At The Gaia Center, we believe that while individual growth and healing is important and deserved for every person, the true purpose of therapy is about a lot more than just our individual needs and goals.

Ultimately, our work is about liberation: individual and collective. We cannot be liberated if we are oppressed by the impact of past trauma or an internalized abuser in our minds. We cannot be liberated if our family, friends, and neighbors continue to be oppressed by systems that are inherently rooted in racism and patriarchy.

We stand unequivocally with Black, Indigenous and people of color who continue to be harmed (and literally murdered) by white supremacy and a militarized criminal legal system that is a living legacy of slavery and colonialism. We stand unequivocally with women+ and LGBTQ+ folks who are harmed by sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and society’s lack of adequate collective care structures.

Though we don’t expect our clients to hold all the same values and beliefs as their therapist, we also do not believe that therapists should be a “blank slate” of neutrality on issues that are fundamentally about human rights. We approach psychotherapy from a systems lens in which the harsh realities of the world around us are inseparable from our own wellbeing, and we are each committed to continuing our own lifelong unlearning of internalized racism, sexism, fat phobia, ableism, and all the other ways society has taught us that people who diverge from the white, thin, cis, hetero “standard” are less-than.

The Broken System of Managed Care

The landscape of mental health treatment within our current managed care system² is extremely flawed. People are reduced to symptoms and labels, and insurance companies get to decide (with a focus on their bottom line) what services qualify as “medically necessary,” and will deny coverage for treatment if it doesn’t meet their criteria— all while the policy holder pays a high deductible and premiums for the privilege of being their customer.

Additionally, insurance companies typically pay mental health providers below-market rates for their services (rates that providers have to haggle and negotiate for), which do not increase even in the span of multi-year contracts that are very difficult to exit once they are locked in.

Though we have deep respect for therapists who take insurance, because of these reasons we have elected not to participate as in-network providers with any insurance companies. Some folks do have policies that allow them to receive partial reimbursement for out-of-network services (see our FAQ page for more on that), while many of our clients pay fully out-of-pocket. The reality is that some folks can afford to self-pay for therapy³, while those with lower incomes certainly cannot.

In lieu of paneling as an in-network provider, we have made several ongoing committments in the service of equity and accessibility, described below. We are always looking for new and creative ways to contribute to the Nashville community (particularly oppressed and marginalized folks) and are very open to ideas; reach out at hello@gaiacenter.co.

OUR COMMITMENTS TO SOCIAL JUSTICE & ACCESSIBLE SERVICES

¹ There is some disagreement as to whether Lao Tsu (6th century Chinese philosopher) is the true source of this verse, but we love it nonetheless!

² This is the term for the current system of largely private, largely employer-based healthcare coverage. Though some improvements have come along since the mental health parity act of 2008 became law, we have a long way to go toward mental health services becoming truly accessible while also remaining viable for service providers.

³ Clients who can afford our standard rates (whether fully self-pay or with partial OON reimbursement from insurance) support our ability to maintain several sessions each week for low-income clients (via Open Path, described above) as well as the time to offer pro-bono services and volunteer work in the community.