Frequently Asked Questions
What are your fees?
My current fee schedule is as follows:
Individual Therapy Session: $200 per 50-minute session
Couples Therapy Session: $250 per 50-minute session, $350 per 80-minute session
Family Therapy Session: $250 per 50-minute session, $350 per 80-minute session
Group Therapy Session: $30 per 90-minute session (minimum 7 group members)
Do you accept insurance?
No, I don't accept insurance. Read more here.
What states do you provide therapy services?
Maryland and Washington, DC
What forms of payment do you accept?
Credit/Debit Cards
Automated Clearing House (ACH)
Zelle
FSA/HSA
The Loveland Foundation Therapy Vouchers
Talk Naija Therapy Vouchers
Employee Assistance Programs (Workplace Options, Triad EAP, National EAP, Corpcare)
How can I make therapy affordable for me?
While I do not accept insurance in my practice, I am continuously identifying resources that can help those needing help with financing my services. Please refer to the list below for some options that may be able to help you.
Out-of-Network Reimbursement: I work with clients insured by many insurance companies on an out-of-network basis. My licenses, training, and education qualify for out-of-network reimbursement. This means that most insurance plans allowing members to go out-of-network for mental health will reimburse you for my work, according to the payments they allow. Check the nature of your insurance and what it will reimburse you.
Therapy Vouchers: Many organizations provide vouchers which subsidize a significant proportion of therapy costs. Below are the organizations that I accept vouchers from. Please read more about the programs to determine your eligibility.
HSA/FSA: A health savings account (HSA) and a flexible spending account (or FSA, also called a flexible spending arrangement by the IRS) are both tax-advantaged accounts that allow you to save specifically for medical costs. Both HSAs and FSAs allow people with health insurance to set aside money for health care costs referred to as “qualified medical expenses,” including deductibles, copayments and coinsurance, and monthly prescription costs. In most cases, you receive a debit card for your account and can use it to pay for qualifying expenses. Both types of accounts have tax benefits, too. Check with your health insurance plan to learn what they offer and how to set up an account.
Employee Assistance Programs: An employee assistance program (EAP) is a work-based intervention program designed to assist employees in resolving personal problems that may be adversely affecting the employee's performance. EAPs traditionally have assisted workers with issues like alcohol or substance misuse; however, most now cover a broad range of issues such as child or elder care, relationship challenges, financial or legal problems, wellness matters and traumatic events like workplace violence. Programs are delivered at no cost to employees by stand-alone EAP vendors or providers who are part of comprehensive health insurance plans. Services are often delivered via phone, video-based counseling, online chatting, e-mail interactions or face-to-face.
Currently, I'm contracted with the following EAPs: Workplace Options, Triad, National , Corpcare, National. Best Care, BHS EAP, AllOne Health, Quantum, Wellspan, Samata Health, Carebridge, Empathia, RJW Barnabas, Lifeworks/Morneau Shepell
Credit Cards: Using a credit card to pay for therapy can be a convenient and cost-effective method for a couple of important reasons: 1) Many credit cards offer 0% APR from anywhere between 12 and 18 months. This means that you can pay your therapy fees over time without accruing interest. Think of it as a self-imposed payment plan. 2) A number of cards also offer cash back rewards. If you're a new card member, some cards will offer up to $300 cash back within the first few months after spending a certain, and others offer between 1%-5% cash back on purchases. This could mean offsetting the cost of 1-2 therapy sessions, along with getting up to $10 back per session!
Other resources:
Open Path Psychotherapy Collective
Maryland Probono Counseling Project
Your college counseling center
What is your cancellation policy?
When I schedule appointments, I reserve that time exclusively for you and I am telling other clients asking for that time that it’s not available for them. I strongly recommend working with me to plan out a standing time if possible. I offer many late afternoon and evening appointments to accommodate busy work and school schedules.
Late and last minute cancellations do not provide enough time for me to contact clients who may be waiting for an appointment time. To provide the best service and availability for all my clients, I require 24 hours notice if you need to reschedule an appointment. I may be able to find a same week opening to reschedule. Consistent attendance is a crucial component to ensuring the most effective treatment. Multiple cancellations in a short period of time may result in the loss of standing appointments.
Missed Appointments:
If you do not contact me 24 hours in advance to cancel or reschedule your appointment, you will be charged for the missed session. Missed appointments include, but are not limited to, the unfortunate experiences of forgetting an appointment or having something else important come up that conflicts with your reserved time.
Extenuating Circumstances:
I understand that unforeseen illnesses and emergencies may result in a late cancellation or missed appointment. In these situations, you may ask me to reduce or waive the charge. I ask that you reserve this request for circumstances that truly prevent getting you to our appointment with sufficient notice. Please call as soon as you can so we can reschedule.
Late cancellations and missed appointment fees are assessed as follows:
First Cancellation/No Show: $75 for individuals, $150 for couples/family
Second Cancellation/No Show: $100 for individuals, $200 for couples/family
Each Cancelled/No Show Appointment Thereafter: Full Session Fee
Late cancellation and missed appointment fees are due prior to date of rescheduled session.
What are your hours of operation?
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 11:00am - 7:00pm.
Are you seeing clients in person?
No. All psychotherapy services at Amarachi Therapy are virtual and conducted via a secure HIPAA compliant telehealth platform.
How can therapy help me?
If you’re considering therapy, you may be thinking about the possible drawbacks. Cost might be a concern for you. You might also be aware that therapy is often difficult. Trauma or other painful events from the past can be frightening to remember, much less discuss with someone else. Even if you aren’t dealing with trauma, working through challenges isn’t easy, and therapy isn’t a quick fix. Therapy also requires honesty, with yourself and with the therapist you work with.
But if you’re willing to do the work, therapy can be rewarding. It’s a safe, judgment-free space where you can share anything, with a trained professional who is there to help.
Here are a few benefits of therapy:
You’ll learn more about yourself. Therapists listen to your story and help you make connections. They might offer guidance or recommendations if you feel lost, but they don’t tell you what to do. Therapy can empower you to take action on your own.
Therapy can help you achieve your goals. If you aren’t sure of what your goals are, therapy can help you clarify them and set realistic steps to meet them.
Therapy can help you have more fulfilling relationships. Whether you’re single or in a relationship, therapy can help you address difficulties with relating to others, such as insecurity in relationships or difficulty trusting your partners.
You’re more likely to have better health. Research supports a link between mind and body wellness. Untreated mental health issues can impact physical wellness. On the other hand, people in good emotional health may be more able to deal with physical health issues that arise.
Therapy can lead to improvement in all areas of life. If you feel like something is holding you back from living life as you envision it, therapy can help you address this. When you aren’t sure what’s keeping you from making change, therapy can help you discover the answer.
Even if you aren’t sure you want to commit to therapy, many therapists offer a free first session or phone consultation to talk through what you’re dealing with. Based on your symptoms, they might encourage you to get help.
What can I expect during therapy?
Intake - Your therapist will collect information from you via an intake questionnaire. This information includes contact and demographic information, reasons for seeking treatment, goals for therapy, medical and psychological treatment, substance use history, family medical/psychological history, risk assessment, and other factors.
Evaluation & Assessment - Once your therapist has collected your medical/psychological history, they identify, analyze, evaluate, and address the problems, issues, and circumstances which brought you to therapy. This step essential in the therapist understanding you.
Diagnosis - This is the process of comparing your symptoms with the diagnostic criteria of some type of classification system. For example, counselors in private practice and mental health agencies use the DSM–5. Insurance companies require diagnoses to authorize payment for services.
Treatment Planning - This collaborative process between you and your therapist is the development of a written document that outlines the proposed goals, plan, and methods of therapy. It will be used by you and your therapist to direct the steps to take in treating whatever you're working on.
Discharge Planning - A critical component of your treatment, discharge planning helps you prepare for the ups and downs of life after therapy. Discharge planning begins at the onset of treatment, and includes a plan for you to follow should your symptoms become unmanageable.
What is workplace stress?
Workplace Stress can be described as the the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker. Job stress can, in turn, lead to poor health and even injury. Workplace stress is a silent and often neglected factor that has a significant, negative impact on employees' mental health, particularly employees of color.
The Impacts of Workplace Stress
Workplace stressors are classified as physical and psychosocial. Physical stressors include noise, poor lighting, poor office or work layout, and ergonomic factors, such as bad working postures.
Psychosocial stressors are, arguably, the most predominant stress factors. These include high job demands, inflexible working hours, poor job control, poor work design and structure, bullying, harassments, and job insecurity.
These effects occur in a continuum, beginning as distress in response to stressors. Distress, in turn, leads to elevated blood pressure and anxiety, which increase the risk of coronary heart disease, substance abuse, and anxiety disorders.
Workplace stress's adverse effects on employees' mental health include increased risk of anxiety, burnout, depression, and substance use disorders. Workers who are stressed at work are more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors, such as cigarette smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, and poor dietary patterns.
Work-Related Stressors
Organization culture, bad management practices, job content and demands, physical work environment, relationships at work, change in management, lack of support, role conflict, and trauma are all leading work-related stressors that contribute to poor mental health outcomes.
Some of the factors that commonly cause work-related stress include long hours, heavy workload, changes within the organization, tight deadlines, changes to duties, job insecurity, lack of autonomy, boring work, insufficient skills for the job, over-supervision, inadequate working environment, lack of proper resources, l ack of equipment, few promotional opportunities, harassment, discrimination, and poor relationships with colleagues or bosses.
What does racial trauma in the workplace look like?
Racial Trauma is a form of race-based stress that affects Black people and people of color when they experience and witness dangerous events and perceived experiences of racial discrimination. For many, racial trauma appears as threats of harm and injury, humiliation, and often witnessing people of color being harmed, which can negatively impact one’s mental health.
In the workplace, racial trauma is a specific type of workplace stress that can look like micro/macroaggressions that perpetuate racism, stereotypes, and aggression; harassment, lack of career advancement opportunities; and slights/snubs with racial undertones meant to be oppressive and derogatory.
While many black professionals have come forward with their experiences and successfully moved on from these types of work environments, many others have not had the luxury of doing so. As a result, Black/POCs resort to managing their work environments through emotional management and careful self-presentation (ie "code switching"). Despite these behavioral modifications, Black employees continue to experience loneliness, isolation, lack of allies, tokenism, being overlooked, and lack of representation in leadership.
I think therapy can help me. What next?
I'm happy to hear that you're ready to begin your journey towards healing. Choosing the right therapist is an important part of your therapeutic journey. Please take a look at my services and read more about me to see if I may be a good fit for your needs. You can also click the following link to schedule a FREE 10-minute consultation to talk a little bit more if you're still unsure or have additional questions.