FAQ For Equilibria Mental Health Services
How Do I Get Started?
You can either email us through our contact us form or call our office at 267-861-3685, option 1. Our team of Referral Coordinators will guide you through the process from start to finish. They will hear from you about what is bringing you in, ask about your scheduling preferences and help identify a therapist who is a good fit for you, verify your insurance benefits and that we are in-network with your insurance, and schedule your first appointment. Our goal is to make finding the right therapist and getting started with therapy as easy and stress-free as possible.
What is Your Fee?
If you are using insurance, your copay, co-insurance, and/or deductible (if any) is decided by your insurance company. We do not have a say in deciding those amounts.
If you are paying out-of-pocket (or using out-of-network benefits), our current rates are:
INDIVIDUAL/FAMILY THERAPY: $195.00 per 50-minute session ($225 for initial appointment).
GROUP THERAPY: $50.00-75.00 per group session.
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION: Psychological assessment and evaluation varies depending on testing/evaluation requirements. Please contact us to discuss your testing/evaluation needs.
We may be able to offer a sliding scale for people with financial hardships. Please call us at 267-861-3685 x1 or email us at Info@EquilibriaPCS.com to inquire.
What Insurances Do You Accept?
We are in-network with many insurance plans including:
- Aetna (includes some Meritain, Coresource, and Trustmark plans)
- Highmark (includes most of the BCBS out of state plans, like BCBS of Illinois, Horizon of NJ, Capital Blue, etc.)
- IBX/IBC (includes Personal Choice, Amerihealth, Amerihealth Administrators, Keystone Health Plan East and many Independence Administrator plans)
- Medicare
- Imagine Health
- Geisinger Health Plan
Our team of Referral Coordinators will collect your insurance information to confirm that we are in-network and determine your financial responsibility (outlined in your insurance plan). We also recommend that you check with your individual health insurance provider to confirm your mental health benefits and whether Equilibria is in-network with your plan. If we are not in-network, you should ask whether you have out-of-network benefits for mental health care. If so, a portion of the cost you pay out of pocket for our services may be reimbursed to you by your insurance company. This allows people to be able to work with the provider of their choosing, rather than being limited to stay within their insurance network.
To make using out-of-network benefits easier, Equilibria is able to submit statements to your insurance company directly, meaning you don’t have to do any extra paperwork to use your out-of-network benefits here. Reimbursement from your insurance carrier for money you have already paid to us for your treatment should be sent to you directly. Please contact our billing manager about any questions you may have regarding filing with your insurance company. For your records, always keep copies of your statements and claims that are sent into your insurance company.
Clients must pay for services at the beginning end of each session or assessment service.
Can I use my HSA or FSA card to pay for treatment?
Yes. We accept HSA and FSA cards as a form of payment. However, it is important to note that HSA and FSA cards can only be used to pay for therapy services provided. Clients must place a credit card on file to pay for charges such as no-show or late cancellation fees.
Are video / virtual / telehealth appointments offered?
Yes, many of our therapists offer appointments via video. You’ll also often hear these referred to as virtual or telehealth appointments. Nearly all insurance plans cover video sessions and in-person appointments. For some insurance plans, video appointment copays are lower or waived completely.
How soon can I get an appointment?
We try to make sure that we have immediate availability for new referrals to meet with a therapist within a week. However, it may take longer to get an appointment depending on your therapist preferences and scheduling availability. Because we value serving our community, all of our therapists provide evening and/or weekend appointments. However, because evening and weekend appointments are most in demand, the wait for these appointments may be longer. We also encourage clients to consider if a regular day-time appointment may be viable.
I Have a Very Busy Schedule, Are Your Hours Flexible?
Absolutely. We understand that family obligations and responsibilities can be difficult and time demanding. Therefore, we work with you to find appointment times that fit into your demanding schedule. Most Equilibria therapists have evening and/or weekend hours.
What Kind of Therapy Do You Offer?
We offer several different types of therapy to meet our clients’ needs. Below is a brief description of some of the therapy that we offer:
INDIVIDUAL THERAPY: Individual therapy is one-on-one therapy that prioritizes the needs and goals of the person in therapy. Individual therapy can be helpful to address a range of concerns from temporary or mild problems to issues of a more severe or complex nature.
FAMILY THERAPY: Family therapy focuses the therapy on the family as the identified client, rather than an individual. Family therapy helps family members find constructive ways to communicate, problem solve, and understand each other and family relationship patterns.
COUPLES THERAPY/RELATIONSHIP COUNSELING: When people join together as part of an intimate relationship, challenges may arise as they strive to attain and maintain satisfaction in their relationship. The relationship counseling experience is aimed at increasing empathetic understanding, improving effective communication, and providing an opportunity for mutual growth in your relationship. Equilibria’s couples counselors include those who are queer and poly affirming.
GROUP THERAPY: Group therapy can be beneficial because it allows people to learn from and benefit from the experiences and feedback of their peers in addition to the lead of the group. Group therapy can increase a person’s support and also helps people problem-solve with others and strengthen interpersonal skills.
PLAY THERAPY: Play therapy is one type of therapy for children offered by Equilibria. Play therapy allows children to express their feelings and thoughts in a way that is best suited to their developmental level. By allowing children to play in a safe environment with a trained therapist, children can learn to cope in more adaptive ways and to work through problems and decision-making. Play therapy helps children learn to express their feelings, improve their communication skills, modify problematic behavior, learn different ways to relate to others, and develop more successful coping and problem solving strategies. Click this link to find out what other types of child therapy Equilibria offers: https://equilibriapcs.com/child-adolescent-therapy-center-of-excellence/
What happens during my first therapy appointment?
Your first appointment is an opportunity for you and your therapist to get to know each other and begin understanding what brings you into therapy. Your therapist will ask about your goals for therapy and about your history and current circumstances. There will be some administrative components to your first appointment, including briefly reviewing some important policy information. You’ll also have an opportunity to ask questions to your therapist and share what you hope to get out of therapy.
How Long Are Sessions?
How long are sessions?
Individual sessions are usually 50-55 minutes long. Family, child, and group session duration depend on the needs of the children and families involved. Assessments and evaluations vary a great deal with regard to time, depending on the needs of the individual(s) being assessed or evaluated.
How Many Sessions Does Therapy Usually Last?
The length of therapy depends on your goals, needs, and preferences. At the beginning of treatment, you and your therapist will work together to understand what you want to accomplish and figure out what approach will be most helpful.
Some problems and issues tend to be resolved in a short period of time. Many of our clients come for brief therapy and complete treatment in fewer than 15 sessions.
Many clients also benefit from longer-term therapy due to the complexity of the problems they are addressing in therapy. Some clients prefer a long-term approach for reasons other than the complexity of their problems, more deeply and thoroughly exploring a specific issue or making therapy part of their general approach to care and well-being.
Your therapist will discuss your goals, needs, and preferences with you and will work together to design appropriate treatment services.
How Will I Know That Therapy is Working for Me?
Research has consistently shown that psychotherapy is beneficial in many ways for many different types of challenges and issues. Each client’s needs and goals for therapy are different. You and your therapist should discuss your own goals for therapy and how you will assess your progress periodically. If the style of therapy you are receiving or the way you and your therapist are working together does not seem to be effective for you, your therapist will discuss other options or referrals that may be a better fit.
Can I switch if the therapist isn’t a good fit?
Yes. You deserve a therapist who is a good fit for you. We believe that for therapy to be effective, it is very important that you feel comfortable with your therapist and confident in their ability to help you. If you do not think that your therapist is the right fit for you, please discuss this with your therapist. They will not be hurt or offended, we all know that no therapist is a good fit for everyone. Their job is to support you to find the best care for you and they can make recommendations for other therapists in the practice who may be a better fit for you.
Is Therapy Confidential?
Therapy is confidential. No information about you or your treatment will be shared with anyone without your written consent. However, there are a few exceptions to confidentiality. If the therapist learns that a child has been or is currently being abused, by law the therapist must make a report to Child Protective Services. Also, if someone is in danger of hurting themselves or others, the therapist must take necessary precautions to keep them safe, which could include alerting emergency services.
Will I Be Allowed to Know What My Child Says in Treatment?
It is important to keep information in the child sessions confidential whenever possible. This assists with trust and allows your child to be comfortable sharing, which is especially true with teenagers. However, we are legally obligated to share with parents any cases of children being hurt or wanting to hurt themselves or someone else. We do our best to encourage and support children and teens to be honest with their caregivers regarding things that are bothering them in order to help facilitate growth.
How Do I Contact My Therapist?
For scheduling, you can email your therapist directly with the email address provided when you schedule. Clients may also communicate with their therapist through a secure patient portal. Each therapist has their own voice mailbox that is confidential. If you need to leave a message for your therapist, call the main number (267-861-3685) and then follow the prompts to leave your therapist a voicemail. Remember to always leave your telephone number even if you think your therapist may have it.
