Sandalwood Counseling, LLC

Vancouver, WA

Office Hours:

Monday - Thursday

Approx 9am - 6pm

 

Sessions are made by appointment only.



Current Telehealth Sessions:

Intake/First Session fee is $175.00 for a 50-minute session

Individual or couples session fees are $150.00 for a 50-minute session.

PLEASE CHECK WITH YOUR INSURANCE PLAN TO LEARN IF TELEHEALTH (VIDEO THERAPY) IS COVERED.

BEGINNING JAN 2021, SOME PLANS ARE NO LONGER PAYING FOR TELEHEALTH. 

Cash, check, or paying via "Square" (credit card payment system) are accepted, and due before or at the beginning of each session.  I also accept HSA, or equivalent, cards.

At your request, I offer a no-charge 15-20 minute phone conversation to assess whether we are a good fit, and to evaluate if I am the proper counselor for your style and presenting issue.

Cancellation Policy

In the event you are unable to keep your scheduled appointment, it is your responsibility to notify me 24-hours in advance of your appointment to avoid the no-show/late-cancellation fee of $80.00 (eighty dollars).

Insurance does not pay for this fee.  If you are able to reschedule the same week at a different time, this fee will not be charged.

Insurance

I do accept most insurances and will submit claims on your behalf. 

Insurance Billing:  Mental health services may or may not  be covered by your health insurance or employee benefit plan. Medical necessity is required in order for the claim to be paid by your insurance company - there are no exceptions to any therapist, patient, or insurance carrier. The diagnosis assigned to you will be part of, and remain in, your medical record. Please consider this when making the decision to use your insurance.

If you are insured, but prefer to forego using your insurance for therapeutic services - due to assigning a diagnosis - please ask about my fees.  Also, HSA, or equvalent, can often be used for this; please check with your insurance company.

Co-payments or co-insurances are common with insurance...and it seems lately, a deductible must be satisfied before services are covered by your insurance.  Please reach out to your insurance company to learn what your plan offers.
 
Please check your coverage carefully.  Here are a few questions to ask your insurance provider about mental health care:
Do I have mental heathcare coverage? If so, what is covered - individual counseling, marital, couple, or relationship counseling, family counseling...? In my experience, couples or relationship counseling, without a medically-necessary diagnosis, is not covered.Is Shannon Lilja /Sandalwood Counseling an in-network or preferred provider of mental health services?If so, am I required to satisfy my deductible before coverage?What is my co-pay or co-insurance? Is a pre-authorization or approval required before services can begin?Is there a limit on the number of sessions that are covered?If Shannon Lilja/Sandalwood Counseling is not an in-network provider, does my plan cover out-of-network mental health practitioners? If so, what is my coverage for out-of-network and does it cover Shannon Lilja/Sandalwood Counseling? 

If interested in couples, or marriage, counseling, please check with your insurance to ask whether or not it is covered. In my experience, it is not covered by most carriers. In that case, please ask what type of coverage you may have for non-covered services. I will provide a 'superbill' to you, for you to submit to your carrier for reimbursement of my fee. 

If you have insurance that I accept, but are interested in self-pay so that our sessions (diagnosis) are not included in your permanent medical record, your fee is the rate at which I am contracted with your insurance carrier - which may be less than my full self-fee. Please ask about this.

For those insurances I do not accept, I am able to provide a receipt with the  required insurance-coding and dates-of-service for reimbursement from your insurance company. You are responsible for submitting claims to your insurance company unless otherwise discussion or agreed.