If your plan is Blue Cross Community Health Plans or Aetna Better Health of Illinois, you can work with me directly, typically at no cost to you. Here is what you should know.
Understanding Your Illinois Medicaid Plan
In Illinois, Medicaid benefits are managed through private insurance companies called managed care organizations. When you enrolled in Medicaid, you were assigned to one of these plans. Your insurance card will show the name of your specific plan.
I am currently in-network with:
- Blue Cross Community Health Plans (sometimes listed as BCCHP or Blue Cross Community Medicaid)
- Aetna Better Health of Illinois
If either of these names appears on your insurance card, your sessions with me are covered under your plan.
Other common Illinois Medicaid plans include Meridian, Molina Healthcare, and IlliniCare Health. If your card shows one of these, I am not currently in-network with those plans.
What Mental Health Services Are Covered?
Under both Blue Cross Community Health Plans and Aetna Better Health, outpatient mental health services are a covered benefit. This includes individual psychotherapy, which is the kind of work I do.
For most Medicaid members, there is little to no cost-sharing for mental health services. That said, coverage details can vary based on your specific enrollment. Before scheduling a first session, it is worth a brief call to the member services number on your insurance card. You can ask:
- Is Depth Counseling in-network with my plan?
- Are outpatient mental health services covered?
- Is there a copay or other cost-sharing that applies?
In most cases, the answer to all three is what you are hoping to hear.
Can I Use Medicaid for Telehealth Therapy in Illinois?
Yes. Both Blue Cross Community Health Plans and Aetna Better Health cover telehealth mental health sessions, which means you can attend therapy from anywhere in Illinois without traveling to a physical office. All you need is a private space and a phone or internet connection.
I offer telehealth sessions statewide, as well as in-person sessions in Chicago. The work is the same either way.
What Kind of Therapy Do I Practice?
I practice psychoanalytic psychotherapy, a form of depth-oriented therapy that takes a different approach than many of the short-term or structured treatments people have tried before.
Rather than working through a set of exercises or techniques, psychoanalytic therapy is an open-ended exploration of your inner life. You are invited to speak freely, following your thoughts wherever they lead. Together, we listen for what keeps returning: the patterns in your relationships, the feelings that don't quite make sense, the parts of your history that are still shaping the present.
This approach is well-suited for people dealing with anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, grief, questions of identity and meaning, spiritual confusion, or a persistent sense that something is off without being able to name exactly what it is. You can read more about what I treat and my approach.
For many people, it is the work that finally goes somewhere.
How to Get Started
Starting therapy with Medicaid in Illinois is simpler than many people expect. Here is how the process typically works:
- Reach out for a consultation. Contact me to schedule a free 15 to 30 minute phone or video consultation. This is a low-pressure conversation, not a commitment. It is a chance for you to ask questions, get a sense of how I work, and decide whether this feels like the right fit.
- Complete intake forms. If we decide to move forward, I will send a few short forms to complete before your first session.
- Begin. We schedule a first session and start.
A Note on Access
I believe that the kind of close, sustained therapeutic work that genuinely changes things should not be reserved only for people who can pay out of pocket for it. Accepting Medicaid is one part of how I try to make that possible.
If your Medicaid plan is not one I am currently in-network with, I also offer a sliding scale for private-pay clients with demonstrable financial need. You can find the full details on the fees page.
Whatever your situation, I am happy to talk through what might be possible before you decide anything.