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Is Gay Affirmative Therapy Covered by Insurance?

Discussion in 'General Support and Advice' started by Denial, Jul 13, 2018.

  1. Denial

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    I see a therapist for mental health issues who has suggested I see a gay affirmative therapist. I'm not sure I need to but I may try it once. Anyway, is this the kind of thing insurance covers? I'm in the US. My insurance would cover therapy for mental illness but since being gay is not a mental illness I'm wondering if things are different. I do have mental illness though so maybe they could bill that way?
     
  2. Chip

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    It wouldn't be written up for billing as "gay affirmative therapy"; it would be for whatever underlying issues you need to see a therapist for, such as anxiety, depression, social adjustment, etc.

    The only thing to be cautious of is your insurance will probably not pay for two different therapists, as they will likely see it as a single issue.

    I'm a little surprised your therapist is referring you off to someone else; any competent therapist should be able to help address the issues that LGBT people have. But if s/he simply doesn't feel comfortable dealing with the LGBT issues then it makes sense why s/he would be making the referral.
     
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  3. Denial

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    Thank you Chip. She has a rainbow banner in her office she says she made at a gay pride event her organization did so I don't think she's homophobic or anything but she says she doesn't have enough experience which does seem a little odd to me too.
     
  4. Chip

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    Well... two options. You can certainly explore seeing another therapist. It is often really useful in therapy to occasionally switch therapists and gain different perspectives. Or... if you feel like you have a good connection, you can appreciate your therapist's openness and honestly, and ask if she has the time and interest in cultivating greater knowledge in the field. There's an excellent new book I could recommend for her, "Gay Affirmative Therapy for the Straight Clinician", by Joe Kort, Ph.D., which is written exactly for people like her. And most good therapists want to expand their skill set.

    You can also bring the things you're discussing and reading about here at EC to your sessions, and seek her input and perspective. Very often, therapists undersell themselves and their ability to address their client issues, which is good, in terms of trying to ensure their clients get the best treatment, but bad in that it can unnecessarily break a client-therapist relationship where the therapist could, with a bit of extra encouragement, continue to be a great therapist for you.

    The second therapist I saw had no experience to speak of with LGBT clients, and I came to understand that I was gay (I was a late bloomer) while I was seeing her. She was very up front about lacking that experience, but we basically went through it together, and she was awesome. She pointed me to other resources where I needed specific insights or input, but those situations were actually pretty rare, and the work I did with her was very helpful to me in the long run.
     
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  5. Denial

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    I'll have to think about what I want to do. Thanks again Chip.