Whether you’re new to therapy or just new to The Gaia Center, this page will probably help answer some of your questions! Still have questions? Reach out here.

I don’t live in Tennessee. Can I work with The Gaia Center?

Unfortunately our clinical licenses us limit us to offering therapy only to clients who reside in Tennessee. When a client is appropriate for coaching, some of our clinicians also offer coaching services for folks in any location. If you’re interested in coaching with one of our team members, please inquire on our Contact page, mention that you are out of state and seeking coaching, and we will get back to you with more information on this.

What are your fees?

Provisionally Licensed (“Pre-licensed”) Clinicians:

Emerson Ryder, Kaitlyn King, Kalaway Voss, Katelyn Mase, Kaycee Whiteside, Mary Morrow, Sam DiMartino, SanTasha Wright-Comer

Standard 50-minute 1on1 session - $135
75-minute 1on1 session - $200
50-minute couples session - $155
75-minute couples session - $230

Independently Licensed Clinicians: Kaitlyn King, Colleen Werner

Standard 50-minute 1on1 session - $150
75-minute 1on1 session - $225
50-minute couples session - $170
75-minute couples session - $255

Clinical Director: Valerie Martin

Standard 50-minute 1on1 session - $180
75-minute 1on1 session - $265
50-minute couples session - $200
75-minute couples session - $300

Groups: $55/session

Masters Level Intern Therapists (Courtney Pitzer, Grayson Peavy, Tiffany Chitpanya):

Standard rate is $60 for a 50-minute session ($75 for couples therapy)
For folks who have a need for a lower rate, graduate interns also offer Pay-What-You-Can sessions. See this form for more info and to apply.

Payment is due at time of session via cash, check, or credit/debit card, and we require clients to keep a card on file in our secure online client portal. While most of our Reduced-Fee availability is with our masters-level intern therapists, if you are hoping to work with a specific clinician, you can inquire on our Contact page about whether that clinician has any Reduced-Fee spots available.

Do you take insurance?

Short answer— no, although some clients can pay up-front and receive partial reimbursement though their out-of-network insurance benefits, just depending on individual policy.

The Gaia Center is not in-network with any insurance panels. (Read more about why here, as well as what we are doing to increase accessibility of services outside of insurance.) As an out-of-network provider, many of our clients are self-pay (paying fully out-of-pocket), while others pay up-front and are able to use out-of-network insurance benefits to get paritial reimbursement from their insurance company. (Note: Insurance reimbursement is only possible if you are working with a fully licensed provider, not with graduate interns.)

Depending on your insurance policy, some (not all) policies will offer partial reimbursement to you for out-of-network services. If you are interested in seeing if your insurance company offers this, call them to ask if your specific policy reimburses for out-of-network mental health services, and what deductible you must reach before reimbursement is offered. If they do offer this and you would like to utilize out-of-network benefits, you will pay us the full fee up-front at the time of session, and we’ll provide you with a superbill that you can submit to your insurance company to receive reimbursement directly from them.

A superbill is essentially a receipt of services paid that includes our information and your “primary diagnosis,” meaning that it is required for us to list at least one diagnosis in order for your insurance to reimburse you. Although having a mental health diagnosis in your medical history is fairly common and often does not present any problems, it is good to be aware that it can impact things like professional licensing/credentialing in certain fields (i.e. military, pilot, etc.) as well as life insurance applications.

What can I expect when we meet?

When you schedule your initial session with us, your Gaia Center therapist will send you new client paperwork (via a secure online portal) to review and complete before your first session. The initial session will focus on us getting to know each other and identifying your goals for therapy. This will help us to establish the best overall plan for you including how often we should meet.

Whether you've had multiple therapists or this is your first time stepping into a therapist's office, our goal is to offer a warm, non-judgmental, and comfortable space where we can co-create a strong therapeutic relationship that helps you heal and grow.

Throughout therapy, we'll focus sessions on the goals we've collaboratively identified. Your therapist will always check in to see if there is something in particular you want or need to discuss, and we'll also always have a ideas and activities at-the-ready that support your overall therapy goals.

How long will therapy take?

The duration of therapy is highly individualized. Our goal is to empower you to be your own best advocate and gain the skills and healing you need to succeed without us.

Depending on each person's unique situation, some clients may come to therapy for a just a few months to learn some coping skills and process an event; others choose to maintain a longer term therapeutic relationship. We typically recommend starting weekly, but often once you start seeing progress toward your goals, we can decrease the frequency of sessions.

Online Therapy + COVID Policy:

In addition to in-person sessions in our Nashville office, we always offer virtual (telehealth) sessions for clients (as long as they’re Tennessee residents) who prefer or need this option for any reason.

Our clinicians are vaccinated, and we are not currently requiring masks. We will keep our clients and this page updated if our COVID policy changes.

FAQ

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)