Does Insurance Cover Mental Health Therapy? How to Know if You Have Comprehensive Healthcare
10 Minutes
Team Curative
May 23, 2024
The key to balancing a successful career with a fulfilling personal life is prioritizing your mental health. And the best affordable health insurance companies can help you remove barriers to accessing mental health care.
Even with all the advancements in mental health care and medicine, many people still feel a stigma around pursuing mental health resources or even simply drawing boundaries that allow for better personal care for mental health.
It doesn’t have to be that way anymore. Many people with successful careers have admitted they needed help integrating their mental health into their overall wellness.
One of the easiest ways to improve mental health is with the help of a therapist. While there are many misconceptions surrounding it, therapy is simply a support tool for anyone who wants to prioritize mental health and the best health insurance companies will cover it.
Even if you think your insurance covers therapy, knowing what treatment you can access and your portion of the cost is essential.
How much does therapy cost out of pocket?
Alongside social stigma, cost is a significant barrier to accessing mental health care. Among the costs are initial evaluations, therapy visits, screening for conditions, and sometimes medications.
Individual therapy sessions
The average out-of-pocket cost for therapy is $100 to $200, but that varies by state and insurance coverage. For instance, some insurance companies have so few in-network providers that patients pay full price for going out-of-network. Some of the best health insurance companies offer $0 therapy visits and $0 in-network medicines.
Psychiatrist and psychiatric sessions
Treatment with psychiatrists typically ranges from $150 to $300 per hour in addition to any needed medication they prescribe.
Outpatient programs for psychiatric care average between $100 to $500 a day. For inpatient care, psychiatric treatment can range between $1,000 to $2,000 daily and will vary depending on the level of care and location.
When should I seek out therapy?
Many people perceive therapy to be a treatment for specific issues or a last-ditch effort to treat severe mental illness. But that’s not the case.
Some forms of therapy, like basic talk therapy, can be seen as preventive care. Therapists can help patients process underlying stressors or give them some tools and exercises to use throughout the course of their day.
Another common misconception is that a company’s HR department will penalize or flag employees who utilize mental health care services, which is also untrue.
Research from the American Psychiatric Association reveals that most patients who receive a form of mental health therapy report better day-to-day function and symptom relief. The increase in function is not just related to mental health. These patients report positive changes in their bodies, too—fewer medical visits, reduced sick days, and increased satisfaction at work.
The employer-sponsored best health insurance covers therapy so that you can improve your mental health and, in turn, show up fully in your personal life and continue to perform at the highest level at work.
If you consistently have the following experiences, they may be symptoms of common mental health issues:
A feeling of being on edge, overly pessimistic, or quick to anger
Prolonged overwhelm, helplessness, and sadness
Negative side effects of alcohol or drug use
Persistent personal and health problems, despite efforts to resolve them
Difficulty concentrating or performing everyday activities
Another common mental health issue is Seasonal Affective Disorder, which causes people to experience the symptoms of a Major Depressive Disorder, but only during certain seasons. Even weather-related stress and climate anxiety are reasons to seek therapy.
No matter the root cause, prolonged mental stress can negatively affect your physical health. Therapy is clinically proven to help.
What is the difference between a counselor and a therapist?
Mental healthcare is a broad field with various specializations, levels of care, and approaches to treatment. However, most patients see a counselor or a therapist for basic therapy.
A counselor typically focuses on short-term, goal-oriented care. Often, these providers hold a bachelor’s degree in psychology, child development, or social work. While most are qualified to see patients with diverse needs, you may find a counselor who specializes in the specific care you’re seeking (i.e., marriage, school and career, or substance abuse). Depending on the state and specialization, they may or may not be licensed.
A therapist, on the other hand, holds at least a Master’s level degree and is trained in talk therapy. They need a license to practice and usually have a declared specialty.
What are the different types of therapists?
A mental health counselor typically engages in talk therapy and can help most patients process mental stressors. Counselors also provide skills, resources, and exercises to empower patients to improve their mental health resilience.
Psychiatrists are medical doctors who can diagnose patients, prescribe medication, manage their treatment, and provide many forms of therapy. In most states, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners may also engage in many of these activities and provide medication management to patients.
Psychologists are not medical doctors, but they still hold terminal degrees, like a PhD, PsyD, or EdD. These providers understand abnormal psychology and can treat severe mental health disorders.
Psychotherapists (more commonly referred to as Therapists) hold a Master’s degree and are trained in talk therapy, often Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Dialectical Behavioral Therapy.
Which type of therapist should I choose?
For people who don’t perceive themselves to be in an immediate mental health crisis, a counselor can be the optimal choice for short-term intervention aimed at addressing specific concerns. Counselors will commonly meet with a patient regularly (weekly or monthly) until symptoms improve and then schedule infrequent check-ins.
Therapists are an excellent choice for someone seeking a member of their long-term support system. They help address emotional, behavioral, social, or marriage and relationship issues. Therapists can also be helpful guides to patients who need more extensive mental health treatment but don’t know the root cause or best solution.
Suppose you are experiencing persistent mental health conditions that negatively impact your overall well-being or the health and safety of those around you. In that case, a Psychologist may be able to diagnose more significant issues and prescribe effective medicine and treatment.
How is individual therapy different from group therapy?
Individual therapy involves meeting one-on-one with a mental health professional, typically in a casual office, to focus on treating emotional, psychological, or behavioral health issues.
Group therapy is less intimate or personally focused but has a built-in support network. This approach works well for a variety of mental health issues but is highly impactful in helping patients build self-esteem and treat social anxiety.
Beyond individual talk therapy and group therapy, patients engage in grief counseling, couples therapy, marriage counseling, art therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and anger management.
As complicated as some of these practices sound, they are all relatively simple.
What is the value of in-person therapy versus virtual or teletherapy?
Telehealth, specifically teletherapy, proved its value during COVID-19 lockdowns. The technology has only grown in the meantime because it brings convenient (and often socially stigmatized care) directly to a patient, at home, in the office, or anywhere in between. However, seeking in-person therapy has its own benefits that shouldn’t be overlooked.
In-person therapy allows the patient to visit a neutral location, which can be helpful for anyone, especially in the case of couples therapy. In-person therapists can pick up on non-verbal communication, like body language or inconsistencies in behavior, to better diagnose and prescribe medication for patients.
Teletherapy gives patients an added layer of privacy, allowing them to access care from their phone or computer. For patients worried about being seen in the waiting room, this may be a benefit. Teletherapy allows patients to call in on their lunch break or get help without leaving the house. Virtual therapy is also often cheaper than in-person therapy.
The best health insurance companies have realized the value of teletherapy and usually will cover these sessions at the same rate as in-person therapy.
Who are the best health insurance companies?
Mental health care is vital to your personal life, work performance, and physical health. Knowing what care you can access and taking full advantage of that care is essential to your long-term health. The best health insurance companies provide access to mental health care at little or no expense.
At Curative, we offer the no-hassle health insurance-backed therapy you need.
Access to $0 therapy: We remove the challenge of searching for a therapist by directly connecting you with in-network therapy at zero cost to you. We will walk you through the steps to find the best fit for you, whether that be a therapist, psychiatrist, or psychologist.
No-hassle meds: Curative gives our members access to rapid medication delivery. We can help you find an in-network pharmacy along with guidance on transferring and filling prescriptions. Members also have access to our in-house Curative Pharmacy. We’ll help ensure your medication is working properly and can offer guidance if you have questions about side effects or usage.
Support on your time: Our care team will help you stay on track with your care through one-on-one check-ins. We work around your schedule and can provide support as frequently, or as seldom, as needed.
Virtual therapy: Members can tap into remote therapy through our partnerships with Teladoc and Televero. It's hassle-free to schedule appointments and get connected to a therapist within a week.
Emergencies: If you find yourself in a critical situation or experiencing a mental health crisis, call 988 for immediate support.
For more information on health insurance, Florida comprehensive care resurces, and how Curative can help you cultivate better employee mental health in your organization, visit our members page.
*Every Curative member can qualify for the $0 deductible or copay for in-network care and preferred prescriptions. Just complete a Baseline Visit in your first 120 days of plan effective date. See curative.com to learn more. Curative Insurance Company PPO.
*Patients experiencing a medical emergency or who have concerns about their medical situation should call 911 (or the local emergency number) immediately.
To see all disclaimers, please view them here.
References
American Counseling Association. (2024). Knowledge Center. https://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/licensure-requirements
APA Dictionary of Psychology. (Feb 2024). APA Dictionary of Psychology. https://dictionary.apa.org/cognitive-behavior-therapy
APA Dictionary of Psychology. (Feb 2024). APA Dictionary of Psychology. https://dictionary.apa.org/dialectical-behavior-therapy
Bhatia, R. (Apr 2023) What is Psychotherapy? American Psychiatric Association. https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/psychotherapy
Petersel, A. (June 2020). 5 Ways Going to Therapy Could Improve Your Work Life—and Boost Your Career. The Muse. https://www.themuse.com/advice/ways-therapy-improve-work-life-boost-your-career
Selfless_Soul. (Jan 2019). Therapy Isn’t for “Crazy People” - SOVA. SOVA; https://sova.pitt.edu/educate-yourself-therapy-isnt-for-crazy-people/
Shaver, J. (Apr 2022). The State of Telehealth Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic - PMC. (n.d.). PubMed Central (PMC). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9035352/
SpringerLink. (Jul 2022) Barriers to Seeking Psychotherapy for Mental Health Problems in Adolescents: a mixed method study | Journal of Child and Family Studies. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10826-022-02364-4