Economic Justice Based Fee Schedule

There are five tiers in my fee scale:

-Tier 1 (25% of full rate): $60 for new patient, 30 for shorter med mgmt and/or therapy, 45 for longer med mgmt and/or therapy--15% of practice

-Tier 2 (50% of full rate): $120 for new patient, 60 for shorter med mgmt and/or therapy, 90 for longer med mgmt and/or therapy--15% of practice

-Tier 3 (75% of full rate): $180 for new patient, 90 for shorter med mgmt and/or therapy, 135 for longer med mgmt and/or therapy--20% of practice

-Tier 4 (100% of full rate): $240 for new patient, 120 for shorter med mgmt and/or therapy, 180 for longer med mgmt and/or therapy--50% of practice

-Tier 5 (125%) of full rate: $300 for new patient, 150 for shorter med mgmt and/or therapy, 225 for longer med mgmt and/or therapy--unlimited % of practice

I have done an amazing multi-step math problem to assess the true expenses associated with running my practice, figuring out an average hourly rate needed to meet these expenses, and then building the tiered fees accordingly. 

Each tier is associated with a specific percentage of clients in my practice. 

This is why it is important for everyone to use the scale with honest self-reflection and integrity. There are a limited number of spots in each tier, except for Tier 5.

The more people who are able to pay Tier 4 and Tier 5 rates, the greater number of people I can support at Tiers 1, 2, and 3.

There is no paperwork required to verify your income or financial assets. I will not ask you to explain your choice or to otherwise justify why you chose the tier you have chosen.

Economic justice fee scales work best when everyone engages in their use with integrity... choosing both higher AND lower fees.

Rather than offering one single, set price for services, I ask people to engage in a conversation with themselves (and with me if helpful) about how much they can afford to pay for therapy and med management services.

At it's most basic, an economic justice based fee schedule supports the idea that people should be paying similar percentage for the same products or services (Hawthorne, 2018). It is a tool to promote equity in access to things that cost money in our society.

Economic justice fee schedules ask people to consider where they fall on a continuum from "very constrained financial resources" to "lots of access to financial resources." Some people use the terms financial insecurity/security, more financial privilege/less financial privilege, etc. while others say "poor" or "wealthy" with regard to money.

Alexis J. Cunningfolk created a popular image and resource called The Green Bottle Method. Laurie Gutierrez Ganberg expanded on this model for therapy with ideas from Brittany Hawthorne at Embracing Equity, who also found more ideas from Holly Poole-Kavana at Little Red Bird Botanicals. You can see an image at the end of this list of FAQs.

Please read the descriptions and additional considerations to help you decide which tier(s) on the economic justice based fee scale best fit your circumstances.

There are a couple of options:

• I can refer you to other lower-cost services for which you may be eligible.
• I can add your name to a wait-list and check back to see if you still need the tier you've chosen when a spot opens. A spot could open because someone has finished their work with me,  because there is a new client in a higher tier, or enough contributions in the Pay It Forward Fund exist to support services at a lower-cost tier.

Philly Geek Therapy does not accept any insurance at this time for services provided through Philly Geek Therapy.

If you have access to a health savings account (HSA) or flexible spending account (FSA), debit cards associated with these accounts can be used for direct payments.

I can also provide a super bill containing all the information you would need to seek reimbursement from your HSA/FSA or insurance company for out-of-network benefit. All superbills will have information required for potential reimbursement but do not guarantee reimbursement. Superbills also do not constitute an agreement from Philly Geek Therapy to accept lower negotiated rates or in-network agreements with insurance providers.

I may be able to provide short-term, evidence-based therapy only (no med management)   through Octave if you are in NJ and have Aetna, Cigna/Evernorth, Centivo, Horizon BCBS NJ, or Independence Blue Cross. She is also an EAP provider for time-limited therapy (no meds) with Quest.

If you sometimes have a little extra and would like to contribute to lower-fee tiers, free gender affirming medical care letters, emotional support animal assessments, and lower-fee supervision for emerging professionals, your support is welcome! One hundred percent of all contributions, minus processing fees, goes directly to support these services.

There is a Pay It Forward button near the bottom of the home page and at the top of this page. (Not yet active as of 1/27/26).