If you decide to work with Sparrow Counseling, we want you to know that we want to provide you with the best services possible. We take our job very seriously as well as your care. Our specialties include individual counseling, marriage counseling and couples therapy, discernment or pre divorce counseling, divorce counseling, coparenting counseling, blended family counseling, and reunification therapy.
Here are our rates below:
$175-300 for a 55-minute session depending on the therapist you use
$275/hour for Court-related work like Reunification Therapy
Divorce Mediation or Modification to a Parenting Plan includes $275/hour with coparenting counselor
$275/hour for a Co-Parenting Counseling (individual or child session). Joint sessions are $175/coparent or $350/joint coparenting session.
Payment
Payment is due at the beginning of each session. We accept checks, cash, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and a Health Savings Card.
Cancellation Policy
If you are unable to attend a session, please make sure you cancel at least 48 hours beforehand. You will be charged for the full rate of the session if you cancel with less than 48 hours notice. All no-show appointments will be charged the full rate of the session.
We understand that life happens and there are times when you simply cannot make an appointment. However, a cancelled appointment hurts three people: you, your therapist, and another client who could have potentially used your time slot. When a session is cancelled without much notice, we are unable to fill this time slot by offering it to another client.
Insurance
Sparrow Counseling is Out of Network with your insurance company.
At this time, Sparrow Counseling therapists do not work directly with insurance companies, though some insurance companies will reimburse our clients a portion of what they pay for counseling services.
Why don’t we bill insurance directly?
At Sparrow Counseling, we believe our clients have the right to grow and change at their own pace and in the safety of our counseling offices. We know how brave it is to make the first call for counseling and how vulnerable it can be to come to counseling. This is why we deeply believe that our client’s counseling experience should have the highest level of confidentiality. Since we opened in 2016, we have never directly billed insurance. This may sound strange but providing quality care that is confidential and set at the pace both client and counselor decide is at the core of how we believe therapy should be done. Here are a few reasons why we don't take insurance:
It is not confidential
If we bill insurance so you can be reimbursed for our services, insurance companies require is to use an Electronic Medical Records system. According to hippajournal.com, “It [2021] has also been a particularly bad year in terms of the number of breached healthcare records….[they were] 44,993,618 healthcare records have been exposed or stolen, which makes 2021 the second-worst year in terms of breached healthcare records.” Every time we disclose information to a 3rd party like an insurance company, there is a greater chance that your confidential information will be breached. Also, if you or your child eventually needs a federal background check, wants to be a pilot, or for several other reasons, a diagnosis can be disclosed through your insurance company. We want you to feel safe and know what you say here, stays here.
2. You need a diagnosis
When counselors file with insurance, the insurance companies require us to give them a diagnosis. Even if it doesn't fit, we are required to give a diagnosis. For example, in marriage counseling insurance companies require us to choose an identified patient, so we are forced to choose which person in the couple gets an official diagnosis. And just like we stated above, we don't believe a mental health diagnosis should follow you throughout your life. Why? Because we know people can grow and change and should not be locked into a label of a diagnosis.
3. Our time is focused on giving you the best care
Getting credentialed with insurance companies is a several-month-long process with tons of paperwork. Each insurance company has its own lengthy sets of paperwork for credentialing that a therapist must fill out to be included with their company. The process of billing insurance also takes several hours a week by sending them documentation or spending hours on the phone getting clarification of eligibility from them. By not having to worry about accurately completing paperwork means that we can devote our time to giving you the best possible care. We can spend our time looking for resources, responding to your emails, and learning the newest research-based techniques to better serve you. We want our focus to be on giving our clients the best quality of care rather than filling out paperwork or waiting on the phone for insurance companies.
4. Insurance companies tell us how to do our job (or how to decide your treatment)
It may sound crazy, but insurance companies will actually dictate to us how they want us to treat you. They determine the number of sessions and the frequency that you may come in. We believe that the client and the therapist should decide which treatment will work best. If you are dealing with the death of a loved one or contemplating telling your children about your divorce, it may be helpful for you to see your therapist twice a week. When insurance companies are involved, they can dictate what they are willing to pay. This is crazy to us! They have never met you and don't know your full story but if we use insurance then they get to tell us how you should be treated! We are fiercely protective of our client’s freedom to choose what is best for their mental health along with the guidance of their therapist.
By not using insurance, we can customize together with your treatment plan and goals. So, if you are having a difficult week and need a 90-minute session rather than a 55-minute session, we have the ability to do that without having to check in with anyone else. It is common for our clients to need to customize their session times based on their needs and their schedules. We want the freedom to allow us to be able to do that to better serve our clients.
We see counseling as an investment and believe that your mental health is worth every dollar!
Let’s think about how your life can be different when you finish therapy?
Think about if you meet your goals in therapy how will you feel different? What if you felt more peace and less anxiety? What if you have better communication and intimacy with your spouse? You have moments that you actually feel seen by them! What if counseling gives you tools to connect with your children in meaningful ways and you create some memories for you and your children that will survive forever. Can you put a price tag on that? We don't think so. We deeply believe in the service we provide.
You may be wondering why counseling is so expensive and thinking that your therapist must be making a ton of money. But that just isn't true. Counselors make very little when all is said and done. There are many expenses that come with running a counseling practice like marketing, taxes, office space, supplies, and continuing education. We often spend a lot of time outside of sessions answering emails, learning new ways to help our clients, consulting with other professionals, or reading books or articles that may be relevant to your care.
We believe your care is worth the investment. Just like you would want to see the best doctor if you had cancer or have the best teacher if your child had a learning disability, we know you want to find the best emotional and financial fit for your mental health needs. But ultimately, you know your budgets and your own needs better than we do. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to ask.
Questions to Ask Your Insurance Company before starting therapy:
Depending on your current health insurance provider, it is possible for services to be covered in full or in part, and many of our clients do get reimbursed. Please contact your insurance provider directly to verify how your plan compensates for Out of Network psychotherapy services. Some of our clients reported that nearly all of their services were covered while others have had very little covered by insurance. We always recommend calling before your first appointment so there are no surprises down the road.
If you plan to try to get reimbursed down the road, we always recommend that you call your insurance company PRIOR to your first appointment and ask some or all of the questions below. In the Birmingham area, we've found that insurance coverage for out-of-network benefits varies greatly. Several of our clients have insurance that will cover 75% or more of their expenses after a small copay with a very easy process. Other clients have excellent insurance but have to jump through a million hoops to be reimbursed and then others have plans that have super high deductibles before the insurance will reimburse you at all.
Here are some questions you may ask your insurance company:
Does my health insurance plan include out-of-network mental health benefits?
Do I have a deductible? If so, what is it?
How much of my deductible has already been met?
What is my policy period? Is it Jan 1- Dec 31 or something else like June 1-May 31?
Do I need preauthorization to be reimbursed for out-of-network mental health services? If so, what is the process for obtaining preauthorization?
What percentage or amount of my care will be covered after I’ve met the deductible?
*Are specific diagnoses required for me to be reimbursed?
Does my plan limit how many sessions per calendar year I can have? If so, what is the limit?
Do I need written approval from my primary care physician in order for services to be covered?
What credentials does a provider need to have in order to be reimbursed or is it possible to be reimbursed for a provisionally licensed therapist or counselor-in-training who is properly supervised? (Some of our counselors have an ALC or MFTA. While many insurance companies do reimburse for their services, some do not)
What percentage of my out-of-network mental health services will be covered if I submit a Superbill? Is there anything else I will need to submit with the Superbill?
How do I get reimbursed for out-of-network mental health services?
How often should I submit a Superbill, what is the process for submitting that and how long will it take for me to be reimbursed?
How do I submit for reimbursement?
How long do I have to submit my Superbill? Like 30 days, 60 days, 90 days?
***After gathering this information, we recommend you ask for a confirmation number and the name of the person giving you this information.***
*If your insurance company says certain diagnoses are not reimbursed or that you aren’t reimbursed for working with a provisionally licensed (ALC, MFTA, LMFT) clinician, please let us know at the start of treatment.
Good Faith Estimate
You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining 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 https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises.
You will be provided a Good Faith Estimate when you sign up for services and any other time you request one, including before signing up for services. We recommend at least 3 sessions, the average number of sessions for our practice is 12, and the exact number you will need depends on your individual circumstances and needs.
Any Other Questions??
Please contact our Client Care Coordinator at hello@sparrowcounsel.com for any additional questions you may have. We look forward to hearing from you!
Our specialties include individual counseling, marriage counseling and couples therapy, discernment or pre divorce counseling, divorce counseling, co-parenting counseling, blended family counseling, and reunification therapy.
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