| Because of the unfortunate stigma still attached to | | | | therapist's office in the first place. |
| mental health conditions, people should think twice | | | | However, your sessions won't be so private any more |
| before using their health insurance to pay for visits to a | | | | if your insurance company is paying for all or part of |
| mental health professional, such a marriage and family | | | | your mental health care, because your diagnosis then |
| therapist, a psychologist or psychiatrist. | | | | becomes part of your health record and it's no longer |
| If you do have health insurance coverage, your first | | | | confidential. That could be detrimental to you in the |
| reaction might be to think, "Well, if I've got insurance, | | | | future. |
| why shouldn't I use it? That's what it's there for." And, | | | | For example, let's say your therapist diagnoses you |
| most of the time, that's true. I know I'm certainly | | | | with major depressive disorder, which is a very |
| grateful for my health insurance when I go to the | | | | common diagnosis. Think about how people view other |
| doctor or dentist. | | | | people who are seriously depressed. They generally |
| But it gets more complicated when it comes to mental | | | | have certain expectations of how depressed people |
| health care because of negative associations attached | | | | behave. |
| to psychological disorders. For example, people | | | | So having that diagnosis in your health record could |
| probably think differently about an individual who has a | | | | affect your ability to get a job in the future. It could be |
| physical condition such as a thyroid disorder versus | | | | an issue in a child custody battle or other legal |
| someone who has a psychological condition such as | | | | problems, especially since law enforcement agencies |
| major depression. | | | | can access your insurance information at any time. A |
| The reality is, if you want to get your insurance | | | | serious mental health diagnosis could cause problems if |
| company to pay for your mental health care, the | | | | you tried to obtain other health insurance or life |
| mental health care provider has to give you a serious | | | | insurance in the future. Those are just a few |
| psychological diagnosis or the insurance company | | | | examples of situations to think about. |
| won't pay for the treatment. | | | | The other issue with using insurance benefits for |
| For instance, many insurance companies won't pay for | | | | mental health care is that the insurance company |
| someone seeing a therapist for couples counseling or | | | | might place limitations on the number of sessions you |
| for "normal bereavement" following a loved one's | | | | can obtain or require that you get pre-approval from |
| death. So your mental health care provider needs to | | | | your primary care physician. Some insurance |
| find a serious diagnosis that legitimately describes your | | | | companies are very generous and allow weekly |
| situation and that will be acceptable to your insurance | | | | sessions until your problem is resolved, and they don't |
| company. But, once you have that diagnosis, the big | | | | interfere very much in the therapeutic process. But |
| issue becomes confidentiality. | | | | some companies place a limit on the number of |
| Here's how that works. When you're seeing a | | | | sessions they'll cover in a given year, and that frankly |
| therapist and paying for it yourself, the information you | | | | might not be enough to resolve some serious or |
| discuss in session stays in the room for the most part. | | | | longstanding problems. |
| The therapist doesn't share the information with | | | | But, to me at least, those pragmatic challenges of |
| anyone else, except when they're required to report | | | | trying to get your insurance company to provide |
| child abuse or elder abuse or a handful of other | | | | adequate mental health coverage pale in comparison |
| situations covered by law or their profession's code of | | | | to the confidentiality issue I was talking about earlier. |
| ethics. So the vast majority of the time, the information | | | | Confidentiality really is the Number One thing you |
| you share with your therapist stays just between the | | | | should consider when you're deciding whether you |
| two of you, and you can feel completely free to share | | | | want to use your health insurance to cover mental |
| all the deep problems that brought you to the | | | | health care. |