Your Privacy
Your privacy: who sees what
This is one of the most important questions you can ask, and you deserve a straight answer.
There are really two parts to it.
What your insurer receives when you use benefits.
When we bill insurance, we submit a claim. A claim carries the minimum needed to process payment: your diagnosis code, the service (CPT) codes, the date, and the provider. Your insurer does not automatically receive your clinical notes or anything you said in session. In limited situations — a medical-necessity review or an audit — they can request records, and we release only what's appropriate. But it's honest to say: using insurance means a diagnosis becomes part of your claims record. That's true of any covered medical service, not only ours.
"I'm on my parents' (or my spouse's) insurance - what can they see?"
Here's the truth, plainly. The person who holds the policy usually receives an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) — a summary the insurer mails or posts online. An EOB typically shows that a dependent received services, the provider's name and that they are a psychologist, and the date. Depending on the plan, it may or may not spell out the diagnosis. So while the content of your sessions stays private, the fact that you saw a psychologist can be visible to the policyholder.
You have options:
You can file a confidential communications request with your insurer, asking that your EOBs be sent to your address instead of the policyholder's. Under HIPAA you're allowed to ask; some states require insurers to honor it and others leave it to the plan — we can help you find out where yours stands.
You can choose to pay privately and skip insurance entirely (see Insurance & Payment). When there's no claim, there's no EOB.
We're glad to walk through this with you at your consultation so you can choose with open eyes.
A note about the future.
Some people worry about a mental-health diagnosis being "on record." Here's what's true: health insurers cannot deny you coverage or charge you more for a pre-existing condition — that's protected by law. Some other kinds of policies (certain life or disability insurance) can ask about your history. We won't pretend to predict every downstream use. What we can promise is that any diagnosis we give is accurate, appropriate, and something you fully understand before it is ever submitted anywhere.
Have questions about your privacy?
We're here to help you understand your options.