Frequently Asked Questions

At Eye In Me, we honor therapy as self-love, self-care, and advocacy, and we simply believe…Black people can afford therapy. We do not want to settle into the notion that all Black people are poor and not able to afford therapy, because it’s simply not true. Black people as a whole are integral in sustaining the American economy. According to a 2019 report from Nielsen Holdings, Black consumers spend over $1 trillion every year, primarily on material goods which we purchase as acts of self-care and self-love. If we as Black people can shift our mindset to understand therapy as self-care and self-love, then we will find that we’re just as willing to spend $60 on a 30-minute therapy session as we are to spend it on other goods and services. With this mindset change, we can break the stigma surrounding therapy within our communities, strengthening ourselves in the process.

Yes.

As a result of the No Surprises Act (HR133, Title 45 Section 149.610), health care providers need to give clients and prospective clients who do not have insurance or are not using insurance to pay for sessions an estimate of the expected charges for medical services, including psychotherapy services.

You have the right to receive a written Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of psychotherapy services.

You can ask your healthcare provider, and any other provider you choose for a Good Faith Estimate at least one business day before your scheduled service or at any time during your treatment.

If your services are at least $400 more that your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill. Make sure to save a copy or a picture of your Good Faith Estimate.

For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, or to learn how to dispute a bill, please refer to your Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosuprises, or call (800) 985-3059

Our pricing structure varies depending on the desired service. Individual therapy sessions range from $30–$120.

Our sliding scale prices are determined based on session lengths.

15-minute therapy session = $30
30-minute therapy session = $60
45-minute therapy session = $100
60-minute therapy session = $120

We do not offer sliding fees for our coaching services. Our one-time deep dives cost $150 for a 60-90 minute session, and our next step transition coaching costs $60 per session for four 30-minute sessions (sold as a package).

All services come with a free consultation.

The difference between coaching and therapy services is that coaching is more future oriented with the goal of helping you move from point a (where you are now) to point b (where you want to be). Coaching is very task oriented without deep analysis.. Therapy on the other hand, takes a more holistic look at your past, present, and future. Therapy examines the situations and patterns affecting your day to day life, helps you to heal past and present psychological wounds, and supports you in a strategy to feel better. In short, coaching focuses on the WHAT and therapy focuses on the WHY.

While psychotherapy is often associated with treating existing mental health conditions, it can also be valuable in preventing mental illness. Prevention strategies may include early intervention, building coping skills, stress management, and enhancing resilience. Psychotherapy can provide individuals with tools to manage life stressors, improve interpersonal relationships, and develop a better understanding of their emotions. Additionally, psychoeducation within therapy can raise awareness about mental health, reduce stigma, and empower individuals to seek help before issues escalate. Overall, a proactive and preventative approach in psychotherapy can contribute to maintaining good mental health and preventing the onset of mental illnesses.

Social justice-informed psychotherapy acknowledges the impact of social, economic, and political factors on mental health. It recognizes that issues such as systemic oppression, discrimination, and inequality contribute to mental health challenges. Therapists practicing social justice-informed psychotherapy work towards addressing these broader societal issues, advocating for change, and helping clients navigate and cope with the impact of social injustices on their mental well-being. It aims to create a therapeutic space that is attuned to the socio-political context and promotes healing on both an individual and societal level.

Culturally responsive care involves tailoring healthcare and therapeutic practices to meet the unique needs of individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. This approach recognizes the influence of culture on health beliefs, behaviors, and communication styles. Culturally responsive care goes beyond simple awareness of cultural differences; it involves actively integrating cultural sensitivity into the therapeutic process, fostering a safe and inclusive environment, and adapting therapeutic interventions to align with the client’s cultural context.

Cultural humility and cultural competence are both approaches to understanding and addressing cultural differences, but they have distinct focuses. Cultural competence involves acquiring a set of skills, knowledge, and attitudes to effectively work with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. On the other hand, cultural humility emphasizes a lifelong commitment to self-reflection and self-critique, acknowledging one’s own cultural biases, and continually learning from and about others. While cultural competence implies a level of mastery, cultural humility recognizes the ongoing process of learning and adapting to different cultures. At EIM, we believe that you cannot be competent in someone else’s culture (including intersectionalities), so we aim for cultural humility.

At EIM, our commitment to affordability and accessibility stems from a preventive mental health approach. We do not accept insurance due to the limitations that insurance companies place on mental health coverage, often only reimbursing for services in the context of illness. In Maryland, we advocate for mental health parity, urging insurance companies to cover annual preventative mental health visits similar to physical health visits. Additionally, insurance reimbursement rates are often insufficient, and our independent fee-setting allows us to strike a balance between affordability for clients and fair compensation for therapists. For clients who prefer to use insurance, we provide information on the implications and offer a document for seeking reimbursement from their provider if they have out-of-network benefits, ensuring flexibility while maintaining our commitment to preventive and affordable mental health care.

We value resilience without ignoring pain.

• This value is rooted in the understanding that resilience should not be a justification for enduring unnecessary suffering. Drawing attention to the specific experiences of  Black communities, recognize the tendency to rely on resilience without addressing the challenges requiring resilience. It’s a commitment to acknowledging both strength and vulnerability, understanding that true resilience involves not only enduring but actively addressing and alleviating the sources of pain. By embracing this approach, we acknowledge that resilience is most powerful when coupled with efforts to eliminate the factors causing pain.

We honor lived experiences as evidence and scholarship.

• We prioritize the integration of lived experiences, evidence, and scholarship in our approach. Acknowledging that evidence-based interventions are rooted in specific contexts, we recognize the significance of diverse lived experiences as valid sources of knowledge and understanding. In our commitment to inclusivity, we value the expertise of both scholars and individuals, understanding that collaboration between the two enhances the effectiveness of interventions. We refrain from dismissing lived experiences based on academic status, fostering a collaborative environment where both lived experiences and scholarly evidence contribute to informed and impactful practices.

We honor therapy as self-love, self-care, and advocacy.

• Recognizing the historical tendency for individuals, particularly within Black communities, to engage in sacrificial love for societal causes, we emphasize the importance of prioritizing personal well-being. This approach emphasizes the interconnectedness of individual well-being and collective progress, fostering a culture where therapy is not only an act of self-love but also a meaningful form of advocacy.