Question 1

How Much Do The Sessions Cost?

Accepted Answer

The fee for an initial consultation is $200 for weekdays and $250 for weekends . The fee for each additional weekday session is $185. Weekend sessions are $250. Sessions are scheduled for a minimum of once a week depending on the particular needs of each family.

Question 2

Can't I Find a Cheaper Therapist with my Health Insurance or Through Better Help?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Using your health insurance or a corporate service like Better Help to find a psychotherapist and pay for your teenager's sessions would result in a more affordable rate.

However, there are a few downsides to be aware of when using health insurance or corporate online therapy services like Better Help.

1. Involving third parties in psychotherapy limits your psychotherapist's ability to ensure full privacy and confidentiality. Health insurance companies and corporate entities like Better Help have policies for sharing your teenager's mental health treatment information under certain circumstances that you may not agree with. For example, in the case of a court order, or as part of a vetting process to gain government security clearance. As a private psychotherapist I do not share information about your teenager with any third party without your explicit written consent. If legal pressure is brought to bare I employ lawyers with experience in protecting people's right to confidentiality. The only exceptions to confidentiality are the ethical matters of high risk suicide, high risk homicide and on-going child abuse. 
2. Insurance companies may have limits on how much treatment they are willing to pay for and under what conditions. Insurance companies are for-profit corporate entities that are incentivized to limit paying for treatment whenever possible. This can introduce an unpredictable and chaotic factor in your teenager's treatment which can be clinically destructive. As a private psychotherapist my fees are straightforward and predictable creating a stable environment for your teenager's treatment. In private psychotherapy the treatment duration and focus is determined by us, not third party corporate entities with an incentive to stop treatment whenever possible. 
3. Health insurance companies and online psychotherapy corporations require a formal mental health diagnosis. However, not every person in psychotherapy needs or wants a diagnosis. In private psychotherapy we can decide not to unnecessarily label teenagers with a stigmatizing diagnosis.  
4. Online psychotherapy corporations like Better Help employ thousands of mental health professionals with the explicit goal of maximizing each one's number of patients. This can result in overworked and underpaid mental health professionals. These psychotherapists can suffer from burnout and see your teenager as "just another case". As a private psychotherapist I have the luxury of prioritizing quality over quantity and I have no need to over burden myself with unrealistically large caseloads.

Question 3

Isn't Online Psychotherapy Inferior Compared to In-Person?

Accepted Answer

Traditional in-person psychotherapy is not the gold standard it once was. We in the mental health field have known for a long time now that the most important consideration for a good outcome in psychotherapy isn't whether it's online or in-person, it's the quality of the therapeutic relationship. A productive therapeutic relationship can happen online just like it can happen in person. Teenagers, with their vast experience in online relationships, know how it works.

In my practice I make special accommodations to help the therapeutic relationship take root online.

1. A high-speed fiber optic internet service for a stable connection. This has almost completely eliminated lagging, blurring, buffering, and interruptions in talking and seeing that significantly interfere with forming a therapeutic relationship online.
2. A high quality 4K webcam with modifications to enable the feeling of eye contact. This helps in the development of trust and good quality non-verbal communication. 
3. Studio quality sound. This was a great investment I made to help my voice come across as life-like and full-bodied as possible. It sounds more like a professional YouTube video than a facetime call. This adds to the quality of the experience and stops me from sounding robotic or distant. 
4. A Comfortable, high-fidelity, noise cancelling headset for me. This helps me prevent getting tired, straining to hear or asking people to repeat themselves.

These considerations have made an enormous difference in my online psychotherapy practice and help create the right conditions for a productive therapeutic relationship to take root and grow.

Question 4

My Teenager is Only Available After School. Do You Have Late Afternoon/Weekend Availability?

Accepted Answer

Yes. I've been a night person my whole life and I offer sessions starting at 1:30pm through 9:30pm. On the weekends I offer afternoon sessions both Saturday and Sunday at 3:30, 4:30, or 5:30pm. Weekday sessions are $185 and weekend sessions are $250.

Question 5

How Do You Accept Payment?

Accepted Answer

My preferred way to get paid is through the Zelle app. I can also accept Venmo, Cash app, PayPal, credit cards and checks. I am open to accepting payments with Bitcoin.

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Miguel E. Brown M.S.Ed, LMFT

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