FAQs

There are benefits and risks to engaging in the psychotherapeutic process.  

 Some of the benefits include:

• Attaining a better understanding of yourself, your goals, and values

• Developing skills for improving your relationships

• Finding resolution to the issues or concerns that led you to seek therapy

• Learning new ways to cope with stress and anxiety

• Managing anger, grief, depression, and other emotional pressures

• Improving communication and listening skills

• Changing old behavioral patterns and developing new ones

• Discovering new ways to approaching difficult situations or conflict

• Improving your self-esteem and boosting self-confidence

Some of the risks include:

• Feelings and symptoms can get initially worse as the therapy progresses. In rare cases, some people have thoughts of hurting themselves.  If this happens, we will work to help you understand and cope with these feelings safely and can direct therapy to be more supportive until you are feeling stronger. It is always important that you let me know if you are having any frightening or dangerous thoughts or feelings, or if you are considering harming yourself or someone else.

• Therapy can complicate your life. Therapy is often about making changes or about looking at yourself differently. Therapy can change how you live, and it can change how you feel about your relationships. We will work together to anticipate these changes and you can decide what changes are best for you, and when.

• If you decide to submit a claim to your insurance company, they will require a diagnosis. Some clients fear being labeled or “stigmatized” by a diagnosis, or fear that it could limit their career options or insurance rates.  If this is a concern for you, we can talk about it.

• Finally, not all therapy is effective. If you have been in therapy for several weeks or months, and it does not feel like you are making progress, please let me know.  It may be that you would do better with a different approach to therapy, or even with a different therapist. As therapists, we know that we cannot be everything to everybody, and I am comfortable helping you make a change if needed.

The benefits and risks you may receive from therapy are influenced by how connected, understood, and safe you feel talking with your therapist, how committed you are to a process that can be painful at times, and your innate healing intelligence's readiness to adopt change.  You may be in a situation or place where you still need some of the old patterns and defenses. I trust your internal wisdom, and I will work with you to manifest the life you want at the speed that works for you. 

Research has shown that most of the common approaches to therapy are about equally successful. In general, psychotherapy clients are better off after therapy than they were before it, and they are better off after therapy than 80% of untreated people.

In person and virtual 50-minute sessions: $225

Home visit 60-minute sessions: $400

Longer sessions are available and charged on a prorated basis. 

I accept Concern Health, an Employee Assistance Program offered through employers that provides a certain number of free sessions to employees.  If your employer offers this benefit, you can contact Concern at 800-344-4222 and request to see me. 

For current clients, if you are experiencing a financial hardship, we can discuss the possibility of a reduced fee, and I can also refer you to lower cost options.

In compliance with Title 45, section 149.610 Code of Federal Regulations, I will provide a "Good Faith Estimate" of anticipated therapy costs to private pay clients at the start of treatment.  

I accept Visa, Mastercard, flex spending account (FSA) or health savings account (HSA) debit cards and cash.  Credit cards are stored in a HIPAA compliant electronic health record and billed after each session.​ Cash payments need to be made at the end of each session as well.  Any fees charged for declined cards will be passed through to you.

I am not contracted with any insurance companies.  If you have a PPO insurance plan, with out-of-network benefits, you may be able to be reimbursed for some of the cost. I am happy to provide you with a "Super bill," that has the information your insurance company will need when you file a claim.  If this is of interest to you, I can help you determine the specifics of your coverage. Although I am happy to assist your efforts to seek insurance reimbursement, I am unable to guarantee that your insurance will provide payment for the services provided to you. You are responsible for verifying and understanding the limits of your insurance coverage.

If you are unable to keep your appointment, please contact me as soon as possible to cancel or reschedule your session. I have a 24-hour late cancellation policy. That means if you do not attend your scheduled therapy session and have not notified me within 24 hours of the appointment, you will be charged the full cost of the session. 

Prior to your first appointment, you are required to add a credit card to your client portal.  You have the option of paying for sessions by cash on the day of the appointment, otherwise, this credit card will be billed. This card will be charged for missed appointments or late cancellations.

What you say in therapy is confidential, expect for the following:

There are some situations in which I am legally obligated to take action to protect a client and/or others from harm. For example, if I believe that a child, adult over 65 yo, or disabled person is being abused or has been abused, I am required to make a report to the appropriate state agency. If I believe that a client is threatening serious bodily harm to another, I am required to take protective actions. These actions may include notifying the potential victim, contacting the police, or seeking hospitalization for the client. If the client threatens to harm himself/herself, I may be obligated to seek hospitalization for him/her or to contact family members or others who can help provide protection. If a similar situation occurs in the course of our work together, I will attempt to fully discuss it with you before taking any action.

If you submit a claim to your insurance, they will require a diagnosis and sometimes information to justify the treatment.  You are the one who will be submitting the claim, so can decide if you want your insurance company to have this information.  If I am ever asked for additional information, I will get your consent before sending anything. If you don't want me to send requested information, your insurance company may deny the claim.

I may occasionally find it helpful to consult other professionals about a case. During a consultation, I make every effort to avoid revealing the identity of my client. The consultant is also legally bound to keep the information confidential. Ordinarily, I will not tell you about these consultations unless I believe that it is important to our work together.

Although this written summary of exceptions to confidentiality is intended to inform you about potential issues that could arise, it is important that we discuss any questions or concerns that you may have. I will be happy to discuss these issues with you and provide clarification when possible. However, if you need specific clarification or advice, I am unable to provide, formal legal advice may be needed, as the laws governing confidentiality are quite complex, and I am not an attorney.

If you need to reach me between sessions for non urgent issues, you can call (650-556-4906) or email (betsy@betsyconlan.com) me.  Please understand that I may be in session with other patients or addressing other matters when you attempt to reach me.  I check my voicemail and email regularly and will usually be able to get back to you same day, except after hours, weekends and holidays. Email is not secure, so I encourage you to not send detailed health information via this method. You can upload this type of information through your client portal.

If you are unable to reach me and feel that you cannot wait for me to return your call, you can call 988 for support. If you are experiencing a psychiatric emergency, please contact 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. 

When I am unavailable for an extended period, I will provide you with the name of a colleague to contact, if necessary.