You Want Expert Care Without Breaking the Bank? Here's How We Make It Work at The Black Girl Doctor

Dr. Taisha Caldwell-Harvey
32 minutes ago
9 min read

There’s a particular kind of person who finds their way to The Black Girl Doctor.

You’re thoughtful. You’ve done some reflection. Maybe you’ve tried therapy before, maybe not, but what you do know is that you don’t want just anyone. You require the highest quality service in your day-to-day, and you want the same for your mental healthcare. You want a therapist who is highly trained, who understands the grind of someone with big purpose and passion, and ideally, who looks like you. You want someone who sees you clearly, who will call you out on your crap (in a loving way), who is sharp as a tack, and who knows how to walk you through whatever it is you're carrying (because they've put in the work to deeply understand your plight). You’re looking for care that doesn’t require you to over-explain or shrink yourself. You want a true Black woman healer.

When you read through our website, you probably felt something click. Maybe you read a few bios and thought, “Okay, this is it. These are my people.”

And then you saw the fee.

For many of our clients, the $250+ per session feels like a stretch at first. Not because the care isn’t worth it, but because life is expensive, and no matter how much you value your well-being, money is a real factor. That feeling of wanting to say yes but hesitating is something we understand deeply. So if you've been staring at that number trying to figure out if there's a way to make this work, this is for you.

This guide breaks down three strategies we use to help our clients reduce the cost of private pay therapy. They’re not really secrets. They’re just things no one ever takes the time to explain. And along the way, we’ll introduce you to Tanisha. She's a fictional client whose story we’ll use to walk through how these strategies play out in real life.

Let’s get into it.

Strategy # 1 - Use Your Out-of-Network Benefits (and let us handle the paperwork)

If you get a PPO insurance plan, there’s a good chance you'll have what’s called out-of-network coverage for mental health care (OON). This means you’re allowed to work with therapists who aren’t “in-network” with your insurance company, and your plan will still reimburse you for part of the cost of your sessions. The hard reality is that almost all highly skilled specialty providers are out of network.

This is one of the most powerful strategies to reduce your therapy costs without compromising on the provider you choose. But most people don’t use this option simply because they don’t know how it works and don't factor this into their decision making model during open enrollment.

Here’s what you'll want to know about your insurance plan:

Do you have out-of-network coverage for mental health?
What is your out-of-network deductible?
How much of that deductible have you already met this year?
What is the maximum allowable amount your plan will reimburse for a therapy session?
What percentage of that allowable amount will they cover?

While these are the key numbers that determine how much money you’ll get back, we know it sounds like a lot of work, and that some of ya'll are not going to take the time to figure all that out! Don't worry though, we know our people, and can look all this up for you during our free consultations. Just keep reading to understand how it works.

On average, for our clients at The Black Girl Doctor, we see insurance plans reimbursing around $85 per session once the deductible is met. That means even though our private pay rate for therapy is $250, they’re effectively only paying $165 per session out of pocket. And we make the process simple from start to finish.

Here’s what this looked like for Tanisha.

Tanisha came across The Black Girl Doctor after feeling exhausted by searching for a therapist who felt like a real fit. When she landed on our site, she found exactly what she was looking for until she saw the price tag. She had a moment of hesitation. That number felt high, but she also knew she had out-of-network coverage on her insurance plan. She remembered seeing it during open enrollment, but didn’t know how much of the cost her plan would actually cover. She booked a free 20-minute consultation with us. During that call, we asked her a few simple questions and checked her benefits for her. Instantly we had a personalized breakdown explaining:

Whether her plan included out-of-network coverage (it did)
What her deductible was, and how much of it she had already met (she had a $0 deductible)
How much she could expect to be reimbursed per session (about $85)

Based on that, Tanisha was ready to move forward. We gave her two options:

She could pay just her co-pay upfront, which would be around $165 per session, and let us handle the rest with her insurance. No forms. No phone calls. No follow-up.
Or she could pay the full rate of $250 per session, and have her $85 reimbursement direct deposited into her bank account a couple of weeks after each session. No forms. No invoices. No additional steps.

She chose the co-pay option, and that was it. We submitted all claims for her. She never had to touch a single form or call her insurance company. For Tanisha, it felt like a huge weight off her shoulders. She got to work with a therapist she trusted, at a price she could manage, and with none of the hassle she thought she’d have to go through.

Strategy # 2 - Use Your HSA or FSA to Pay with Pre-Tax Dollars

Another powerful way to make private pay therapy more affordable is by using pre-tax dollars through a Health Savings Account (HSA) or a Flexible Spending Account (FSA). These accounts are usually offered through your employer and are designed specifically to help you cover healthcare expenses while saving money on taxes. Here’s how it works.

When you pay for something using your HSA or FSA, you’re using money that hasn’t been taxed yet. That means you’re getting more value out of every dollar you spend. You’re still paying the full session fee up front, but the amount of income you needed to earn in order to afford that fee is significantly lower.

Let’s break that down with an example:

If a therapy session costs $250
And you’re in the 24% tax bracket
You’re saving about $60 per session, simply by using pre-tax dollars
Your effective cost becomes $190 per session
You'll save even more if you're #ballin and in a higher tax bracket.

Using this strategy, you're not applying for reimbursement. You’re not waiting for a check. You’re just using the savings card tied to your account, and immediately benefiting from the tax savings. This strategy can be used on its own or combined with strategy #1 to save even more.

Here is an example using Tanisha.

Let’s say Tanisha doesn’t have out-of-network coverage through her insurance, but she does have an HSA card through her job. When she starts therapy at The Black Girl Doctor, she uses that card to pay for her sessions. The process is easy. She is able to simply upload it as her preferred payment method in our online portal. The rate is still $250 per session, but since she’s using pre-tax dollars, she’s effectively saving 24 percent (or about $60 each session). That brings her real cost per session down to $190. She’s still getting top-tier care, but now she’s doing it in a way that feels a lot more manageable.

Now let’s say Tanisha has both, a HSA card and out-of-network coverage! This is truly the sweet spot. In that case, Tanisha pays for her session using her HSA card, just like before. So she’s already saving $60 per session from the tax benefit. Then, because her insurance plan reimburses her $85 per session through out-of-network benefits, she gets even more savings.

Let’s do the math:

She pays $250
Saves $60 using her HSA → brings cost to $190
Gets reimbursed $85 from insurance
Her final out-of-pocket cost is just $105 per session

That’s a huge difference. She’s still working with the exact same provider, receiving expert care, and now she’s paying less than half the original cost! #winning

Strategy # 3 - Finance Your Therapy (so you can heal now and pay over time)

When anxiety, burnout, trauma, or depression start creeping in, it doesn’t just hurt, it also gets in the way of your big dreams and purpose. So when you are finally ready to heal, you probably don’t want to drag it out for years. You want to feel better now, not eventually.

What we often see, is that people who come to us want weekly care, but ask for bi-weekly or monthly sessions because that's what fits their budget. While we can absolutely work with people on a monthly basis, that’s not usually our recommended approach, especially if you're in the thick of something and trying to get back to functioning quickly.

If that’s your situation, one option we strongly recommend is to consider financing your therapy. When done with flexible terms and non predatory lending, financing can be a smart and effective way to invest in your healing without overwhelming your monthly budget.

What does it actually mean to finance therapy?

Financing care is simply a way to get the support you need now, even if your monthly budget can’t stretch to cover weekly therapy out of pocket. It’s not about taking on unnecessary debt. It’s about having a structured plan for your care, and a structured plan for how to pay for it over time, in a way that doesn’t add more stress.

Most mental health concerns can be treated effectively within a short-term therapy model, especially when your provider has the right training. At The Black Girl Doctor, all of our psychologists are trained in evidence-based short-term treatment, which means they’re focused on helping you get meaningful results within 10-12 sessions. Here’s how therapy tends to look in our practice:

Clients start with weekly sessions
As they begin to feel better and start reaching their goals, usually around the 10 to 12 session mark, they begin spacing out sessions
Clients often shift to every other week, or even once a month sessions for maintenance
Maintenance care can be used to sustain progress, navigate new challenges, or continue deep growth work.

To support this, we decided to offer CareCredit as an option in our practice.

What is CareCredit?

CareCredit is a healthcare financing program that allows you to pay over time for therapy, instead of paying session by session. It was designed specifically for medical expenses. At The Black Girl Doctor, we offer promotional pricing through CareCredit that makes the process feel manageable and low-stress. Here’s what that includes:

Six months of no-interest financing if paid in full
Longer-term plans with deferred interest for clients who need more time
No impact on your credit score to check eligibility
A quick and simple application process
Easy approvals right during your free consultation call

Once approved, you can use your credit line to cover the cost of your sessions. You would then make monthly payments on that balance. This allows you to do the healing work you need now, on a timeline that helps you actually get better, without having to stress over weekly therapy payments.

Here’s what this looked like for Tanisha.

Let’s say none of the other strategies we’ve shared work for Tanisha. She doesn’t have out-of-network insurance coverage or an HSA/FSA card. But she’s struggling. She’s not sleeping. She’s overwhelmed. And she knows something needs to change now. She finds The Black Girl Doctor and feels hopeful for the first time in a while. She schedules a free consultation, and during that call, we determine that she’s a strong candidate for a short-term treatment plan.

Right on the call, she applies for CareCredit. There’s no hit to her credit score, and she’s approved in minutes. She can immediately add her CareCredit card to her account as her payment method for therapy. She’s then matched with a therapist and starts weekly therapy right away. No delays. No waiting until she can “afford it.” While she moves through her healing journey, she’s only responsible for making her monthly payments. She doesn’t have to think about the cost every week, it’s already handled.

After 10 sessions, she feels like herself again. She’s calmer. Clearer. Sleeping through the night. Setting boundaries. So she transitions into monthly sessions for maintenance, and her out-of-pocket expenses go down even more. She’s proud of what she’s invested in herself, and grateful that there was a way to do it that fit her life.

Making Room for Your Healing

It’s not uncommon to feel stuck between what you want for your mental health and what you feel like you can actually afford. You’re not the only one who’s ever landed on our site, felt a sense of alignment, and then wondered if you could make it work financially. What we want you to know is that you’re not wrong for wanting the kind of care we offer. You deserve to work with someone who sees you, and who is expertly trained. And you shouldn’t have to lower your standard for your care just to make it more affordable.

Quality therapy will always come at a cost, but it doesn’t have to feel impossible. Whether you’re using your insurance benefits, paying with pre-tax dollars, or financing your care in a way that makes it manageable, these are real options available.

We know these strategies won't work for everyone, but we hope this reaches those for who it can make a real difference. Our commitment is to bring you the highest quality care, with transparency about how it works, and real support in removing the barriers that stand between you and your healing.

If one of these paths feels like it could work for you, we offer a free 20-minute consultation (so you can make sure before parting with your coins). There’s no pressure to commit. Just a space to ask questions, explore your options, and see what’s possible. You don’t have to figure this out alone.

Schedule your free consult here.