Private Pay Therapy Practice
In Person and Virtual in New York City
What is a private pay therapy practice, and how does it operate?
A private pay therapy practice doesn’t bill insurance directly. Instead, clients pay for sessions out of pocket, which means treatment isn’t shaped by what an insurance company considers medically necessary. There’s no diagnosis required to begin, no cap on session length dictated by a claims department, and no outside party reviewing your file. The practice and the client decide together what the work looks like, how often sessions happen, and how long treatment continues.
Why do therapy practices choose to go private pay only?
Insurance reimbursement rates are often low enough that therapists have to carry large caseloads just to make a private pay-equivalent income, which limits availability and continuity. Going private pay only allows a practice to keep caseloads intentionally small, so each therapist has the time and capacity to be genuinely responsive between sessions. It also removes the administrative layer of insurance, freeing up more of the practice’s focus for actual clinical work rather than claims and authorizations.
How do private pay therapy practices support clients with reimbursement paperwork?
Most private pay practices, including Liben Psychotherapy, provide a superbill after each session, an itemized receipt with the diagnosis code, session date, and cost that clients can submit to their insurance company directly. Whether any of that gets reimbursed depends on the client’s specific out-of-network benefits, but the practice’s role is simply to make sure the documentation is accurate and provided promptly.
What should I expect from my first session at a private pay therapy practice?
The first session usually starts with a fuller conversation than a typical intake, since there’s no insurance-required assessment steering the format. Expect to talk through what’s bringing you in, some background on your history, and what you’re hoping therapy helps with. Because private pay practices aren’t bound to a specific diagnostic framework to justify treatment, the focus tends to stay on your actual goals rather than fitting your experience into a billable category.
Why private pay?
Why We Don’t Take Insurance
You don't need a mental health diagnosis to come to therapy.
Session notes stay between you and your therapist. Nothing is shared with a third party.
We decide together how often you come and for how long, based on what's helpful, not what an insurer approves.
Private pay lets us keep our caseloads smaller, which means more time, attention, and care for each client.
We provide a superbill for every session so you can submit for out-of-network reimbursement if your plan offers it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a private pay therapy practice work with out-of-network insurance benefits?
Yes. We provide a superbill for every session that you can submit directly to your insurance company for potential out-of-network reimbursement, depending on your plan’s benefits.
Can a private pay therapy practice accommodate clients who need to switch therapists within the practice?
Yes. If your current therapist isn’t the right fit, we can help match you with another clinician on the team whose approach and specialty better suit what you’re looking for.
Do private pay therapy practices offer consultations before committing to ongoing sessions?
Yes. We offer a free 15-minute consultation call before you commit to anything, so you can ask questions and get a feel for whether it’s the right fit.
Contact Us
We are currently accepting new patients, so if you are interested in learning more about our services, please call us at (646) 450-4856, or send us a message by using the form.
NYC Psychotherapy
Virtual across New York state | In Person: 85 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10003