How long, how often, how much?

What does your “insurance-friendly” practice mean?

Benefits of Private Pay Therapy

What is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and how does it work?

Q: Why Therapy With Loyal Blue?

A: Loyal Blue is a well-respected practice using research-based techniques to build lasting change. Our mission is to serve the East Bay community with authentic, down-to-earth therapy that really works. Our mission is to provide counseling for the modern world, offering practical strategies and insight for lasting change.

A successful counseling experience needs a good relationship between client and therapist. Personality fit is very important! Our group shares the value of providing exceptional service to our clients, and as therapists we all have different interests and personalities. Our founder Lindsey hires therapists for their authenticity, warmth, sense of humor, and ability to connect right away

Loyal Blue therapists are:

Authentic and friendly – no weird vibes here
Reliable and easy to reach
Open, transparent and easy to connect with
Continuously trained in the latest evidence-based methods (we genuinely like learning!)

We hope you can find your therapist on the Loyal Blue team, and are happy to schedule free consultations.

Loyal Blue therapists use a variety of approaches to produce effective change. We are connected by our advanced training in cognitive behavioral therapy. Therapists regularly solicit feedback on sessions to make sure appointments are useful and tailored to your needs. Use of Session Rating Scales has been shown to increase participation in treatment and lead to better outcomes.

We collaborate with local pediatric practices, student groups at UC Berkeley, and fellow experts in the field of psychology to bring you effective therapy.

Q: In Person (Berkeley, CA or Lafayette, CA) or Telehealth?

A: Loyal Blue operates both in-person and by telehealth. Clients are free to choose online or in person sessions. Most of our clients do a mixture of both.

Many clients prefer in-person sessions, though online sessions provide flexibility. Telehealth may not be appropriate for all clients (for example, very young clients). Talk to our practice coordinator or your therapist. You can inquire here.

Q: How long are therapy sessions, how often do clients come, how much do they cost?

A: Sessions are between 40 and 50 minutes depending on your therapist. We also offer 30 minute sessions. Sessions can be prorated to shorter or longer.

Rates are set by Loyal Blue each October and differ based on licensure status. Our associate MFTs therefore charge the least and also offer sliding scale appointments.

Counseling works best when you can set aside time for 6-10 sessions and schedule them on a weekly basis. We will work with you to tailor a plan that fits your goals and schedule.

Q: Do you accept insurance?

A: We have become an “insurance-friendly” practice!

Our therapists are registered on a platform that submits receipts on your behalf. No more headaches or back and forth with your insurance company! While we are out-of-network providers and therefore collect our fees directly from you, those with out of network benefits can usually get reimbursed with no additional work on your end.

We partner with Thrizer to handle the out of network claim process for you. We do not benefit from this service and offer it only as an option to have Thrizer submit claims on your behalf.

We can help you verify if you have out-of-network benefits and what they cover.
Use our secure electronic health system to store your insurance information and receive a monthly receipt to upload with Thrizer.
For $3/claim, Thrizer handles all submission, details, appeals, and send reimbursement directly to your bank account once claims are approved. They will refund their fee if they are unable to secure any reimbursement for you.
Please click here for a summary of this service or ask our practice coordinator for details. We offer Standard Reimbursements at this time.

Please note that any insurance involvement will likely require providing a diagnosis code on your medical record.

Benefits Of Private Pay Therapy

We believe therapy works best when it’s guided by your goals and our clinical judgment — not by insurance restrictions or diagnostic requirements. That’s why we operate as a private pay practice.

Private pay gives you the freedom to choose what’s best for you: the therapist you connect with, the length and frequency of your sessions, and the pace of your growth. It also ensures complete privacy — your records stay between you and your therapist, not in an insurance database.

Investing in therapy this way means personalized, uninterrupted care designed around your life — not someone else’s policies.

We offer options for lower fee services including sliding scale sessions from our associate therapists.

As part of the No Surprises Act, you have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate of services. Because the nature of therapy is ongoing, this is a range of costs dependent on your particular circumstance. Fees are set at the start of counseling and subject to increase with 2 months notice. This Good Faith Estimate can be provided upon commencement of services and available with details specific to your treatment in our client portal.

Q: What is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and how does it work?

A: CBT is an empirically validated approach to treating problems like depression, anxiety, insomnia, and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders (perfectionism, routines, etc). What this means is that CBT has been clinically proven to be more effective than medication alone and to resolve problems for longer than other forms of talk therapy. If you work with Loyal Blue, chances are you will receive some form of CBT in your sessions.

CBT is a process guided by a therapist who teaches you how to gently challenge your thought patterns, identify core beliefs, and update them to serve your goals. It is not simply positive talk! CBT often uses homework like thought charts and mood records in order to better understand the path from thought —> emotion —> behavior/state of being.

CBT seems simple, but is not easy. Like many things worth investing in, it takes practice and patience. However, all ages can benefit from learning CBT and its broad application and straightforward approach make it our treatment of choice.

Our Cancelation Policy Is Designed For Effective Therapy

We request notice of cancelation by Friday at 5pm the previous week.

If you cancel within the same week of your appointment, we make our best effort to reschedule your session that same week and 50% of the session fee may be charged if we cannot. Rescheduling is subject to our availability and may include offering a telehealth session, or a shorter session.

It is our top priority that you get the session you pay for.

If you cancel within 48 hours you will be charged the full fee for the missed appointment.

We always make exceptions for illness or emergencies.

Why Is This Our Policy?

We know that many service providers allow 48 hours notice of cancelation. However, our policy has been in place for 20 years and has research and results behind it:

We care about providing the best treatment outcomes you can get.

Not surprisingly, we’ve found that effective therapy is correlated with regular attendance. We have high standards for ourselves and care about our clients getting the outcomes they want.

Regular attendance allows therapists to establish better connections with their clients, and the therapeutic bond is the #1 factor associated in a positive therapy experience.

We want you to prioritize your counseling.

We know life gets busy and things come up. We’re happy to provide regular clients with a one-time waiving of our policy when your calendar gets mixed up.

But we take mental health seriously, and we want you to as well. Talk to your therapist if you find your session schedule needs adjusting. We recommend weekly sessions to start, but after the first 6 sessions, it may be appropriate for some clients to come less often.

We have flexible alternatives to in-person sessions.

Because we are able to offer secure sessions via our telehealth platform, as well as allow you to book and change appointments online, there are other ways to receive your session and to schedule at your convenience.

We respect our therapists and their schedule.

Therapists are in high demand and ours work particularly hard at 2 different locations and by video to accommodate our clients.

Therapists have a limited number of hours in their week just like everyone else, and when a cancelation occurs, especially within the same week, it means an empty hour in their schedule when they could be helping someone. We cannot hold times for those who frequently cancel, and we cannot keep therapists fully employed when their schedule gets frequent cancelations.

Here’s the bottom line:

We want you to receive what you pay for: the very best therapy provided by the skilled therapists at Loyal Blue. You are in charge of scheduling. So if you need to cancel, let us know the week before. And if something comes up last minute, let us accommodate you with an alternative (we know it won’t be your first choice) so that you stay on track and meet your goals!