Low-Fee Therapy Program (*currently closed)

*Please note: OUR LOW-FEE PROGRAM IS CURRENTLY CLOSED.

Our program will be on hold indefinitely as we work to restructure it.

We currently do not have an estimate for when we will relaunch our clinical internship program.

In the meantime, Seattle University has a lower cost provider directory that could be a helpful resource for you.

Thank you for your understanding.

Our low fee therapy program is designed for those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford therapy. If you think you would benefit from treatment, but are hesitant to enroll due to the cost, we invite you to reach out. The fees for individual therapy are explained below.

Eligibility

You must be in Washington State at the time of your appointment (including for telehealth appointments).
The program does not provide the appropriate level of care for patients experiencing active addiction, active eating disorders, or active psychosis, but if you are struggling with one of these issues you can reach out to our office at info@seattleanxiety.com and we can provide you with some referrals.
This program does not provide the appropriate level of care for patients who are actively suicidal or homicidal. If you are at risk of harming yourself or another person, please call 911 or walk into your nearest emergency department.

IMPORTANT: By submitting an appointment request, you thereby acknowledge and agree to our billing and cancellation policies (low-fee specific pricing below). You thereby also attest that you have completed our brief online safety screening and will be in the State of Washington at the time of your appointment (even if it’s a Telehealth appointment).

FREE Initial assessment

The first appointment you’ll be scheduled for will be a free one-hour assessment. The purpose of this assessment is to determine what your specific mental health needs are and determine what the best course of treatment would be for you.

Most of the time (about 70% of the time) we determine that seeing one of our interns for psychotherapy will be an appropriate course of treatment. However, in a significant minority of cases (about 30% of the time) the mental health issues facing the client fall outside the scope of practice and training for our clinical internship team. In these cases, our clinical interns will work with you to determine the best and most affordable options in the area that can meet your needs

Cost

While fees are structured according to income and detailed in the next section, eligibility to receive services at these sliding scale rates is based only on your statement of need. In other words, we will not require you to prove financial need or produce any documentation.

Cost of treatment to see a SAS Intern is both income- and session length-based. Click the guide below to help you determine the fee you can expect to pay.

Low-Fee pricing guide

TherApists

Our Low-Fee Therapy Program is staffed by our clinical psychotherapy interns who are currently in our internship program. All of our clinical psychotherapy interns are in their final part of graduate school, finishing up either their Doctoral or Master’s degree program in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, clinical social work, marriage & family therapy, or a related mental health care specialization that prepares graduates to work as therapists.

Note: This program is not for psychiatric care or medication management.

Goal

Medicaid and resources that are provided through community mental health centers (CMHCs) require such a small amount of income that they leave many individuals in a “care gap,” unable to access services paid for by tax dollars but also unable to afford self-pay services from independent clinical practices (in 2021, a single earner in Seattle must earn less than $17,131 annually to qualify for medicaid, and psychotherapy typically costs between $150 and $300 per hour out of pocket).

Some of the individuals in this care gap are insured, usually through an employer, but most therapists do not accept payment from insurance companies given the low rates of reimbursement and many extra unpaid hours of paperwork required to justify reimbursement under these contracts. Furthermore, the therapists who do accept insurance are so booked up that it can be impossible to find an appointment with one of them.

The goal of our Low-Fee Therapy Program is to Provide excellent and accessible care to those in our community who fall into this care gap.