Frequently Asked Questions

It is important for you to understand what counseling is about and what you may expect during therapy. Please read this material carefully and ask the therapist to explain anything that is unclear to you. 

What are Counseling and Psychotherapy?

“Counseling” and “Psychotherapy”, or simply “therapy”, are words for the same process which is: using proven methods to assist people in changing how they think, feel and behave. Legitimate therapy is practiced by professionals Licensed (or license eligible under supervision) by the state in the areas of Clinical Social Work, Professional Counseling, Psychology, or Psychiatry. 

The Risks of Counseling:

Research has shown that competent therapy provided by trained and licensed professionals is helpful to most people. At the same time, therapy is not guaranteed to result in a successful outcome every time for everyone. It is important that you understand this before you invest time and money in counseling. The greatest risk of counseling is that it may not, by itself, resolve your problem or concern. Unexpected emotional strain, stress, and life changes may happen during therapy. Other people in your life may not respond how you might like them to to changes you make during therapy. 

How does therapy work?

Therapy at Mind Meld Psychotherapy will involve several steps. Therapy sessions are usually 45 to50 minutes in length, and are typically held one time per week to start. 

First, your counselor will listen to the concerns that you brought to counseling. He/she will get to know you and how you view your life and yourself. You will probably understand your situation better as you and your counselor talk. After you and your counselor explore your concerns, you will choose specific goals and objectives for therapy. Next, you and your counselor will work together to develop a plan for meeting those goals. 

You and your counselor will define and work toward accomplishing your goals using research-proven methods. These methods include, for example, accessing your inner strengths and resources, changing thoughts that affect how you feel and what you do, or homework assignments in which you try on new behaviors to see how they fit. You and your counselor may decide to involve other family members in your session. Please know that any work in the sessions will occur only with your permission. It is very important to your counselor to see that your limits are respected. Your specific needs and concerns will determine what is done. 

Your counselor will frequently take time to examine your progress toward your goals to make sure you both are on the right track. You and your counselor will decide together when your therapeutic goals are met and when to move toward completing therapy. Your therapy may be terminated if you fail to maintain regular attendance or if your therapist feels you are not making progress. You will be notified in advance of any possible termination of services. 

In the unlikely event that your clinician is unable to provide ongoing services, another clinician within the group practice can provide those services. Our office will maintain your records for a period set forth by the state. 

Your verbal communication and clinical records are strictly confidential except for situations covered in the Notice of Privacy Practices. Please note that confidentiality cannot be guaranteed if you use electronic communications with practitioners or office staff. This includes e-mail, instant messaging, social media and text. In addition, we will protect your privacy in public. We will not communicate with you in public unless you initiate contact nor disclose that you are a client. 

You have the right:

· To be treated in a humane and dignified way. 

· To be informed of your treatment options, risks, and benefits. 

· To take an active role in treatment planning. 

· To have questions answered fully. 

· To have confidentiality and privacy within legal/ethical guidelines. 

· To facilitated review of your clinical information. 

You have the responsibility:

· To be honest in providing information. 

· To keep your appointments, to be on time, and to give a 24 hour notice if you should need to cancel your appointment. 

· To be free of alcohol/drugs during your therapy session. 

· To respect the therapist and facility. 

To respect the privacy and rights of others. 

· To know your insurance requirements, deductibles, and co-pays. 

· To pay your co-pay, deductible, or full charge at the beginning of each appointment. 

In Virginia the law states even if you are under the age of 18 you have the right to choose outpatient mental health care. Learn more here

As mandated reporters, we must report suspicious child, elderly abuse, and maltreatment to the authorities. We will take action to keep you and others safe in the face of threats of harm to self or others.

Although you may end treatment at any time, we firmly recommend you share your desire to end treatment and process this decision in at least one final face to face meeting, rather than terminating by phone or mail. If for any reason, your provider must terminate the relationship with you as your provider, we will extend the same courtesy of having a discussion with you. We will also provide you with a list of resources to find another provider that may be better suited for you and your level of complexity.

If you have an urgent concern, you can log on to the patient portal and schedule an in person or telehealth appointment. 

If none of the available time slots meet your needs, then contact us via patient portal as soon as, possible and we will provide you with options based on your needs.

Mental health emergency services are available through 988 is the new 3-digit dialing code that routes all U.S. callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Under the Affordable Care Act, all insurance plans must cover mental health care. Additionally, plans must not impose different rules on mental health clients or fund mental health care at lower rates.

This means people with insurance usually have some coverage for therapy. In most cases, they must choose a therapist within their network. They may also have to meet other criteria, such as having a mental health diagnosis, meeting a deductible, or getting a referral for treatment. Consequently, even people with insurance may opt to pay for their therapy out of pocket.

When people pay for therapy through insurance, they typically must pay a co-pay. Insurance co-pays vary widely, from just a few dollars to $50 or more.

We are participating providers with most insurance companies. However, each provider individually participates with different insurances. This makes it very important you know exactly which insurance carrier you have so we can schedule you with the right clinician. Please confirm with your insurance carrier if the provider you have requested is IN or OUT of network. 

Dr. Zev Zingher, M.D. 

Private Pay 

Tricare East Non-Network Provider

Dr. Stephanie Long, PhD

Private Pay 

Anthem/BCBS

Cigna/Evernorth

UHC/Optum

Keith Engel, LCSW

Private Pay 

Anthem/BCBS

Beacon

Cigna/Evernorth

Humana

Magellan

Medicaid

Medicare

Optima

Tricare East

UHC/Optum

VA Community Care

Adrian Evans, LCSW

Private Pay 

Anthem/BCBS

Beacon

Cigna/Evernorth

Humana

Magellan

Medicaid

Medicare

Optima

UHC/Optum

VA Community Care

Emily Elliott, LMSW

Private Pay 

Anthem/BCBS

Beacon

Cigna/Evernorth

Humana

Magellan

Medicaid

Medicare

Optima

Tricare East

UHC/Optum

VA Community Care

MMP has private pay and insurance-based providers. Therapy generally ranges from $100 per hour to $250. Some factors that can affect the price of therapy include:

• Type of provider.
• The therapist’s training. 
• Insurance coverage vs Private Pay. 
• Length of the therapy session. 
• Specialization. 

You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your health care will cost.

Under the law, health care organizations need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services. 

• You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency items or services.  This includes related costs like medical tests, prescription drugs, equipment, and hospital fees.
• Make sure your health care organization gives you a Good Faith Estimate in writing at least 1 business day before your medical service or item. You can also ask your health care organization, and any other organization you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule an item or service.
• If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill.
• Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate. 

For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises or call 1-800-985-3059.

Some providers at MMP are Private Pay ONLY. This means you must make all payments at the time of your session. Private pay provides clients the highest level of confidentiality with their personal health information. It also allows for you to have increased control over your treatment process because all treatment decisions are made between you and your provider, without input from an insurance company. Many clients who overcome their problems by participating in evidence-based treatment with out-of-network providers often believe these benefits are well worth their investment of time, money, and effort!

Of course, you may choose to file for out-of-network reimbursement from your insurance company for your appointments via superbill. The insurance company may pay for services or a percentage of services. MMP will cooperate with the insurance company in this process by writing any clinical reports they require, but you will be responsible for finding out what is required and overseeing this process. 

Psychiatrist

• Initial evaluation: $250 (60 minutes, varies with complexity)
• Follow-up appointments: $150-$250 (varies with time, complexity, services)

Psychologist

• $200 Initial Session (60-75 min) 
• $180 Therapy (50-60 min)
• $150 Therapy 45-minute session

Clinical Social Worker

• $175 Initial Session (60-75 min) 
• $160 Couples/Relationship Counseling
• $150 Therapy (50-60 min)
• $125 Therapy 45-minute session

You can find out this information by calling the number on the back of your insurance card to verify your mental health benefits. You may find your co-pay on the front of your insurance card. We often fall under a specialist co-pay.

An EAP is an Employee Assistance Program that is provided to you by your employer. It is a benefit that offers a certain number of sessions free to you with no co-pay. Contact your Human Resources Department or insurance provider to see if this benefit is available to you. If you choose to us EAP services, you must provide a copy of your approved EAP authorization letter.  

The practice may utilize my payment methods on file for any balances, including late cancellation and no-show fees, without additional authorization.

As a courtesy, we will bill your insurance company. All payments and/or co-payments are due at the time of each appointment. If you have not met your deductible, the full fee is due at each session until the deductible is satisfied. If your insurance company denies payment or does not cover counseling, we request that you pay the balance due at that time. If the balance is not paid after 45 days, it will be charged 1.5% interest/month (18% APR). If the account is overdue and turned over to our collection agency, the client or responsible party will be held responsible for collection fees charged to our office to collect the debt owed. A returned check fee of $35.00 will be charged. If we receive more than one returned check from an individual we may refuse future payment by check.

All patients are required to have a form of payment on file for any unpaid balances, be it private pay or insurance coverage. MMP uses an electronic health system that has an integrated Online Payments feature  powered by Stripe, a PCI-compliant credit card processing partner. We accept all major credit/debit cards as forms of payment. Pay by: AMEX, Discover, MasterCard, Visa, or Health Savings Accounts (HSA). NO PERSONAL CHECKS are accepted. 

MMP requires a minimum of 24 hours' notice to cancel or reschedule an appointment. If you must cancel or reschedule with fewer than 24 hours' notice, this is subject to a $35 late cancellation fee. If you do not attend your appointment and give us no advance notice (no-call/no-show), you will incur a charge equivalent to your session fee up to $100.

A Superbill is a receipt for a session with an out-of-network counselor allowing the patient to submit to their health insurance. A Superbill may be requested by a patient when the patient pays out-of-pocket for the qualified medical expense. Reimbursement will be determined by the individual healthcare policy at the time the claim is received.

Below are some but not all helpful service codes if you contact your insurance:

Psychiatry

• Intakes: 99205 (60 minutes)
• Follow-up: 99213, 99214, 99215, 90833, 99417, 96127
• Virtual care (beyond 5 minutes, via patient portal): 99421, 99422, 99423 

Other Mental Health Providers

• 90791 – Psychiatric Diagnostic Evaluation 
• 90792 – Psychiatric Diagnostic Evaluation with medical services 
• 90832 – Psychotherapy, 30 minutes (16-37 minutes)
• 90834 – Psychotherapy, 45 minutes (38-52 minutes)
• 90837 – Psychotherapy, 60 minutes (53 minutes and over)
• 90846 – Family or couples psychotherapy, without the patient present
• 90847 – Family or couples psychotherapy, with the patient present
• 90853 – Group Psychotherapy (not family)
• 90839 – Psychotherapy for crisis, 60 minutes (30-74 minutes).
  • Used in conjunction with 90839: +90840 – Add-on code for an additional 30 minutes (75 minutes and over)