Gail Marina Giunta
Licensed Mental Health Counselor
Investment in Your Care: Rates, Insurance & Flexibility
I prioritize your privacy and specialized care. Learn how we can work together using your insurance out-of-network benefits or direct out-of-pocket options.
Payment Options
Out of Pocket/Private Pay
🛡️ The Benefits of Private Pay Therapy: Investing in Ultimate Privacy & Personalized Care
Choosing how to pay for your mental health care is an important decision. While using insurance is common, investing in Private Pay (Out-of-Pocket) Therapy offers unique, powerful advantages that protect your privacy and elevate the quality of your care.
Here is why many clients choose to bypass the restrictions of insurance companies:
🔒 Maximum Privacy and Confidentiality
When you use insurance, your therapist is legally required to share your personal details, treatment progress, and clinical notes to justify coverage. With private pay, no insurance company is involved. Your personal details, clinical notes, and struggles remain strictly confidential between you and me.
🏷️ No Permanent Mental Health Diagnosis Required
To pay for therapy, insurance companies demand a formal mental health diagnosis from the DSM-5-TR to prove "medical necessity." This diagnosis becomes a permanent part of your medical record, which can impact future life insurance policies, disability coverage, or certain security clearances. Private pay allows us to focus on your personal growth, stress, or life transitions without labeling you with a permanent clinical disorder.
🎨 Fully Tailored, Flexible Treatment
Insurance companies frequently dictate how many sessions you are allowed, how long they can last, and what specific types of therapy are approved. Private pay removes these arbitrary barriers. We can customize a treatment plan based entirely on your unique healing timeline, utilizing advanced somatic, neuro-network, and EMDR therapies without a corporate third party cutting your care short.
👋 Broader Specialist Selection
Your healing journey shouldn't be limited by an arbitrary directory of in-network providers. Private pay gives you the freedom to choose a specialist based on their exact clinical expertise, therapeutic style, and alignment with your goals—rather than settling for whoever happens to be on an insurance list.
⚡ Zero Bureaucracy & Faster Access to Care
Navigating insurance often means dealing with pre-authorizations, unexpected coverage denials, and frustrating administrative delays. By removing the middleman, we eliminate the red tape, allowing you to get faster, easier, and seamless access to the care you need right away.
🧠 Improved Therapeutic Focus
Therapists who don't have to spend hours filing insurance paperwork, fighting denials, and formatting notes for corporate audits can dedicate 100% of their energy to their clients. This means your sessions benefit from a therapist who is fully present, deeply engaged, and entirely focused on your outcomes.
Prioritize your healing with uncompromised freedom.
Transparency in Care: Understanding My Investment & Fees
Choosing a therapist is an investment in your long-term transformation, well-being, and freedom. Clients often wonder what goes into a private practice fee and why an experienced specialist operates outside the traditional insurance model.
Below is a transparent look at how my practice is structured to ensure you receive the highest standard of trauma-informed care.
🧘 1. A Specialized, Small Boutique Caseload
Large clinics and group practices often require therapists to see 30 to 40 clients a week, leading to burnout and divided attention. I intentionally maintain a small, selective caseload. This ensures that I show up to every single session fully present, deeply resourced, and completely focused on your individual, unique needs. You are never just a number or a chart; you receive a highly customized therapeutic experience.
📚 2. Continuous Investment in Advanced Clinical Expertise
Trauma therapy requires highly specialized, evolving skills. Part of your fee directly funds my continuous commitment to professional development. I regularly invest in advanced clinical trainings, expert consultation, and my own personal therapy. This ongoing dedication ensures that the EMDR, narcissistic abuse recovery, and somatic neuro-network modalities I offer remain ethical, deeply embodied, and highly effective.
💼 3. The Realities of Running a Private Practice
As an independent practitioner, my fee covers the comprehensive overhead of running a sustainable, high-quality business. This includes professional liability insurance, secure and HIPAA-compliant telehealth technology, specialized workspace expenses, and continuing education. It also allows me to build in time for rest, ensuring that I remain healthy, regulated, and mentally sharp for our deep work together.
📈 4. The Inflation Gap & Fair Market Rates
Unfortunately, insurance reimbursement rates have not kept pace with inflation or the true cost of living. Because of this, I strictly limit my in-network client spots to a small number of grandfathered-in individuals. My current private pay rate is standard and consistent with other highly trained, experienced trauma therapists operating in the New York and Connecticut areas [2026 market]. It reflects the advanced training, profound intention, and sustainable care model I bring to your healing journey.
👋 Accessible Care Options & Referrals
I fully recognize and respect that my rate is an investment that may not be accessible to everyone's current financial situation. We all deserve care at a level that comfortably fits our budget.
If my fee does not align with your financial goals, I am genuinely happy to help direct you to trusted colleagues or alternative care models. Here are some excellent resources I highly recommend exploring:
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Intuitive Healing NY: A wonderful practice offering accessible, sliding-scale therapy starting at $80.
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Open Path Psychotherapy Collective: A nationwide network dedicated to providing high-quality, low-fee therapy options.
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Psychology Today: An excellent directory where you can filter providers strictly by your specific insurance network and budget.
If you need a personalized referral to another trusted clinician or group practice, please do not hesitate to ask. Your healing matters, no matter where you begin.
Insurance Coverage & Verification
I am an in-network provider with select plans from the following major networks:
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Aetna: NY/CT; BCBS of MA: CT
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Anthem BCBS of NY; UHC/Optum/Oscar & Optum EAP
Because every individual policy varies, coverage must be confirmed before your first clinical session.
How to Start the Insurance Verification Process
To check your benefits, the fastest most direct approach is to visit or to create an account
and add your insurance information, or you may your insurance information below to our office.
Please include the following details in your email:
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Full Legal Name (of the policyholder and the client, if different)
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Date of Birth
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Insurance Provider Name (e.g., Aetna, Anthem, or UnitedHealthcare)
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Member ID Number & Group Number
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Phone Number for behavioral health providers (found on the back of your insurance card)
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Photos of the Front and Back of your insurance card (optional but highly recommended for accuracy)
Take the Next Step
Ready to find out if we are the right fit? Schedule your free chat or send over your insurance details to get started.
How to Apply for Out-Of-Network Benefits
We've partnered with Mentaya, a service that streamlines getting reimbursed for your therapy sessions through out-of-network benefits. Some insurances we accept for OON are:
Cigna: NY/CT
Carelon: NY/CT
Anthem BCBS of CT: CT
Anthem BCBS of NY (formerly Empire): NY
Mentaya is perfect if you:
• Have out-of-network benefits
• Feel overwhelmed by superbills and insurance
• Have submitted superbills but failed to get any reimbursement
• Simply want to skip the hassle of paperwork!
Here's how it works:
1. Sign up for Mentaya
2. Our practice will enter your sessions into the platform.
3. Mentaya submits the claim and handles any insurance follow-up.
4. You get reimbursed by insurance!
Mentaya charges a 5% fee per claim, which includes handling any paperwork required,
dealing with denials, and calling insurance companies.
It's risk-free: They guarantee claims are successfully submitted, or a full refund of their fees.