confidential.

Pathologizing One Spouse

Another concern has to do with one person being singled out and given a psychiatric disorder. This may present some challenges for counseling especially when one person is considered the identified patient and the very reason they are in counseling may be due to the difficulties within the relationship. The implication is that one client may be emotionally better off than the other spouse, when in reality the presenting issues have to do with both spouses (i.e., emotional disconnect, ineffective communication, high conflict).

Therapy Session Limitations

Another important consideration has to do with limited therapy when using your insurance company. Many plans cover only a certain amount of therapy sessions. If your marriage is in dire need of help you may require more therapy than your insurance company provides. With this type of treatment plan the insurance company limits what they believe sufficient to cover your marriage counseling needs.

Limited Access to the Best Marriage Counselor

One of the most important considerations for therapy is finding the best qualified therapist you feel you can trust and who has a specialty working with couples and marriages. Often times insurance companies contract with therapists who may or may not have the training or expertise that you deem important.

The decision to pursue marriage counseling is very important. Most do so, because their marriage needs help or it is in trouble. When you are looking for a heart surgeon you do your research. You want to find the best and most qualified. In like regard, when looking for someone to help you with your emotionally broken or troubled heart you will want to find the best trained marriage therapist. What people often fail to recognize is that the investment in a highly trained marriage therapist may change the trajectory of the marriage for the better and hopefully ward off the devastating emotional and financial repercussions of divorce. This can be worth its weight in gold.

Working with Dr. Angela Bisignano

Dr. Angela Bisignano is here for you. Her desire is to help you live your best life, including having the best possible relationship you can. She wants to see your marriage thrive.

If you decide to use your insurance benefits Dr. Bisignano can help you with this while also protecting your privacy. She does this by being an out-of-network provider. Dr. Bisignano will provide you with a superbill (an invoice for your insurance company). The information contained includes your diagnosis and your session date(s). There will be no additional detailed information included on your superbill. You can then submit your superbill for reimbursement.

The next step would be to call your insurance company and find out what your policy includes. You can check out Dr. Bisignano’s 5-Step Insurance Guide to assist you in this process.

If you decide not to use your insurance company because of privacy or other reasons you can still request an invoice for services. If you need additional information you can speak with Dr. Bisignano.

Dr. Bisignano specializes in marriage and couples counseling. She uses the most effective and evidence-based marriage strategies. Besides holding a doctorate in clinical psychology, Dr. Bisignano utilizes the Gottman Method in her work. Dr. John Gottman has over 40 years of couples research. Dr. Bisignano’s approach to working with couples is also influenced by attachment theory and interpersonal neurobiology.

When choosing your marriage counselor it is always a good idea to speak with at least two therapists to see who is most qualified, trained and who you feel you can trust. If you want to find out more about how Dr. Bisignano works with couples, call today for a complimentary 15 minute consultation or request an appointment online.

Ph. (424) 206-9055Book Online • • •