By Melissa Ronan

Once you have decided to visit a mental health provider, you may be concerned about the cost. Finding a provider through your insurance company is one option. Insurance companies are required to cover mental health care to some degree, but they often reimburse providers at a very low rate. As a result, their “in network” providers – the ones willing to accept insurance -- may not be among the most experienced or well-regarded.  

 We have researched providers in the lower Westchester County area and have listed on our site some providers who accept insurance. These include hospitals such as New York Presbyterian-Westchester, which provides both outpatient and inpatient mental health services; clinics such as Alssaro Counseling Services in New Rochelle and Family Services of Westchester.

To search our website for providers who take your insurance, type your insurance company’s name into the search box on our homepage. Alternatively, you can email Melissa Ronan, LMSW (melissaronan@verizon.net) and she will research providers covered by your insurance. This service is free and completely confidential.

Out of Network: Some people opt to forego using their insurance and go “out of network,” believing that they will obtain better results by paying privately. We have dozens of providers listed on our website who do not take insurance; they are listed alphabetically and can be searched by specialty or key word in the general search box. Each listing indicates the provider’s fees; whether the provider takes insurance; and whether they may be willing to adjust fees on a sliding scale depending on income.

Additional Affordable Options: Some workplaces have an Employee Assistance Plan that provides them with a free assessment and short-term counseling. These services are confidential. If longer-term counseling is needed, the EAP will refer you to an appropriate provider. Some people may have other free options; for example, the Westchester County Bar Association offers free confidential help for lawyers, judges and law students.

 Open Path Psychotherapy Collective is a nationwide network of mental health professionals dedicated to providing in-office mental health care—at a steeply reduced rate—to individuals, couples, children, and families in need. You can search their site by location; fees are $30-$60/session.

Another option, specific to relationship/couples counseling, is Regain, an online relationship counseling platform. Regain costs $40-$70/week. Individuals or couples meet with their therapist online.

Westchester Center for Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, based in White Plains, offers affordable counseling for children, adolescents, adults and couples. WCSPP therapists are candidates who are enrolled in WCSPP’s training programs to advance their professional knowledge and skills; they receive weekly supervision from senior faculty members. Clients pay $30-$60/session and are required to commit to 40 weeks of counseling.

Food for Thought: While many people are surprised by therapists’ high hourly fees, we encourage you to think about the monetary value of therapy. Yes, therapists charge anywhere from $100 to $400 and up per hour in Westchester County. But they also help their clients achieve life-changing results, whether recovering from a trauma, repairing a broken relationship, identifying a new career path, salvaging their marriages or ending crippling anxiety, to name just a few examples. If you choose a therapist who is a good fit for you, and commit to working on your issues, you’re likely to look back and think the money was well spent.