What people ask before they begin

We are not in network with any plan, and we do not bill Medicaid or Medicare. You can pay the sliding-scale fee, and we give you an itemized receipt to send to your own plan if it reimburses out-of-network visits.

You may send your plan a superbill, an itemized receipt with the dates of your sessions and the type of service. Your plan may reimburse part of the fee. The receipt carries a diagnosis code that your insurer can see, and your plan decides what it pays.

If you pay without insurance, you have the right to receive a written estimate of what your care will cost before you start. We give you one with your sliding-scale fee. If your final bill is $400 or more above the estimate, you can dispute it. The estimate is not a contract.

Our sliding scale sets your fee from your household's size and income, and you have it in writing before your first session. A limited number of reduced-fee spots are open at a time. We review your fee with you if your finances change.

Yes. Most health savings and flexible spending cards work for sessions. Check with your plan administrator if you are unsure what it covers.

It lasts 60 minutes. Your associate explains how they work, how supervision works, the limits of confidentiality and the possible risks and benefits of therapy, and then listens. At the end, you decide together whether to continue.

Most people meet weekly at first. Individual sessions are 50 minutes and couples sessions are 80. You and your associate set the pace, and we do not promise a number of sessions.

Our licenses are New York licenses. We see people in person in Syracuse, and by video when you are in New York State during the session. If you are elsewhere, we help you look for someone licensed where you live.

Call or text 988, any time. In an emergency, call 911. This site and our messages are not monitored around the clock, and Balm is not an emergency service.

What you share stays in the session and in your supervised team. The law sets limits: if someone is at serious risk of harm, or a child or an older adult may be abused, we may have to tell others. We explain this in writing before you begin.

Balm sees adults, 18 and older. For a teenager, we are glad to share the names of colleagues who work with young people.

We ask for 24 hours' notice to change or cancel an appointment. If something unexpected happens, tell your associate and we will talk about it.

Every associate has a named, licensed supervisor, shown on our team page and beside the associate's name. You can ask at any time what the two of them discuss, and you can ask to meet the supervisor.