While all of our clinicians accept out-of-pocket payments, our associate and fully licensed clinicians at SCS are also in-network with the following insurances:

• Premera 
• BCBS (some plans)
• Lifewise (most plans)
• Anthem (some plans)

If your BCBS, Lifewise, or Anthem plan runs locally through Premera, SCS should be in-network. We are not in-network with Regence plans.

Our clinical interns are in-network with Molina plans ONLY, including Medicaid and commercial Molina plans.

If your insurance plan is not listed, you may still see us as an out of network provider! Contact your insurance company to learn about your specific out of network benefits, or use our out of network benefits calculator to estimate your out of pocket costs in advance of starting treatment.

If you have both a commercial and a Medicaid plan, your commercial insurance plan will always be your primary plan, and will be billed first.

SCS can only bill primary insurance plans, and cannot bill secondary insurance. We do not bill as an out of network provider, and only bill Premera plans (for our Associate and fully licensed therapists) and Molina plans (for our clinical intern therapists).

If you have a mix of Medicaid and/or commercial insurance, please note that depending on your specific coverages, we may not be able to bill one or both of your insurances, as we are not able to bill secondary insurance plans.

For those clients who do NOT have Premera or Molina coverage, we can provide superbills for all services, including couples, sex, and family therapy. Superbills are automatically generated on a monthly basis through our client portal, and contain all the information you need to receive out of network reimbursement for therapy.

In order to help our clients estimate their out of network costs in advance of treatment, we’ve partnered with Mentaya. You can use Mentaya’s out of network benefits calculator to quickly and easily estimate all out of pocket costs.

If you’d like assistance with out of network reimbursement, Mentaya will submit claims on your behalf, for a small fee:

• Sign up for Mentaya and use their out of network reimbursement calculator to see if you qualify for reimbursement
• If you have out of network benefits, SCS know that you’d like to receive superbills
• Log into your SCS Client Portal to download superbills on a monthly basis
• To submit claims, simply upload your superbills into Mentaya’s “Past Superbills” section of your profile
• Mentaya will submit your claims directly to your insurance provider on your behalf, and once you've met your deductible, you will receive a check in the mail with an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) explaining your reimbursement

Insurance Billable Therapy Sessions: 
Steffen Counseling Services can bill insurance for any and all types of individual therapy. Your cost per session will depend on your insurance coverage, including your deductible and copay. Our clinical interns are in-network with Molina plans only, while our associates and fully licensed therapists are in-network with Premera plans only. 

Private Pay, Non-Insurance Reimbursable Therapy Sessions:
Our private pay services include couples, sex, and/or family therapy, and/or therapy with a provider who is not in-network with your specific insurance plan.

Clinical Interns:

• $65-$85 per intake and follow up session
• $30 per Open Path session (application required)
  Please note, interns cannot provide superbills, as insurance companies will not reimburse you for therapy with these providers.

Associates and Fully Licensed Clinicians:

• $155 per intake session
• $145 per couples/family/sex therapy session
• $130 per Washington Therapy Fund session (application required)
• $250 per 90-minute session

For those clients who do not have Molina or Premera coverage, we are happy to provide superbills for out of network reimbursement. To check your out of network coverage in advance of scheduling, use Mentaya’s benefits calculator to estimate your out of pocket costs. 

To see if Steffen Counseling Services is in-network with your specific plan, use the following information in your insurance client portal:

• Brittany Steffen, PLLC (owner and supervisor at Steffen Counseling Services, PLLC)
  EIN number: 83-2599367
  NPI: 1104205178

Or input your insurance plan into Mentaya’s benefits calculator to check your coverage!

Finally, we recommend contacting your insurance provider directly to confirm your benefits. Your insurance portal should have a detailed list of your coverage, including answers to the following questions:

Do I have mental health coverage?

What are my copayments, coinsurance, and deductible amounts?

Do I need pre-authorization for therapy?

Does my plan cover telehealth therapy sessions?

If you have primary commercial insurance and Molina as secondary insurance, we unfortunately cannot provide you with services, and will instead have to refer out.

Clients with Primary Premera, and Secondary Molina Coverage:

While our Associates and fully licensed clinicians are in-network with Premera, they are not in-network with Molina plans. Unfortunately, we cannot bill Molina as a secondary insurance provider for these therapists. Federal regulations prohibit us from charging Molina clients for any remaining balance after billing their primary insurance.

As a result, if Premera is your primary insurance and Molina is your secondary insurance, we are unable to work with you because we cannot legally bill you for any outstanding balance.

Clients with Primary Commercial (not Premera) Coverage, and Secondary Molina Coverage:

If your primary coverage is a non-Premera plan, and we are not in-network with your specific plan, you are welcome to see an Associate or fully licensed therapist and receive superbills for out of network reimbursement. You can use your superbill to submit out of network claims to your primary commercial plan, however, please note that Molina does not cover out of network services. This means that you will be responsible for any balance not covered by your commercial insurance plan.

To learn more about out of network billing, please read through these FAQs.

If your therapist is in-network with your specific insurance plan, you may still have a copay or coinsurance amount based on your specific plan. We recommend verifying this with your insurance provider if cost is a factor in your treatment, as we cannot advise you regarding your coverage.

 If you no show or late cancel an appointment, you will be responsible for the cost of the session in full, as a private pay service– insurance will not cover no show/late cancellation fees.

Unfortunately, we can only provide Molina coverage for therapy services with our intern therapists. If you have Molina, we recommend seeing a clinical intern so that your therapy will be covered in full by your insurance plan.

If you prefer an Associate or fully licensed clinician, you would need to pay out of pocket and sign an insurance waiver acknowledging that you’ve selected a provider who is not in-network with your plan.

Yes you can! While intern therapists are not credentialed with Premera plans, and are not eligible for superbills and out of network reimbursement, you can still work with an intern as an out of network provider.

Our clinical interns offer low cost, sliding scale private pay rates for non-insurance billable services–your exact rate will be based on financial need. If you have Premera, our interns can be especially useful for couples, sex, and family therapy services, which are non-insurance billable services. If you’d like to receive individual therapy and/or EMDR therapy, we recommend seeing one of our Associate or fully licensed therapists, as we can bill Premera for these services.

Individual and/or EMDR therapy:

These services are eligible for insurance billing, and we are happy to bill Premera and/or Molina directly for treatment, or to provide superbills for out-of network reimbursement.

If you’re not sure who you want to work with, complete our online intake form, and our administrator will match you with the best fitting therapist based on your insurance, finances, and specific therapy needs.

If you know what therapist you’d like to work with, and want to confirm that your selected provider is in-network with your insurance plan, please fill out our insurance verification form. We’ll verify your coverage and email you with confirmation so we can get you scheduled!

If you’re seeing one of our providers for out of network therapy services, we’ll still want your insurance information so we can generate superbills for reimbursement.

Couples, Sex, and/or Family Therapy:

These services are not eligible for insurance billing, and are private pay, out of pocket, even if you have Premera or Molina coverage.

If you know what therapist you’d like to work with, and have confirmed that the provider's private pay fees work for your financial needs, please email us directly and include a copy of your insurance card (front and back) so we can provide information regarding out-of network reimbursement, if applicable.

If cost is a factor in treatment, we recommend seeing a clinical intern for low cost, sliding scale therapy!

You can confirm whether or not SCS is in-network with your specific insurance plan by: 

• Molina Clients: Filling out our insurance verification form  
• All Other Clients: Using Mentaya’s benefits calculator
  • Contacting your insurance plan to inquire about:
  • Steffen Counseling Services, PLLC
  • NPI: 1578147823
  • Tax ID:  86-3684743

Absolutely! We accept Health Savings Accounts and Flexible Spending Accounts for out-of-pocket costs. We also accept all major credit/debit cards, and it’s worth noting that we require a card on file for out of pocket expenses. 

Out of respect to your clinician’s time and our waitlist, cancellations must be made at least 48 business hours in advance (excluding weekends), directly to your clinician via email. Do not call the office to cancel or reschedule. Late cancellations or no-shows will result in the full session fee, as insurance cannot be billed for sessions that do not take place.

For example, to cancel a Tuesday 9:00 AM session, notify your clinician by the prior Thursday at 9:00 AM. To cancel a Wednesday 9:00 AM session, notify your clinician by the prior Monday at 9:00 AM.

If you late cancel or no-show more than 3 times in 6 months, your recurring time slot may not be held, and care may be terminated. Clients must attend at least one session every 30 days to maintain an active file. More than 3 shortened sessions due to lateness may also result in discharge.

Please plan accordingly and always provide sufficient notice.

Our clinical interns offer low cost, sliding scale sessions for services that are not insurance billable, which includes couples, sex, and or/family therapy, and therapy with clients who do not have Molina insurance coverage.

These rates are based on financial need, and start at $65 per session. To inquire about eligibility and availability, please contact our office at info@steffencounselingservices.com

If your assigned therapist isn’t the right fit you are welcome to end treatment and work with a new therapist, either within or outside of SCS.

We recommend talking with your therapist directly if you feel like your expectations for therapy are not being met, as our providers use a wide variety of therapeutic approaches within their clinical practices.

If you don’t want to talk with your therapist, please email our administrator for assistance.

SCS offers individual, couples, and sex therapy, as well as family therapy, and EMDR treatment for trauma.

In addition, our therapists work with the following topics:

• Anxiety
• Bipolar Disorder
• Body Image and Eating Concerns
• Borderline Personality Disorder
• Career Counseling and Professional Development
• Chronic Illness and Pain
• Communication and Relationship Conflict
• Depression
• Family of Origin Issues
• Gender Identity and Related Areas
• Grief & Loss
• Identity Exploration (e.g., cultural, racial, or spiritual identity)
• Job Stress
• Life Transitions
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Parenting Issues
• Polyamory and Non-Monogamous Relationship Dynamics
• Relationship Challenges
• Self-Esteem
• Shame & Self-Criticism
• Social Anxiety and Phobias
• Trauma and PTSD
• Sexual Health and Intimacy Issues

The length of therapy varies depending on individual needs, goals, and the type of therapy you pursue. Short-term therapy for specific issues, such as managing stress or addressing a recent life change, often lasts 8-12 sessions. For more complex concerns, like trauma, relationship challenges, or mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, or PTSD, therapy may last several months to years.

Weekly sessions are common at the start of therapy, but frequency can decrease over time as progress is made. Some clients benefit from ongoing support with monthly check-ins or periodic sessions for maintenance.

The most important factor is finding a plan for treatment that works for you and aligns with your goals. Your therapist will collaborate with you to create a treatment timeline tailored to your specific needs.

For more details on what to expect and how therapy can help, contact our office today!

All of our therapists are licensed to practice therapy in Washington State. This means that SCS clients must physically be located in Washington State at the time of treatment.

The location of your therapist is not factored into the Department of Health’s treatment requirements, so your therapist may or may not be located in Washington at the time of service.

SCS requires information about both your primary, and if applicable, any secondary insurance coverage. If your coverage changes, please email us at info@steffencounselingservices.com 48 hours in advance of your session. SCS does not back bill appointments, so providing us with any changes to your coverage in a timely manner will ensure that you can make the most of your coverage! 

• If you’re losing Premera coverage, you can stay with your current therapist and receive superbills for out of network reimbursement
• If you’re gaining Premera coverage, your provider may be in-network with your specific plan
• If you’re losing Molina coverage, you may want to consider continuing with your clinical intern therapist at our low cost, sliding scale rate
• If you’re gaining Molina coverage, and are NOT seeing a clinical intern, we recommend switching to an intern so that you can utilize your in-network benefits.

At this time, all of our providers offer therapy in English only. SCS continually seeks to add diverse providers who can offer therapy to underserved populations, and we consider this goal when interviewing  new intern and full-time therapist candidates.

If you have questions after reviewing this FAQ, feel free to email us for more information.