Why Don't More Couples Counselors Accept Insurance?

It's hard to find a good couples counselor. It's even harder to find one who is accepting new clients. It's almost impossible to find a good couples counselor, who is taking new clients, and accepts your insurance. Why is that?

No surprise that it involves insurance companies. For clinicians to bill your insurance for counseling, they need to demonstrate medical necessity. That involves identifying symptoms, assigning a diagnosis covered by your insurance company, and creating a treatment plan of evidence-based interventions to treat the diagnosis.

The primary reason that counselor's can't bill your insurance for couples counseling is that no one in the couple meets criteria for a diagnosis that is covered by insurance. For couples counseling, insurance companies require an identified patient, the person in the couple that carries the diagnosis and treatment plan. The clinician must be able to demonstrate that it is medically necessary to integrate the partner into the identified patient's counseling. The majority of issues that couples seeking counseling for don't meet criteria for an insurance covered diagnosis (e.g., conflict resolution, disconnection, betrayal of trust, healthy boundaries, grief, infidelity, contempt, stonewalling, etc.). If insurance companies expanded their covered issues, focused more on interpersonal and familial concerns, and prioritized prevention, it would make it easier.

Unfortunately, having health insurance doesn't always mean your counseling services will be covered. Impossibly high deductibles coupled with expensive premiums, may still make it challenging to afford services.

Don't give up yet! There are wonderful clinicians out there that accept commercial insurance and provide amazing, high quality clinical services. We have several clinicians at Friendly City Psychology that provide couples counseling. Schedule a free 20-minute consultation with them today to explore your options.