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 Some
Good Reasons to Bypass Your
Health Insurance or Employee Assistance
Program When Seeking Mental Health Care |
- You won’t receive a mental disorder
diagnosis. Did you know that for most insurance companies
and many employee assistance programs to pay for services,
the provider has to give you a diagnosis of a mental disorder?
This diagnosis will be a part of your medical record, even
if you only see the provider for only a few sessions. Many
people are denied or charged higher rates for certain types
of insurance policies (for example, life insurance) if they
have ever received a mental disorder diagnosis. This can
happen even if you saw the provider many years ago and have
not had any problems since that time. This is unfair, but
it happens nonetheless. In addition, people in certain types
of jobs (for example, law enforcement or military) may be
concerned that any diagnosis will affect their employment
status or their ability to be promoted at some point.
- Your confidentiality is better protected.
As mentioned above, most insurance companies require me
to give a diagnosis to provide services. In addition, sometimes
other clinical information such as a treatment plan or summary,
or in rare cases, a copy of the entire record is requested.
This information will become part of the insurance company
files, and, in all probability, some of it will be computerized.
All insurance companies claim to keep such information confidential,
but once it is in their hands, I have no control over what
they do with it. In some cases they may share the information
with a medical information data bank. If you request it,
I will provide you with a copy of any report which I submit.
- You can see the professional of your choice.
Did you know that your insurance company or EAP company
decides who you can and cannot see for your mental health
care? They don’t know you, your personality, your
needs or your preferences when it comes to finding a therapist.
This is a very personal decision—one that you should
be able to make for yourself.
- You are in control of your care. Did you
know that when you see a provider through your insurance
or EAP program, decisions about your care are often made
by a person in another state, often over a telephone, typically
with less experience than the therapist. This “case
manager” decides how many sessions you can attend,
what your treatment should entail, and so on. When you pay
for your own care, you are in control. You select your therapist.
You decide how many sessions you attend. You decide what
kind of therapy works best for you. Of course, your therapist
helps you think through these decisions, but ultimately,
you’re in charge.
- You may make faster progress. Not always,
of course, but people who are not paying for their own sessions
are sometimes not as invested in the outcome of their treatment.
I worked with one gentleman who said he came to see me because
it was free and he wanted an hour off of work! Because you
are taking more responsibility for your care, you may find
that you are more motivated and make faster progress in
meeting your goals.
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Nurturing the
Shy Child: Practical Help for Raising Confident and Socially
Skilled Kids and Teens
Buy it now at
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Painfully
Shy: How to Overcome Social Anxiety and Reclaim Your Life
|
Buy it now at
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| Dying
of Embarrassment: Help for Social Anxiety & Phobia |
Buy it now at
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| Illuminating
the Heart: Steps Toward a More Spiritual Marriage |
Buy it now at
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