Scheduling Appointments
The intake will help you get a feel for the energy, flow, and therapeutic style of our practice. Please find below, more particulars, which we will need you to consider, and reply to us in an email at its.well.appointments@gmail.com, as a first step in our intake process. Intake counselors, complete your intake and then clinical recommendations are made by a senior clinician to suggest the right team and services for your needs.
You can schedule an intake appointment at www.schedulicity.com/scheduling/ITS7FS , if you haven't already done so. (Please Note: There is a fee to hold your appointment booking which is $40 for individual and $80.00 couples/family counseling. Please see details below about this booking/deposit fee.)
Please fill out the consultation form on this website as a next step; however. Some questions on the form have more details below, please read for more clarity. Consider the following before answering the consult form.
We have several options to serve your needs, and our staff counselors offer a variety of skills, expertise, and training (see "Our Staff" page). Also, as a courtesy to the financial needs of our clients, our staff is a mix of professionals who take private insurance (carriers listed beside name of clinician) and those who do not. We have this arrangement so that we have the flexibility to work with clients on sliding fee scales, to meet the needs of differing client populations, particularly those that are uninsured or under-insured (with high co-pays or deductibles).
You can schedule an intake appointment at www.schedulicity.com/scheduling/ITS7FS , if you haven't already done so. (Please Note: There is a fee to hold your appointment booking which is $40 for individual and $80.00 couples/family counseling. Please see details below about this booking/deposit fee.)
Please fill out the consultation form on this website as a next step; however. Some questions on the form have more details below, please read for more clarity. Consider the following before answering the consult form.
- Availability and Work Schedule: Please give us a sense of your availability for intake and recurring appointments. (see Motivation and Readiness below)
- Payment (Insurance/Self-Pay/Conditions of Sliding Fee Scale) If you are using insurance see section below "actions needed for insured clients".
- Appointment Booking and Deposit Fee $40.00 is used to hold the booking for the initial individual therapy appointments which are usually 45 - 50 minute sessions; $80.00 is the booking fee for initial couples or family sessions which are 75 minute sessions. We require that this fee remain on the account as a deposit fee until the end of treatment, in case of late cancellation or unpaid out of pocket cost, or insurance denial of claims. Standard and on-going fees are based on insurance or out of pocket, type of service & clinician needed, etc. Sliding fee scales are available for affordability of services, upon request.
- Intake Documents are in another tab here on this website. It is necessary to complete before your intake appointment. Please DO NOT FILL OUT SOCIAL SECURITY INFORMATION ON the registration form OR CREDIT CARD INFORMATION on Billing and Payment Agreement, you will return the documents to us via email or in person. If you return the forms via mail, it is fine to fill out those sections. To begin virtually our intake counselors will call you and take this information the phone in order to secure your financial and personal information.
We have several options to serve your needs, and our staff counselors offer a variety of skills, expertise, and training (see "Our Staff" page). Also, as a courtesy to the financial needs of our clients, our staff is a mix of professionals who take private insurance (carriers listed beside name of clinician) and those who do not. We have this arrangement so that we have the flexibility to work with clients on sliding fee scales, to meet the needs of differing client populations, particularly those that are uninsured or under-insured (with high co-pays or deductibles).
- Self-Pay/Out-of-Pocket (for those that are uninsured or underinsured): If you are not using private insurance, our intake sessions are usually $180.00 and subsequent sessions can range from $75.00 - $120.00 weekly. However, depending on your financial need, we can arrange a sliding fee scale for you. Factors in our consideration to match your budget would be the following: session type [family, couple, individual], session frequency [weekly, bi-weekly, etc.], and type of therapist seen [intake coordinator, counseling intern, senior counselor, licensed professional counselor (LPC)], etc.
- Sliding Fee Scale conditions are as follows: our lowest scale is 1) $60.00 for the individual intake session (45 to 60 mins) and $75.00 for family intake session (75 to 90 mins); and 2) subsequent sessions would be negotiated for clinical necessity and your budget. For example, one sliding fee scale plan would be 3 consecutive weeks of therapy per month and a 1 week break from therapy. We will ask for this commitment, in a contract, for $90.00/month pre-paid in 2 installments of $45.00; or 1 installment of $90.00, for those that are financially eligible to receive this discount. This is only one sliding fee scale plan, but it is a good example of the minimum payments. For financial eligibility, we will ask questions about your income, we ask that you are willing to spend 7-10% of your income on pursing wellness for your life.
- Private Insurance We currently accept the following insurances: Aetna, Blue Cross/Blue Shield; Magellan, Highmark, Pennsylvania Independence Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Pennsylvania Keystone Health Plan (if Magellan is the managed care company for the Blue and Keystone Coverages), and many EAP programs such as Anthem, ACI, and Health Advocate. If you are planning to use an insurance we do not accept, depending on the insurance plan, they may allow us to bill your insurance if you have an out-of-network benefit. Please contact your insurance carrier to inquire if you have out-of-network benefits. If you have insurance but a high deductible and it is a barrier to you receiving treatment, we will work with you to develop a sliding fee scale payment plan.
- Actions Needed for Insured Clients: If you are using your insurance, please let us know at its.well.appointments@gmail.com or you may also call us at 267-368-6630. (Please Note: This is a secure voicemail and number. Text or call is a more of a secured form of communication between us and unlike email, only exists on the servers of the sending and receiving parties). If you opt for voicemail, please mention that in your reply to us, that we can find your information on voicemail. Additionally, provide us with your date of brith, address, and zip code. Please send a copy/photo of the front AND back of your insurance card, so we can also verify your insurance. However, you are also expected to call your carrier as it is your responsibility to know your coverage. If you call, instead of texting or emailing a photo of your card, please read the member number and also the toll-free number for provider service on the back of the card.
- Why we do not take Medicaid or Medicare: Unfortunately, in Philadelphia, providers who take these insurance plans are prescribing providers (i.e. doctors, psychiatrists, or sometimes psychologist). These providers usually prescribe medications to clients as a primary or supplemental means of treatment, we do not believe that traditional medications are always necessary for improvement and we have a more holistic approach and non-medicinal ways for treatment of disorders. We are not opposed to tradition Western medications, and will partner with your current prescribing provider if you need, wish to be, or are currently on medications for optimal treatment.
- We are located in the Mount Airy Section of Philadelphia, close to Chestnut Hill, Germantown, etc. Our address is 377 E. Upsal Street Philadelphia, PA 19144. Cross streets are Upsal and Chew (please take care not to go to West Upsal which is closer to Lincoln Drive--East Upsal further north and is above Germantown Avenue).
- Our normal hours of operation are Monday - Thursday 1pm - 7pm; Earlier than 1pm, Friday and Sunday by appointment only; Saturday 9am - 4pm. Each clinician has their own schedule and therefore not all clinicians are available during all hours of operation.
- We are committed to giving you our very best in therapeutic treatment, and in return we request that you assess your 1) motivation and 2) readiness for treatment. Your motivation is the reason(s) you have for acting or behaving in a particular way and your general desire or willingness to do something. Your readiness is the state of being fully prepared for something or willingness to do something. We recognize that change (and therefore therapy/coaching) is not a linear process and can be scary, intimidating, or anxiety provoking. Therefore, your ability to be motivated, ready, or commit might be the primary reason you need therapy/coaching, as these issues might be causing problems in your romantic, work, or familial relationships already. Also, many people are attracted to begin a therapeutic/coaching process seasonally, because of New Year resolutions, seasonal affective disorders, current trauma/crisis and/or trauma/crisis anniversaries. We also recognize that while these seasonal and transitional phases in people’s lives will propel clients to reach out to seek therapy as a motivating factor, often this motivation is not readiness. Readiness is the willingness to show up to the intake appointment and the commitment to stay engaged, with the frequency necessary, to see evolving and lasting change. Frequency is decided by you, your therapist/coach, and your budget at the first intake session. For this reason we want to make you aware of 2 guidelines (cancellation policy/booking fee) that we use to accept you into our client roster.
- Our cancellation policy allows our clinicians to be prepared for your session work, often we have completed preliminary work associated to your arrival at intake and your engagement in subsequent sessions. Therefore, when you cancel your appointment, you affect our financial and energetic bottom line, as we have prepared for your arrival. We also are committed to keep cost low to make health care accessible for all populations, so in order to keep our costs affordable, we ask for a 48hr cancellation policy for intake appointment and a 24hr cancellation policy for subsequent therapy sessions. If you cancel after those time frames, we hold you responsible for 100% of your agreed payment (for those with insurance this means you will be asked to pay for the complete total, not just your co-pay, which your insurance carrier would have paid us for that day). In order to ensure your readiness, we also are asking for a $40.00/$80.00 deposit for all intake initial sessions, due at the time of booking the intake session. If you choose to not continue for subsequent sessions, a refund will be mailed to you within 30 days.