Commonly Asked Questions about Therapy

What makes you so special?

Oh, we're just ordinary people who love what we do! You're really the focus here; we're just coming alongside you. And when that happens, you'll find us working hard, thinking about you in between sessions, prepping for sessions, remembering details about you, and laughing with you. 

Office-wise, we're in an atypical therapy setting. We're in an office building with other small businesses, including start-ups, attorneys, and CPAs. That way, when you're waiting in the waiting area, you could be waiting for anybody. And, as much as we can help it, we also schedule sessions with time in between to give us time to regroup and reflect on your case. This also protects your confidentiality when you're not running into our other clients. 

How long do I have to be in therapy?

You don’t have to do anything! But if you want to make meaningful changes to your life and relationships, the length of treatment is based on your needs and what you want counseling to help with. We’ve had clients who have come for a few sessions, followed through with recommendations in between sessions, and felt better and moved on. We’ve also had clients come back into treatment as needed, or stay on to work on more complex issues. While it’s hard to predict how long therapy will take, we promise we won’t keep you for longer than needed.

Do you take insurance?

Yes, we're an in-network provider with Premera, LifeWise, First Choice Health, and Kaiser Permanente. We're also a LyraHealth EAP provider. We bill these insurance companies directly for services provided. For other health plans not listed, we're considered an out-of-network provider. We'd be happy to provide you with a "Superbill" to submit to your insurance company for possible reimbursement (individual counseling only). 

Please note that Rachel & Sunny can bill Premera & Kaiser insurances only.

Are there any benefits to not using insurance? 

You might elect to not use insurance for privacy reasons. Throughout treatment, your insurance company generally needs a mental health diagnosis to determine "medical necessity". When we run up against issues processing claims, insurance companies have required additional clinical information such as a treatment summary. Some of our clients have also expressed concerns about leaving a paper trail when applying for life, health or disability insurance.

Do you offer online therapy?

Since the health crisis, we’ve made our online counseling program more robust. In addition to the flexibility of meeting online due to recovery from surgery or running late to an appointment, we’ve also made video sessions available to new and existing clients who want to meet remotely. This is only available to clients who are physically located in WA state and is not appropriate for clients traveling out-of-state or out-of-country. If using insurance, most in-state plans cover “telemedicine” as a part of your mental health/behavioral health benefit.

You’re all the way in Redmond. Shouldn’t I find someone closer?

Traffic is a bear around here, especially if you’re coming from Seattle! We discourage carbon emission, but we do value a good fitting counselor-client relationship. We are people who are willing to drive all over the place to see our providers of choice. Different than say a dentist who works on your teeth once every six months, counseling usually means sharing a part of your life that you wouldn’t tell the average person. That said, it’s important that you feel comfortable with the therapist you choose and you believe that person has the skills to help you. If we're not your person after a few sessions, no problem, we’ll be happy to refer you to someone who might be a better fit.

Ready to make changes that will get you closer to the life you want?