Does Insurance Pay for Therapy?
I am a registered provider with Blue Cross, SSQ Financial and Greenshield Canada. Other insurers will likely cover you after you register with my group practice under supervised Psychological Services. Please ask.
While we are all aware of the importance of mental wellness and its impact on overall health, at this time, OHIP does not cover therapy services in Ontario unless provided through a hospital setting or a public mental health facility such as CAMH. If you have been referred to a Psychiatrist from your family doctor OHIP will pay for the services of a Psychiatrist. Most Psychiatric specialists are primarily trained in a medical model of diagnosis and treatment of illness using medical means such as Psychopharmacology. Some Psychiatrists do offer therapy and have sought their own selective training in therapy. This is true for some MD's as well. Training is primarily optional for a doctor who wants to provide counselling. Most employers offer extended health benefits such as Sun Life, Manulife, Blue Cross. Historically, most of those insurance companies have only reimbursed for Psychological or Registered Social Work services. Since Psychotherapy has only recently become a regulated health profession in Ontario, soon insurance companies should start to cover the services of members of the College of Psychotherapists of Ontario. Some practitioners can work under the license of a Registered Psychologist in order to provide services to clients who need to be reimbursed by their insurance provider for strictly "psychological services". The services of Shirley Katz are offered through this means for clients who need that. Its important for clients to know what they are going to be covered for before beginning therapy, as often times there will be a desire to continue and pay out of pocket in order to reach therapy goals, since some plans only offer enough to cover two or three sessions or a portion of each session fee. Therapy is an important and meaningful contribution to self care and life improvement, whether individual, relationship or organizational change is sought. It can be worthwhile to put the cost into perspective in terms of what the gains could be. Sometimes on the basis of demonstrated need a private practitioner is able to lower their rates. There are also community based services for those who cannot pay out of pocket for therapy and your doctor can usually provide you with information on where to get started looking for a low cost service. |
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