Tide Pools is an out-of-network practice with nearly all insurance panels. This means we do not contract directly with insurance companies, including single-case agreements. However, we do offer psychotherapy (not assessment) to individuals with the UC Berkeley SHIP plan. Working out of network allows us to provide the depth and quality of treatment that meets our standard and maintain longterm therapy relationships that lead to lasting change. Please note that use of your insurance benefit will require that we report a clinical diagnosis to your insurance company.

Insurance plans vary significantly in terms of the benefits they offer. They may offer different benefits for in-network and out-of-network services. You should review your plan benefits and consult with your insurance provider directly. We are able to offer a statement of services (known as a Superbill), upon request, as a courtesy, which you may be able to use to pursue partial reimbursement for services. We are happy to offer the billing codes we use in assessment to support your verification of benefits. We generally do not respond to follow-up requests from providers for W9's, treatment plans, full clinical charts, or chart notes. By consenting to an assessment at Tide Pools, you are assuming responsibility for payment.

Psychodynamic approaches to therapy have much in common with CBT - including a common focus on helping individuals to deepen insight into patterns of thought and how these influence feelings and behavior. However, we do not offer CBT specifically.

Psychotherapy sessions are typically 50 minutes. As we offer long-term therapy services, we are not able to project the total cost of treatment at the outset. Each clinician’s fee varies based on experience, specific expertise, and the local market rate for private practice clinicians. Current rates are $300-$350 per session for clinicians in this practice.

We do not offer fixed-fee assessments because we tailor the scope of our work to the needs of the patient. We bill all services at a prorated hourly rate. After our first session, we will be able to provide you with a better estimate of the total cost. For reference, most comprehensive assessments in the practice require 10-20 hours of a clinician’s time at the hourly rate of $300-$350. Brief diagnostic assessments with uncomplicated presentations may carry a lower cost. Determining needs for accommodations, clarifying complex developmental and clinical presentations, absence of school and other records, and other complicating factors may increase the cost of assessment. We will discuss all of these variables in your initial consultation and clinical interviews.

Absolutely! After an initial phone consultation with you, we may ask to meet with your teen first to build alliance and so that we can have an informed conversation with you about their treatment once we’ve had a chance to get to know them. Parents of older teens (junior / senior) typically meet with the therapist 1-3 times per year. Parents of younger teens (freshmen) typically meet 3-6 times per year. Parents of elementary school children meet with their child’s therapist monthly.

You may reach out through your campus portal or through our website. When you do, please indicate you would like to use SHIP insurance. Please note that we only offer psychotherapy through SHIP, not assessments. If you are a SHIP student seeking assessment, we recommend you seek referrals through the university. We may also be able to recommend colleagues. To use SHIP, we have to determine that therapy is medically necessary for you, which means reporting on your diagnosis and, if the insurance company requests, your symptoms and progress. Please note that you are ultimately responsible for the cost of treatment. We will work to inform you if SHIP is not reimbursing your claims so that we can plan for your care.

We feel the best way to determine if it makes sense to work together is to schedule a session and try it out. For therapy patients, we will speak briefly (about 15 minutes) by phone to see if it makes sense to meet. We will then use our initial several sessions to try working together and then decide if continued work is indicated. For assessment patients, we feel a brief consultation is not enough time to gather and provide information to plan for an assessment and to offer you information about the process. We request you begin by scheduling a consultation session at our hourly rate.

For patients in the bay area, we require in-person meetings for therapy sessions. For patients in California, we offer phone or video sessions, if clinically appropriate. Some assessment work may be completed virtually, but all assessments require at least some time in office to complete the assessment.

We hear this often and it is understandable that you want to help your child find support. Simply put, if your adult child is seeking therapy, we will only begin when they call to request it and we generally do not involve the parents of adult children in treatment. Legal, ethical, and clinical efficacy concerns underly this decision. For assessments, we are happy to offer information about our process to a parent—we understand it can be complex. However, we will not begin the assessment until the adult patient reaches out to us, consents to services, and consents to your involvement.

This is another question we hear often. Unfortunately, in almost all cases, a case that begins this way does not complete. Assessment is an emotional process with many moving logistical parts. Performing it in a rushed way is unlikely to be helpful. However, we may be able to plan an assessment for a future break when your child returns home.