Rates & Insurance

At Aspire Counseling, we believe that you should be able to grow and change in a safe environment. At the core, counseling can be a vulnerable experience. That’s why we fiercely protect our client’s confidentiality and goals for growth. Since we opened our Columbia, MO office in 2017, we have never directly billed insurance. This may seem odd, but since a core value of ours is confidentiality and doing what’s in the best interest of our clients, we continue this. Here are a few reasons we do it:

Insurance companies require us to use an Electronic Medical Records system if we take insurance. Last year alone, the Department of Health and Human Services recorded 24,000 HIPAA violations. Over time we disclose information to a 3rd party insurance or technology company, there is increased risk to your information being out there. As well, if you or your child eventually needs a federal background check, wants to be a pilot, or a variety of other reasons, a diagnosis can be disclosed through your insurance company. We want you to feel safe to open up in your therapy sessions knowing that what you say in the office will stay between you and your therapist.

In order to have insurance cover counseling, we have to diagnose you. Even if it’s not appropriate, there has to be a diagnosis. For example, if a couple comes in for counseling, for it to be covered, one person has to have a label. Similar to reason one, we don’t think you should have a mental health diagnosis on your permanent medical record. To us, everyone should have access to counseling. We can all use a little help! We want you to get help without having to have a diagnosis!

Insurance companies decide treatment. They determine the number of sessions and the frequency. We believe this should be you and your therapist’s choice. Sometimes you need shorter sessions or longer ones. Maybe you need them 2x per week or once per month. When an insurance company is involved, they can dictate what they are willing to pay for so in effect someone who has never met you before is deciding whether or not they feel you need a specific treatment. Our clients enjoy the freedom to choose what is best for their mental health along with their therapist.

For example, sometimes a client has something happen after they’ve already met with their therapist that week. When this happens, you can call your therapist and schedule another appointment without worrying if insurance will cover it.  If you need 60 minute appointments instead of the standard 45 minutes, you talk to your therapist and make it work.  It’s actually pretty common for our clients to need 60 or 90 minute sessions to get the most out of our work together, particularly if they are participating in trauma therapy.

At Aspire, you and your counselor base your treatment on what you need-not what someone sitting in an office in another state feels like you should need.  We’re able to make any adjustments to your treatment quickly if something in your life change. For instance, if you are coming for anxiety but suddenly lose a family member we can adjust our work to focus on the grief.  We want you to get the best quality of counseling treatment!

First of all, think for a moment what a difference counseling can make in your life.  How will life be different when you finish therapy?  Think about how you'll feel more confident, more at peace and more clear in the direction you want to take in life.  When you're feeling less stressed and are making movement in your life consistent with your deepest values you'll be more productive and not only mentally fit, but you'll likely notice a positive effect on your physical health as well.  Can you put a price tag on that emotional freedom?

You may be asking why counseling services are so expensive.  But contrary to how it may seem, counselors actually make relatively little when all is said and done.  There are many expenses that come with a counseling practice and we often spend a lot of time outside of sessions answering your e-mails, researching new ways to help you, consulting with other professionals or reading books about topics relevant to your care.  The truth is that if we were spending hours every single week billing insurance or charged you such a low fee that we had to see twice the number of clients, we wouldn't have time for all of those extra things that ensure you have the best possible care.

We believe you are worth investing in.  Just like you want the best doctor when you have a physical illness, you want to find the right fit to treat your emotional and mental health concerns as well.  But ultimately, you know your own needs and budgets the best.  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us and ask!

https://app.mentaya.com/p/nckNHHUQpUSl9myLthYn