FAQs

  • We are currently accepting new clients and have flexible availability to suit your needs.

  • Yes! Whether you’re new to therapy and wondering if therapy is right for you, returning after time away from therapy, or looking a fresh perspective or a new treatment approach, our Illinois-based teletherapy practice offers free consultations and is accepting new clients.

  • Making the decision to seek mental health treatment can be challenging, so let us first congratulate you on taking this important step!

    We view therapy at its core to be a collaborative effort between you and your counselor. We won’t tell you what to do, but instead will listen to you and communicate with you to help us both determine what’s most important to you, what you’d like to achieve, and what changes you would like to see in your life. Together, we’ll develop treatment goals individualized for you alone, and chart a course for accomplishing them.

    For simplicity, we can think of counseling as having 3 stages. These stages are fluid, and accordingly the counseling process may not always adhere to them in precise order:

    Initial — The initial stage of counseling typically centers around relationship-building, exploration, and assessment. We’ll meet with you to establish a collaborative, trusting relationship, learn about who you are, listen to your story, and explore your symptoms, strengths, and values. This information will be used to complete a diagnostic assessment. (Note: A mental health diagnosis is required by health insurance providers for service reimbursement).

    Middle — The middle stage of counseling is typically focused around in-depth exploration, skill development, and goal-planning. Based upon information gathered during the initial stage, we’ll work with you to target the issues which are most important to you and begin to explore possible ways of addressing them. We’ll also introduce and explore valuable skills you can use to manage stress and other symptoms. Then, using your values as guideposts, together we’ll develop realistic, achievable goals that will create meaningful and impactful change in your life.

    Final — The final stage of counseling centers around committed action and maintenance. We’ll work with you to channel and sustain motivation to help you attain your goals and evaluate your progress. As you begin to accomplish what you had set out to achieve, we will discuss ways to maintain your progress, during both the remainder of your time in treatment and beyond.

    As a final note, not everyone progresses through these stages in the same way. Each person is unique, and recovery looks different for everyone. We will always treat you as an individual and work with you at your own pace.

    For further reading, check out our blog post on how to make the most of your time in therapy.

  • Taking the first step of acknowledging the need for help and seeking it out is a major one, and highly personal. You may find yourself navigating significant life changes, dealing with loss, feeling directionless, or unable to shake thoughts or habits you’d rather not have. Maybe you’re at a point where you’re losing motivation to do things that are important to you, or unable to make decisions about what your goals are, or are unsure about how to reach them. For others, therapy may be a method to find mental optimization which can help maximize your life. Having the right counselor and treatment modality puts someone on your team to help you learn the skills and tools you need to thrive, together.

    Whether you’re new to therapy, returning after time away from therapy, or are seeking a fresh perspective, our Illinois-based teletherapy practice offers free consultations and is accepting new clients.

  • We treat a range of conditions and symptoms including depression, anxiety, ADHD, OCD, trauma, grief counseling, substance abuse and addiction, high-functioning psychosis, personality disorders, and more.

    We encourage anyone interested in mental health services to contact us to discuss whether our services are right for you. We offer free client-centered consultations to explore whether we are best-suited to assist, and we can help refer you to another mental health treatment provider if you fall outside of our service demographic.

  • The initial appointment does a lot of heavy lifting, and will help to set the foundation for future appointments. Your counselor will welcome and get to know you, share more information about themselves and their values as a counselor.

    Your counselor will perform a medical and behavioral assessment, which will identify clinically significant considerations. They’ll ask about your life circumstances, goals for therapy, hear any concerns you have, answer any questions about the treatment process and what to expect, and begin discussions on how we can help. These initial discussions will help guide future appointments, inform any diagnoses, and will help shape your treatment plan.

    For more initial appointment advice, check out our blog post on how to make the most of your time in therapy.

  • At this time, we accept the following insurance:

    • Aetna

    • Ambetter

    • Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS)

    • ComPsych

    • Evernorth (formerly Cigna)

    • Illinicare

    • Magellan

    • Medicaid

    • Medicare

    • Meridian

    • Molina

    • MultiPlan

    • TRICARE East

    • UnitedHealth (Optum)

    • Wellcare

    If you have a health plan that offers out-of-network mental health benefits, we can provide you with a superbill after each appointment that you can submit to your insurance provider for reimbursement. As a courtesy to you, we can submit the superbill on your behalf if requested.

  • We charge $150 for a 53-minute counseling session. Payment is due at the end of each appointment. If you have an insurance plan with out-of-network mental health benefits, we can provide you with a superbill that you can submit to your insurance company for reimbursement (we can assist with this!). We do not offer services on a sliding-scale fee system.

  • We provide the highest standard of care regardless of client pay status. However, it is worth noting that your pay status may have certain implications that you might find important with respect to billing, privacy, and treatment. Some of these implications are outlined below:

    Billing — Self-pay clients are required to pay out of pocket for the full cost of service. MindVault Health requires payment due at the end of each appointment. If you have out-of-network mental health benefits through your insurance provider, we can provide you with a superbill after each appointment which you can use to seek reimbursement through your provider.

    Privacy — Self-pay clients are afforded a greater degree of privacy with respect to their health information which is kept strictly confidential unless written consent is provided (or in cases of certain legal mandates). In contrast, certain health information must be shared with a client’s insurance provider, including (but not limited to) their diagnosis. Mental health diagnoses may constitute a “pre-existing condition” and may have implications on future health benefits coverage.

    Treatment — Both the client and the counselor are afforded greater flexibility with respect to treatment when a client chooses self-pay. Insurance companies impose a range of restrictions on treatment including the requirement of “medical necessity” for treatment coverage (including a diagnosis), the number and length of sessions covered, and even the type and course of treatment provided. Self-pay clients and their counselors are unbound by these restrictions and have greater freedom to construct the course of treatment.

  • MindVault Health provides teletherapy services to residents throughout Illinois. We are based in Lisle, IL and serve clients across the greater Chicagoland area including Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbrook, Downers Grove, Wheaton, Schaumburg, Oak Park, Joliet, Evanston, and Chicago, as well as all other Illinois communities via our 100% telehealth platform.

  • Yes! We are a 100% teletherapy-based practice, which allows us to provide a personalized face-to-face counseling experience utilizing TherapyNotes' HIPAA-compliant video-conferencing platform so you can receive exceptional care in the safety and comfort of your home.

    Check out our blog post on teletherapy for further reading.

  • Prior to your first appointment, you’ll receive a secure link to our secure TherapyNotes Client Portal. TherapyNotes makes the teletherapy experience easy, by connecting your camera and microphone right in the browser. Your counselor will be notified that you’ve joined the session, and will connect to begin your appointment.

    From there, teletherapy treatment is approached the same way as in-person therapy, focused on you, your goals, and your treatment. After the appointment concludes, you and your counselor will disconnect, and you’ll be taken back to your TherapyNotes client portal. You’ll receive a reminder for your next appointment and another secure link back to your patient portal prior to your next appointment.

  • For most cases and presentations, research indicates that teletherapy is as effective as in-person therapy across all demographics. Further, teletherapy offers increased flexibility in care options and expands availability of services.

    Further reading on the comparative effectiveness of teletherapy and in-person sessions can be found on our blog here.

  • Our counseling appointments last 53 minutes. Several additional minutes may be used to discuss your future needs or for scheduling your next appointment. This is an industry standard.

  • Timelines for successful therapeutic outcomes are as numerous as there are clients - everyone has their own path, some longer, some shorter. Experiencing beneficial results from therapy can depend on your goals for therapy, frequency of sessions, chosen modality, clear client and counselor communication, and, most importantly, your commitment to applying the skills you’re learning in session into your life outside of it. As with learning anything new, seeing life improvements as a result of session work will come with practice, confidence, and staying the course as you and your counselor work to reach your goals.

    For further reading, check out our blog post on how to make the most of your time in therapy.

  • We primarily work with adults aged 18+, and will work with adolescents aged 14+ on a case-by-case basis (please contact us to discuss). We do not currently see clients under age 14. We may expand our services to include children in the future.

  • No. At this time, we only work with individual clients. Please check back with us later as we may expand our services to include couples and families in the future.

  • No. As a therapy-only practice, we are not licensed to prescribe medicine in the state of Illinois. Depending on your symptoms and level of interest, we may discuss or suggest seeking psychiatric care during counseling.

  • We reserve a number of evening appointment openings. Weekend appointments are currently unavailable.

  • Yes! As with any diagnosis, we’ll meet you where you are and teach you the skills, strategies, and tools to improve your focus and motivation that align with your goals.

  • Therapy can have a profound impact on addiction treatment. Research continues to find overwhelming evidence of success with a variety of therapeutic modalities in support of those battling addiction. Whether therapy is a first step toward change or part of a larger treatment plan, our counselors are here to offer skills, tools, and support personalized to your journey.

  • Values-based therapy and ACT have significant overlap, and values-based therapy can be considered a core tenet of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Our counselors believe that in helping people clearly identify their values, a personal foundation can be built upon which therapeutic modalities like ACT and CBT can be applied to their maximum benefit. In living and behaving in alignment with our core beliefs, often, the path toward living a more fulfilling life becomes clearer, allowing both client and counselor to focus on and engage with treatment in a deeper, more personalized way.

    For more information on mindfulness and ACT, check out our blog post: A Deeper Look into Mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).

  • In short, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps to challenge and replace maladaptive thought patterns, such as those related to anxiety and depression, to promote healthy behaviors and responses. Your counselor may employ CBT methods to identify distressing behaviors and help you train brain to have thoughts that work for you instead of against you.

    For more information on mindfulness and CBT, check out our blog post: A Deeper Look into Mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).

  • A superbill is a detailed receipt for therapy services that clients with out-of-network insurance benefits can submit to their insurer for reimbursement.

    Superbills contain certain required information such as identifying information, date of service, cost of service, and diagnoses. You may choose to submit the superbill to your insurance provider yourself, or we can do this on your behalf if requested.

    Please note that not all health plans offer out-of-network coverage for mental health treatment or may not reimburse you for the full cost of service. It’s important for you to contact your insurance provider to determine what out-of-network benefits you have. If requested, we can complete this step for you!

    When reaching out to your insurance provider about out-of-network coverage, here are some important questions to ask:

    1) I want to work with an out-of-network mental health provider. How much will you reimburse me?

    2) How many appointments/sessions will be covered?

    3) What is my out-of-network deductible?

    4) What is the best way to submit my claim with a superbill?

    5) Do I need prior authorization for any mental health out-of-network claims?

    Please let us know if there’s any way we can assist you to better understand your health benefits.

  • As a qualified mental health provider in the state of Illinois, we are required by federal law to employ various safeguards to protect your personal health information. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) determines privacy guidelines, and accordingly we:

    • Use TherapyNotes’ HIPAA-compliant electronic medical record system for secure documentation storage, client portal access, and telehealth video-conferencing.

    • Have entered into a Business Associate Addendum agreement with Google to utilize Google Workspace as a HIPAA-compliant email solution. We use application-based two-factor authentication for secure email protection.

    • Never share your personal health information with any 3rd-party unless authorized by written consent, required for insurance billing purposes, or mandated by law.

  • Please see below for our no-show, late-show, late-cancellation, and repeated no-show/cancellation policies:

    No-show — If you do not attend your scheduled appointment and do not provide sufficient notice for cancellation, you will be charged the full session fee ($150).

    Late-show — If you are more than 15 minutes late to your appointment, you will be charged the full session fee ($150) and will be asked to reschedule. We may still be able to accommodate you, but this is not guaranteed and is both dependent upon your counselor’s schedule and up to their discretion.

    Late-cancellation — We require a full 24-hours advance notice prior to your appointment start time for cancellation. If notice is not provided more than 24 hours in advance of your appointment start time, you will be charged the full session fee ($150). A voicemail is considered sufficient notice.

    Repeated no-show/cancellation — Frequent cancellations (3 or more in 6 months or 2 consecutive) and/or missed appointments (no-show) will result in the termination of treatment. If you have arranged with your counselor to have recurring appointments, the next recurring appointment will stay in the calendar. Therefore, please contact us if you choose to cancel that appointment to avoid a second no-show/late-cancellation charge of $150. A voicemail is considered sufficient notice. The recurring appointment will be removed after the second consecutive no-show/late-cancellation.

    Exceptions — The aforementioned policies will remain in effect except in the event of a serious illness or emergency. Some examples of emergencies are car accidents, deaths in the family, or extreme illness. Work-related issues do not constitute emergencies. This cancellation policy also applies even if missing the appointment was an unintentional act.

  • Sox! (We know, we know.)