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Rates and Insurance

Rates and Insurance

Transparent pricing, accepted insurance plans, and flexible payment options.

Transparent pricing, accepted insurance plans, and flexible payment options.

Investing in Your Mental Health

At Stafford and Associates Counseling, we believe your mental health deserves the same care and priority as your physical health. Therapy isn’t just an appointment, it’s an investment in lasting change, helping you build resilience, clarity, and balance in your life. The experienced therapists at Stafford and Associates provide compassionate, personalized care in the Lake Norman and Charlotte, NC areas tailored to your needs. We help guide you through life’s challenges and empower you to create a healthier, more fulfilling future.

Our Rates

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Payment Options

Standard Rates

Standard Rates

Initial Intake

  • Individual Therapy Intake - $150

  • Couples Therapy Intake - $200

Therapy Session

  • Individual Therapy - $120

  • Couples Therapy - $190

  • Family Therapy - $180

Psychological Testing and Assessments

  • Tests and Assessments - $200

Our standard rates are provided before insurance benefits are applied and are subject to change without notice. An initial phone consultation is free.

Cancellation Policy

We understand that life can be unpredictable, but to best serve all of our clients we ask for at least 24 hours notice if you need to cancel or reschedule a session. Missed appointments or changes made with less than 24 hours of notice will be charged at the full session rate.

Good Faith Estimate

You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining the expected cost of your therapy services. This estimate is provided before you begin treatment if you are uninsured or if you choose not to use insurance. The Good Faith Estimate will include the total expected costs of therapy sessions based on our agreed-upon fees and the frequency of sessions discussed. For questions or more details, visit cms.gov/nosurprises or ask our team.

Payment Options

At Stafford and Associates Counseling, our goal is to make therapy accessible and affordable. While we will do our best to work with you, please remember that we are a small business in the service area. Whether using insurance or paying out-of-pocket, we strive to meet your financial needs while providing top-notch mental health services.

Accepted Payments: Cash, Check, Visa, Mastercard, Discover and HSA/FSA cards.

Payment Policies

Payment is required at the start of each session. To keep therapy accessible and scheduling fair for all clients, we ask that balances be kept up to date. If your account balance totals more than two sessions, we’ll pause new appointments until payment is made.


Insurance Information

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Insurance Information

Some portion of the cost of our sessions may be covered by your health insurance plan. In order to fully understand what benefits may apply, you should contact your insurance company directly. Here are some of the questions that may be helpful to ask:

  • Does my insurance plan include mental health benefits?

  • What deductible(s) apply and how much of any deductible is remaining?

  • Is there a limit to the number of sessions that are covered?

  • What is the coverage amount per session?

  • Is approval from my primary care physician required?

Our therapists accept the following insurance:

  • Aetna

  • Aetna State Health Plan

  • Ambetter (not all therapists)

  • Americhoice (not all therapists)

  • Cigna

  • BCBS-Commercial

  • Blue Home

  • Blue Value

  • Blue Local

  • Blue HPN (Atrium)

  • Blue Options

  • Aetna

  • Aetna State Health Plan

  • Ambetter (not all therapists)

  • Americhoice (not all therapists)

  • Cigna

  • BCBS-Commercial

  • Blue Home

  • Blue Value

  • Blue Local

  • Blue HPN (Atrium)

  • Blue Options

  • Blue Advantage

  • Blue High Performance

  • Blue Classic

  • Healthy Blue-Medicaid (not all therapists)

  • United Health Care

  • MedCost

  • Medicare Part-B (limited openings)

  • Optum

  • Partners Medicaid

  • Blue Advantage

  • Blue High Performance

  • Blue Classic

  • Blue Care

  • Healthy Blue-Medicaid (not all therapists)

  • United Health Care

  • MedCost

  • Medicare Part-B (limited openings with two therapists)

  • Optum

  • Partners Medicaid

We provide information about insurance and accepted plans to support you because we want to make your experience with Stafford and Associates Counseling as smooth as possible. Please know this information may change over time. Because every insurance company, and every client’s coverage is unique, we encourage you to confirm your benefits directly with your provider. Ultimately, clients are responsible for understanding and managing their own insurance coverage.

Out-of-Network Options

If Stafford and Associates Counseling is not in-network with your insurance provider, you may still be able to use your benefits. Many insurance plans include out-of-network coverage that reimburses part of your therapy costs. We’ll provide you with a detailed invoice (called a superbill) that you can submit directly to your insurance company for possible reimbursement.

For more details on insurance and billing,see our FAQs page.

For more details on insurance and billing,
see our FAQs page.

See FAQs

Our Rates

Standard Rates