Yes! We can meet online as long as you are physically located in DC, Maryland, or Pennsylvania, and have a private space available during our meeting times.

Yep, we can meet at my office in Columbia Heights in DC (close to the green line). I will share the address if we are scheduling an in-person appt.

I meet with most new clients on a weekly basis for a few weeks, and then we decide together if we should be meeting more/less frequently.

As of Oct 2024, session fees are as follows (please note that session fees increase yearly on Aug 1):

• Intake sessions (CPT 90791) - $175, typically 45-60 min

• Regular sessions (CPT 90834) - $175, typically 40-52 min

• Disentangle group class for OCD (CPT code 90853) - $75 per session, billed in 6-week cycles for $450 (please note that sliding scale is available for this group, please enquire for details).

If you live in Maryland, recent legislation says that most private health insurance plans (ie, not Medicaid) should cover services with out-of-network providers if an in-network provider does not have availability within 10 days. (Read more here: https://www.mdcoalition.org/if-you-have-private-health-insurance-you-need-to-know-about-this-new-law/ .) If you’ve been looking for an in-network with provider with no luck, I strongly encourage you to

1. learn your rights (see above),

2. document who you’ve reached out to, and how long of a wait it would be to be scheduled (if you were offered an appointment at all),

3. advocate for yourself with your carrier - follow the instructions at https://insurance.maryland.gov/Consumer/Pages/Commercial-Carrier-Process-to-Request-a-Referral-to-a-Specialist-or-Non-Physician-Specialist.aspx .

I am an Out of Network (OON) provider with all insurances, which means that payment will be charged at the time of services. I will provide a superbill in your client portal for any sessions we have, which you may choose to submit to your insurance company for reimbursement of services.

Please read on in the questions below for more about the reimbursement process and affordability.

If you have a PPO/POS plan, you may wish to ask:

• How many sessions can be covered per year?

• What reimbursement is available for intakes (CPT code 90791), individual sessions (CPT codes 90837, 90834) and group sessions (CPT code 90853)?

• Do different diagnosis codes have different stipulations for how many sessions can be covered? (example: GAD is F41.1, adjustment disorders F43.2, please ask Emily if you would like to know yours)

• What is my deductible? Do I need to meet my deductible before I can be reimbursed for sessions with an Out of Network (OON) provider?

• How do I submit a superbill?

Select an insurance plan that has out-of-network benefits for mental health care during open enrollment, or during any significant life change that allows you to change insurance plans (such as changing jobs). These are typically PPO or other non-HMO plans. HMO plans generally do not cover Out of Network (OON) treatment.

If you can only afford an HMO plan, or if you want to try to get higher reimbursement from your PPO/other plan, you may be able to seek a special exemption (often called a network gap exemption or a single case agreement) if you have a more unique disorder (such as OCD or an ED, or several co-occurring disorders), as there are very few providers who take insurance on an in-network basis and treat these conditions (even more so in DC than in Md/Pa). You can learn more about this process here: 

Getting your insurance company to pay for out-of-network treatment:

• https://soartogether.net/2021/03/22/insurance-ocd/

• https://www.groundworkcounseling.com/ocd/getting-your-insurance-to-pay-for-effective-ocd-treatment/

I offer sliding scale spots in my group class, Disentangle, which treats OCD. Please email me at emily@emily-star.com to learn more about the next cycle of this class.

I offer individual pro-bono services for Maryland-based clients via https://www.probonocounseling.org/. As of Jan 2025, these slots are full; however, I am sometimes able to help connect folks to other providers, and you are welcome to email me using the form at the bottom of this page.

Good to know: for folks in Md and DC, Mary’s Center takes multiple insurances for behavioral health care. For queer folx in DC, Whitman-Walker has individual and group therapy.