Fees & Insurance
Transparent pricing. No surprises. No proof of hardship required.
We know that looking at a fees page can bring up a lot — especially if you’ve been burned by confusing billing, insurance denials, or having to justify why you need care. This page is designed to give you everything you need to make a clear-eyed decision.
We are a private-pay, out-of-network practice by design. Payment is accepted through IvyPay using any major credit card, HSA, or FSA card. Select a service below for full rates, payment options, and service-specific details.
CLINICAL SERVICES
Provided by licensed clinicians. Therapy sessions may be eligible for out-of-network insurance reimbursement via superbill.
Psychotherapy Services
Ongoing, neuroaffirming mental health care for children (10+), teens, and adults — paced to clinical need, not billing cycles.
Autism & ADHD Diagnostic Evaluations
Comprehensive, identity-affirming assessments for children (10+), teens, and adults — delivered with care, not gatekeeping.
NON-CLINICAL SERVICES
Provided by trained coaches and advocates. Not therapy or medical care. Not eligible for insurance reimbursement or superbills. Available nationwide.
Recovery Coaching
Real-time, practical eating disorder recovery support for teens (16+) and adults — in the kitchen, the grocery store, the hard moments between sessions. Available nationwide.
Advocacy Services
Time-limited or ongoing navigation of complex medical, educational, and treatment systems — because you shouldn't have to fight these battles alone. Available nationwide.
PRICING AS PRAXIS
Why We Do Things Differently
If you’ve ever looked at a private-pay practice’s fees and thought “I can’t afford that” or “why isn’t this covered” — we want to address that directly. Here’s how we think about pricing, and why.
Why our rates are what they are
Our rates reflect the actual cost of neuroaffirming, trauma-informed care — not just session time, but the training, consultation, supervision, and secure infrastructure that make each session possible. They also reflect a deliberate choice to maintain a small caseload, so each clinician can stay fully present with the people they work with.
High-volume practices can offer lower per-session rates because they’re seeing significantly more clients. We’ve made a different trade-off: fewer clients, more depth, more sustainable care. That’s not a luxury — it’s a clinical decision.
Why therapy uses tiered pricing instead of a sliding scale
Traditional sliding scales often require you to prove financial hardship or accept a rate your clinician assigns. That dynamic can reproduce exactly the kind of shame and power imbalance that good therapy is meant to help dismantle.
Our tiered model is built on trust. You look at the tiers, you choose the rate that honestly fits your current capacity, and that’s it. No documentation, no interrogation, no hierarchy of who deserves access.
Some clients need accessible rates to make care possible. Some can pay the full cost. Some choose to contribute more, which helps expand access for others. This isn’t unlimited — availability at each tier depends on practice capacity at any given time — but it’s a more honest and equitable structure than most alternatives.
Tiered pricing is available for psychotherapy only. See therapy fees →
Why we're private pay and out-of-network
Insurance reimbursement systems were built around neurotypical trajectories — predictable timelines, standardized presentations, diagnostic categories that assume a certain kind of progress. For neurodivergent people, that model often fails from the start.
When insurance is involved, it’s insurance companies — not you, not your clinician — who determine what’s “medically necessary,” what diagnostic language gets used, and how long care can continue. Those decisions get made by people who have never met you, based on criteria that may not reflect how you actually experience distress or progress.
Being private pay allows us to protect your diagnostic autonomy, avoid pathologizing language required purely for reimbursement, and pace care to what you actually need — not what a utilization review will authorize. That’s a real clinical benefit, not just a business preference.
If you have out-of-network benefits, you may be able to get partial reimbursement for therapy sessions through a superbill. Details on CPT codes, superbill processes, and Good Faith Estimates are on the therapy fees page. Evaluations, coaching, and advocacy are not eligible for insurance reimbursement.
What our founder learned from insurance panels — and why they left
Jenna Stone, LCSW-C, spent time on insurance panels earlier in their career and watched firsthand how reimbursement structures shape clinical work — not just documentation, but session frequency, diagnostic framing, and ultimately the quality of presence a clinician can offer.
The decision to move away from panels was grounded in two things: protecting the integrity of care, and preventing burnout. Insurance-based models depend on high-volume caseloads to be financially sustainable. Burned-out clinicians can’t offer the attunement that meaningful therapy requires. Sustainability isn’t a luxury — it’s what makes good care possible over time.
What we do when cost is still a barrier
We don’t believe that “I can’t afford this” should be the end of the conversation. If cost is a genuine barrier, we welcome a real conversation — no proof of hardship, no judgment.
A limited number of community-supported spots are available for therapy. For evaluations, interest-free 3-month installment plans are available to make a comprehensive assessment more financially manageable. See evaluation fees →
We also reject models that create the appearance of affordability by relying on clinician overwork or underpayment. Burnout-based accessibility ultimately harms everyone it claims to serve.
Why financial transparency is part of our clinical values
You can’t make an informed decision about your care without knowing what it costs and why. That’s not just a courtesy — it’s part of informed consent. Each service fee page includes current rates, payment options, and where applicable, superbill and out-of-network reimbursement information.
We encourage you to review that information and bring any questions into a conversation with us. Clarity up front is better than surprises later.
Your Right To a Good Faith Estimate
All services at Side Quest Psychotherapy are paid out of pocket at the time of care. Under the federal No Surprises Act, you have the right to receive a written Good Faith Estimate of expected charges before starting services — regardless of whether you plan to seek out-of-network reimbursement.
A Good Faith Estimate outlines the anticipated cost of your care based on your individual needs and frequency. It’s not a bill or a binding contract — it’s a transparency tool so you can make informed decisions and avoid unexpected costs.
You’ll receive a personalized estimate as part of the intake process, and you’re welcome to request one at any time. Estimates typically cover your initial session, ongoing sessions at the frequency you and your clinician discuss, and any additional services you opt into — such as documentation, extended communication, or between-session support.
If you receive a bill $400 or more above your Good Faith Estimate, you have the right to dispute it. Keep a copy of your estimate for your records. For more information, visit cms.gov/nosurprises or call 1-800-985-3059.
❝Investing in your mental health isn’t a luxury. It’s the infrastructure everything else is built on.❞
Ready to invest in your mental health?
Your brain deserves a good match. Book a free 15-minute consultation — we’ll talk through fit, fees, and what working together could actually look like.