I have seen the insurance industry play a role in decreasing the health of people. In the current health system, insurance companies become the entity paying for health care, instead of a person directly paying a doctor or counselor. While this model and system benefits people by spreading access to services to an increased amount of people perhaps, it also has the potential to decrease the incentive to work hard for improving health.

First of all, when you pay directly for your health care, you are monetarily invested in the process, which ignites a bit more motivation for "getting your money's worth" and putting in the effort to do so. When the insurance company pays your bill, this motivation can be lacking.

Also, insurance companies routinely pay a lower rate to counselors than they would typically charge. It may seem like a good thing to artificially keep the price of services low, however the unintended consequence of this is that most counselors then need to see 30-40 clients per week in order to make a salary suitable for raising a family. this means that counselors become "burned out", tired, overworked for low pay, thus decreasing the energy and focus needed to best serve their clients. Ultimately, insurance companies paying for counseling contributes to a lower quality of health care and less improvement in clients' lives.

Finally, insurance companies become the decision makers in your health care. Insurance companies can deny a payment for a service even if the counselor deems it necessary, thus withholding care when a client is in need. This means that insurance company personnel also have access to your private medical information while making these decisions.

So, I do not accept insurance so that I have the energy and time to provide you with a better service, so that you can get better more quickly and efficiently, to protect your confidential medical information from third parties, and to increase your own motivation for improving your health.

Nevertheless, I also value providing services to those with less expendable income, therefore I offer a sliding scale payment system, where we can negotiate a price that works for both of us.