Why I Don’t Take Insurance (and How Private, Somatic Trauma Therapy Serves You Better)
When you’re searching for a therapist, it’s natural to wonder:
“Why don’t you take insurance?”
I hear this question often—especially from high-achieving and high-functioning women. You’re responsible with money, organized, and used to earning your way. So when therapy isn’t covered by insurance, it can feel confusing or even unfair.
But from a nervous-system and trauma-informed perspective, there’s a reason I’ve chosen to keep my practice private pay—and it actually benefits your healing in ways that go far beyond an insurance claim form.
Insurance Models Don’t Fit Trauma Healing
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.
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.
Is private-pay therapy worth it?
Yes. Private therapy allows deeper, longer-lasting healing by removing time limits, diagnosis requirements, and bureaucratic restrictions. Clients often report faster progress and greater emotional safety when working outside insurance systems.
Can I submit a superbill for reimbursement?
Absolutely. Many clients submit receipts (“superbills”) for partial reimbursement from PPO insurance plans. You’re still my client directly; insurance reimburses you after payment.
Do you offer sliding scale or intensives instead of weekly sessions?
I occasionally offer limited sliding-scale spots and 90-minute or 2-hour EMDR intensives for clients seeking focused, trauma-informed work. These formats can be more cost-effective and immersive.
Is private-pay therapy only for trauma?
Not at all. While I specialize in trauma, burnout, and relationship issues, many clients come simply to reconnect with themselves, manage anxiety, or feel more at peace in their bodies.
Healing Doesn’t Have to Fit a Form
Healing doesn’t happen in a rush or on an insurance timeline.
If you’re craving therapy that meets you where you are—slowly, deeply, and with your nervous system in mind—you deserve that level of care.
In my Los Angeles practice and online across California, I help high-achieving women move from burnout and anxiety into calm, embodied self-trust.
If that’s what you’re ready for, let’s begin →