Need advice - Counselor Dilemma

[poey]

Ok,

So i've been under the care of a psychologist since september of last year. She is an older lady, and has been practicing for a great deal of time. She is pretty good at what she's doing, and i feel like we've made a great deal of progress on my anxiety and depression.

There are three problems.

1) i have to pay her in cash. I have fought and fought with the insurance company to pay for it, but they are refusing to pay unless she fills out an Outpatient Treatment Report for them. She is out of network, so anything the insurance would pay would only be 40%. So i see her twice a month, at $125 per visit. She doesn't do paperwork (refuses) and won't fill out any treatment report. The only thing i can get from her is a handwritten receipt.

2) So, she thinks i would benefit from weekly visits instead of twice a month visits. I'm already going broke. There are plenty of counselors in this area that my insurance will pay for.

3) Although we have an "ok" rapport, the counselor says negative things about my spouse... she doesn't believe i'm an aspie, or autistic at all, and thinks that i'm NT. I am being tested Apr 17th for AS...

I guess, if it were you, would you seek out another counselor?

i like my progress with this psychologist so far, even though she doesn't believe me and thinks my spouse talks for me too much, but i'd love to have more money in my pocket at the end of the month. One of my anxiety triggers is not having enough money... so paying her and not being reimbursed is adding to my anxiety.

What thinketh you?

 

[Loomis]

I would shop for a new therapist and hope to find one the insurance will help pay. I suspect she wants cash and won't fill out paperwork because she is cheating on her taxes. This is unethical if true.

OK rapport does not warrant paying top dollar.

 

[King_Oni]

What I thinketh is that

1. If you have financial issues with your coverage/billing a therapist should understand. And if she refuses to fill in the report for insurance you can obviously wonder why. The first thing that comes to mind is that she's doing your case "on the side" and therefore doesn't want it documented officially like that. If you state that financial problems are in fact a problem and she refuses to listen to you so you can eventually limit those problems (by making sure insurance reimburses it partially) I wonder how much she cares for her clients.

2. If you can't afford more, you can't afford more. You can only spend your money once. If you only have 250 to spend, unless she wants to charge you half a session, you just cannot make it work. And be clear about that. Also; because of the entire insurance thing, he has to be a bit more understanding IMO. You're already paying full price which is hard, any more expenses are pretty much impossible for you. While she's not a financial advisor, I'd break it down like that for her. "I have this much I can spend on therapy, I can't do more unless we involve insurance".

3. If you doubt your therapist and her expertise, I'd look if there's other ones around. Feeling comfortable with said therapist is one thing, getting acknowledgement for why you're seeing her is another. You can question why she thinks your not on the spectrum. Maybe she has solid indicators for that, which in your defense you can put against reasons you think you have it. I always believe that a therapist's advice is a two-way thing. A therapist can't do anything if clients don't open up and give their side of the story.

If it were me... I'd look into other options and make sure you have valid claims why you think it's not working out with this therapist. Having those might make it easier to leave your current therapist with your file so you can pick that up at a new therapist instead of starting over.

On the other hand, you're waiting to get tested for AS. I don't know if you can hold out for that much longer and see what those results tell you, before you possibly can hold it against her that she was wrong about your diagnosis.

But if anything I'd strongly think about leaving and looking for another, even if it's just for the way she handles billing and not understanding the anxiety it brings (paranoid mode; maybe she knows it adds to your anxiety; and she does this to keep you in therapy)

 

[poey]

Well, she understands my financial dilemma, but brings up the fact she'd like to see me more often with each visit. I do feel comfortable with her in a sense, and i think that when she pulls me out of my comfort zone, it is in a theraputic way.

I have questioned her about why she doesn't think i'm AS, and she says that i make excellent eye contact (i've been looking at the bridge of her nose, never her eyes) and that i verbalize things well. My problem is that i can't read faces well, nor can i identify emotions, which she agrees i have difficulty naming feelings. I've had 37 years to pretend to be normal and NT, and i hide my social ineptness well.

I think that because there is not anyone she answers to, ie: insurance company, or a boss of any kind, i think i'm going to seek out a different provider for my therapy. The insurance company at least has a doctor review the treatment plan to ensure my mental health care is up to their standards, and $3000/yr on seeing her is money i can spend elsewhere, especially since my copay is $15 for other providers.

Thanks for weighing in on this Loomis & KO.

-p

 

[Dragon's Tooth]

I think I would shop around ... how can you have faith in someone who is meant to help you out if your constantly questioning her? Also I would have concern that you have said money is tight and she is pushing you for more visits. I would be concerned that she might have picked someone who can't easily say no to try and rip off. And most of us Aspies are know we can find it difficult to say no.

It could be that you do need more visits but she shouldn't be pushing you. If you are tight financially I would say find someone else. You need absolute trust with your mental health practitioner and it doesn't sound like you have that.

 

[Jacki Cucinotta]

I would definitely switch to a new therapist - one that you will be able to afford. As you said poey, there are many guidance counselors who will be covered by your insurance. It also bothers me that your therapist doesn't believe you and that she says bad things about your spouse - I would have left for those two reasons alone if I were in your situation (again, that's just me). By the way, good luck with the diagnosis and everything. Hope the advice you have gotten from us so far is helpful.