Intensives are back! What does this mean? Hours of therapy in a day; sometimes even multiple days in a row. Intensive refers to the amount of time spent in therapy for the day, not the level of intensity of emotion felt. Some report intensive treatment feels more gentle than traditional therapy sessions.
Why Would We do Intensive Therapy?
There are 3 main reasons why Kelly does intensives with clients:
- Early Trauma Protocol
- Client is from out of town and is coming in for treatment
- Time is of the essence! Example: an athlete had a traumatic experience needing to be addressed ASAP so s/he can return to training
Typically intensives are done on a weekend, sometimes with days added on. All of Kelly’s traditional sessions are currently online however intensives are also offered in office.
Some clients are a great match for intensives; some are not. Kelly will make a determination on intensive treatment on a case by case basis.
If a client IS NOT a long term client of Kelly’s the client will be required to have access to a therapist in their local area for aftercare.
Cost of Intensive Therapy
Intensive therapy is a financial investment. Instead of therapy costs being spread out over months or years, they all occur in a weekend. Insurance does not have a billing code for intensive treatment so unless the client is able to arrange something ahead of time there is not a way to “superbill” the entire intensive cost.
The cost of an intensive is broken down into 2 areas. The first is the intake process. This is done in a typical therapy format in the weeks before the intensive is scheduled. The CPT code is 90791 and is currently billed at $250 for 50 minutes or $450 for 90 minutes. This is done in the online format.
The actual time in intensive is billed at $250 for 50 minutes and is prorated for the entirety of the sessions.
Example: If one day of the intensive lasts 5 hours the cost would $1500. ($250/50=$5x300minutes) The CPT code is 90837
Clients interested in using a Superbill for partial reimbursement for services should call their insurance ahead of time to see what to expect for these CPT codes.
How to get an Intensive Therapy Appointment
Interested? Call Kelly Burris at 949-391-8278 to discuss you situation.
If you are a clinician interested in referring your client for therapy or in consultation for intensive treatment reach out via phone or email for more information