Why I Don’t Take Insurance: A Somatic Trauma Therapist’s Perspective

Chloë Bean, LMFT is a licensed somatic trauma therapist based in Los Angeles, specializing in anxiety, burnout, trauma, and nervous system healing for high-achieving women. Her work integrates somatic therapy, EMDR, and IFS to support lasting regulation, resilience, and relational healing.

How private, nervous-system–informed therapy supports deeper trauma healing.

When you are looking for a therapist, it is common to ask why they do not take insurance.

From a trauma-informed and nervous-system–based perspective, the answer is not financial preference. It is clinical.

Insurance-based therapy models often limit session length, pace, and depth in ways that conflict with how trauma actually heals. Somatic trauma therapy prioritizes regulation, safety, and attunement over speed or symptom checklists.

This is why I have chosen to offer private, somatic trauma therapy.

How Insurance Models Limit Trauma-Informed Therapy

Traditional insurance models were designed for short-term symptom management, not deep trauma work. To bill insurance, therapists must assign a diagnosis—often anxiety, depression, or PTSD—and prove “medical necessity.” That system rewards surface-level improvement rather than the slow, deep, and embodied healing that somatic therapy requires.

For high-functioning, sensitive women navigating anxiety, burnout, and relationship trauma, this can unintentionally reinforce the same survival patterns you’re working to heal—performing wellness instead of actually feeling safe.

Private Pay Allows Freedom, Depth, and True Collaboration

Because I’m not tied to insurance requirements, we can work in a collaborative, human, and holistic way.
That means:

• Integrating Somatic Experiencing®, EMDR, and Internal Family Systems (IFS) seamlessly, without worrying about session limits, requirements, or rigid protocols.

• Supporting your nervous system from a grounded place instead of an insurance provider’s limiting agenda.

• Adjusting pacing to your body’s capacity instead of an insurance company’s timeline.

Trauma healing isn’t linear—it’s cyclical and embodied. Private therapy gives us the freedom to follow your system’s wisdom instead of a standardized spread

Nervous-System Regulation Requires Space—Not Speed

Insurance models often cap sessions and limit based on diagnoses. But your body doesn’t heal on a deadline. This is why I offer EMDR/Somatic intensives, which allow for 90-minutes to 2-hours long sessions for deeper healing.

Somatic work requires attunement, integration, and moments of stillness. In our sessions, we slow down enough for your body to release stored activation and rediscover what “safe” actually feels like.

This kind of depth work isn’t about checking boxes—it’s about building lifelong regulation, self-trust, and capacity for joy.

Private Pay Protects Your Privacy (and Your Story)

When you use insurance directly, your mental-health records, diagnosis, and progress notes become part of your permanent medical file.
With private pay, our work stays confidential between you and me—not shared with employers, insurance databases, or third-party systems.

If you choose to request a superbill for potential reimbursement, I’ll provide a diagnosis code (as required by insurance) on that document only. This information goes directly to you—not to your insurance company unless you decide to submit it.
That means you stay in control of what information is shared, and your healing process remains fully in your hands.

For clients who value privacy, especially high-achieving professionals, artists, and entrepreneurs, that discretion provides a layer of nervous-system safety in itself.

Private, somatic trauma therapy allows the nervous system to heal at its own pace, without the constraints of insurance-driven models.

You Deserve Care That Honors Your Whole Self

Therapy shouldn’t feel like another system telling you how to show up.

My approach helps you listen to your body, reconnect with your intuition, and move beyond perfectionism toward presence.
That kind of healing can’t be rushed—or reduced to billing codes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is private-pay therapy worth it?
Yes. Private-pay therapy allows for deeper, more sustainable healing by removing time limits, diagnostic requirements, and administrative constraints imposed by insurance models. This flexibility supports emotional safety, nervous system regulation, and individualized pacing.

Why don’t some trauma therapists take insurance?
Insurance systems often require standardized diagnoses, rigid treatment plans, and session limits that do not align with how trauma heals. Somatic trauma therapy prioritizes regulation, consent, and attunement, which are difficult to provide within insurance-driven frameworks.

Does insurance coverage affect the quality of trauma therapy?
It can. Insurance requirements may influence session length, frequency, and clinical documentation in ways that disrupt the therapeutic process. Trauma-informed care often requires flexibility and responsiveness that insurance systems do not consistently allow.

Can I submit a superbill for out-of-network reimbursement?
Yes. Many clients choose to submit superbills for partial reimbursement through PPO plans. You remain my client directly, and any reimbursement is handled between you and your insurance provider.

Who is private, somatic trauma therapy best suited for?
This approach is well suited for individuals seeking deeper nervous system healing, especially those who feel constrained by symptom-focused or time-limited therapy models. It is often helpful for people experiencing anxiety, burnout, trauma, or chronic stress.

Healing Does Not Follow an Insurance Timeline

Trauma healing does not happen on demand or according to standardized timelines. The nervous system heals through safety, pacing, and attuned presence, not rushed sessions or diagnostic checklists.

Private, somatic trauma therapy allows space for regulation, depth, and consent based work. This approach supports lasting change rather than short term symptom management.

In my Los Angeles practice and online across California, I work with high achieving women who are ready to move out of burnout and anxiety and into calm, embodied self trust.

If this approach feels aligned, you are welcome to contact Chloë to explore working together.