What You Need to Know

Sessions:

Sessions  are, at minimum, once per week, and last 50 minutes (unless  arranged  otherwise). Sessions always start and end on time, therefore it  is  important for you to arrive on time. If you arrive late to any session  for any reason, you are forfeiting that amount of time from the scheduled session. Even if you arrive 40 minutes late to a 50-minute session, you will be charged the full fee for that abbreviated session. There are no exceptions to this policy. 

Cancellation Policy:

Notice of 24 hours is required to cancel or change a scheduled appointment. Otherwise, the usual fee must be paid. 

Fees:

In-Person Session:  

$150 US Dollars (or equivalent in MXN Pesos) per 50 min. session (unless agreed upon otherwise).  

NO IN-PERSON SESSIONS AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME.  ON-LINE SESSIONS ONLY.

Skype/Phone Session: 

$100 US Dollars (or equivalent in MXN Pesos) per 50 min. session (unless agreed upon otherwise). 

Written Psychological Evaluation Report:

$1,500 US Dollars (or equivalent in MXN Pesos)

Billing and payments:

Payments must be made at least 24 hours before the session by PayPal (Add 5%), bank transfer (Zelle, which is free to use with US bank accounts), or Wise to primavera@post.harvard.edu.  Alternately, you can request Mexican bank details or XOOM.

I strongly recommend Wise (formerly Transferwise).  With Wise you can easily add money from any bank account anywhere in the world and convert it to whichever currency you wish, and then send it to someone in seconds with the actual exchange rate (rather than the corrupt excessive bank rate) and a very small fee.

Insurance:

Like   many psychotherapists, I do not accept insurance. However, many  insurance  companies will cover all or a portion of the fee. 

If  you would like to  use your insurance, please contact your insurance  company and ask what  coverage you have to see an "out-of-network  provider." Make sure that  you tell them that I have a PhD, as insurance  companies usually reimburse at a  higher rate for therapists with a  PhD. Your insurance company will tell  you what your coverage is. 

If  you request it,  I can give you an invoice once a month that you can  submit to your  insurance company for reimbursement.          

I decided not to work directly with insurance companies for several reasons:  

• All  health insurance companies require a "mental disorder"  diagnosis. Many  people who come to therapy want to learn new skills and  different  life-strategies and do not necessarily have a mental  diagnosis.  Most people are not "crazy."
• Insurance  companies are a big business with ties to big  pharmaceutical  companies. Doctors are often paid to prescribe drugs by  the pharma companies. They are more interested in their profits than in  the  well-being of those they are intended to serve. Often, insurance   companies will not pay for therapy sessions unless the patient is   prescribed medication (doctor and big pharma in cahoots). It is my view  that most people do not need  medication, and that medication (in many  cases) can be more harmful than helpful.  The world demands a happy  robot.  At any rate,  I believe that the doctor, in consultation with  the patient, should  decide whether or not medication is necessary, and  not insurance company  bureaucrats.
• Insurance companies typically severely limit the number of therapy sessions for which they will pay.   
• Many  insurance companies put severe restrictions on what types of  therapy  they will cover. For example, most insurance companies do not  cover  marriage and family therapy or psychoanalysis. 
• With insurance companies, many of your choices and treatment  options are limited. This takes away your ability to be involved  actively  in determining what type of therapy that you receive. 
• Health  insurance jeopardizes personal confidentiality. When a  bill is  submitted to an insurance company on your behalf, your  confidential  information is processed by the insurance company, and  then stored in a  database. Anyone who is involved with processing or  handling  of your claim has access to your records and anyone who has a  "legitimate"  reason to access the medical database, such as insurance  companies and  prospective employers, can view your confidential  records. Theoretically, an  employer or other entity could discriminate  against you based  on this information. 

For all of these reasons, I have decided, as a psychotherapist, not to accept health insurance directly.  

Privacy:

All  the information about my patients' psychotherapy is strictly confidential.  This practice’s privacy policy prohibits the release of any information concerning a patient to anyone without the patient's  explicit and informed written authorization.      

After-Hours Coverage:

I am often not immediately available by telephone. Messages may be left for me at my e-mail address: primavera@post.harvard.edu.   I routinely check my voice and e-mail for messages 24 hours a day, as  my phone is silenced during sessions. If you are difficult to reach,  please let me know some times when you will be available.  If you click  'contact me' rather than sending an e-mail, please remember to check  your spam folder for my response e-mail.

NO "FREE CONSULTATIONS," PHONE CALLS, ETC."  Therapy begins as soon as we begin talking.  That's how this works.

By reading the above and making an appointment, you are contracting my  services and are agreeing to abide by the above terms.  If you disagree  with any of the above terms, please let me know before making an  appointment.