Working out therapy cost usually means picking up the phone first. We would rather you knew before you called.
So here are the numbers, what changes them, and a plain explanation of how out-of-network benefits work. That second part matters more than the fee itself, because what you actually pay is the fee minus whatever your insurance sends back, and that is the figure worth working out before you start.
Jump to:
What a therapy session costs
Our fees range from $120 to $295 per hour, depending on the scope of services being provided.
That is a wide range on purpose, because it covers very different work, from a standard therapy hour through to assessment work involving test administration, scoring, interpretation and a written report. Ask us where your specific service sits. We would rather tell you the number than let you budget from the wrong end of a range.
Two things worth knowing before you do the arithmetic.
You get your fee in writing before you start. In accordance with the No Surprises Act and the Good Faith Estimate requirement, fees are discussed and provided in writing prior to your first appointment.
Frequency changes your monthly cost more than the rate does. Weekly and every-other-week schedules are both common, and frequency may taper when that is clinically appropriate. The hourly rate stays the same; what you spend in a month roughly halves. So budget for a course of work, not for a fixed weekly bill.
One policy to know up front, because it costs people money. If you do not show up for a scheduled appointment, or you have not given at least 48 hours notice, the full session fee is charged to the card on file. That includes your first session. Late cancellation and missed appointment fees are not usually reimbursed by insurance.
What psychological testing costs
Evaluation is priced differently from therapy, because it is a package rather than a single appointment. It covers an intake, several hours of testing, scoring and interpretation, a written report, and a feedback session where the results are explained to you.
For ADHD in adults, our published fees are:
- ADHD evaluation only: $1,000
- ADHD Intensive with evaluation: $1,500
- Therapy Intensive only, if you have had an evaluation completed within the last two years: $1,100
Our ADHD intensive page sets the intensive against the cost of months of weekly therapy. Treat that as a rough comparison, not a like-for-like one. An intensive and ongoing weekly therapy are different services with different scopes, and which suits you is a clinical question we would rather answer with you than assume.
For other evaluations, including autism and learning disability assessments, cost depends on how many questions the evaluation has to answer. Assessing for one thing is a smaller piece of work than untangling whether a child’s difficulties are ADHD, a learning disorder, anxiety, or some combination. So instead of publishing a range that would be wrong for most people, we build you a written testing proposal setting out the price, the specific questions to be answered, and which tests we will use to answer them. You see that before you commit to anything.
When you compare prices anywhere, the question is not only the number. Ask what is included, and ask whether the report will meet the requirements of whoever needs to read it, because a school district, an insurer and a licensing body may each want something different.
Our psychological testing page explains the process, and there is a separate page on testing for children.
How long testing takes
People search for cost and turnaround in the same breath, so here is the shape of it.
A typical evaluation includes an intake, followed by several appointments. These can be completed using a combination of virtual and in-person sessions. As an example:
- 90-minute consultation and intake interview
- 4 to 6 hours of testing across several appointments
- 90-minute feedback session with a detailed report
The report comes 3 to 4 weeks after testing is completed, and we go through it with you in that feedback session.
Two practical notes. If you need the report by a specific date, for a school deadline or a workplace accommodation request, say so at the very start rather than at the end. And if you are pursuing school-based support in Illinois, a private evaluation and a district evaluation run on different clocks and can run at the same time.
What out-of-network actually means
We are not in-network with any insurance companies. Here is what that means in practice, and where the money actually is.
In-network means a provider has a contract with your insurer at an agreed rate. What you owe at that visit depends on your plan, and can be a copay, coinsurance, an amount applied to your deductible, or some combination.
Out-of-network means there is no such contract. You pay us directly, and then, if your plan includes out-of-network benefits for outpatient mental health, you claim part of it back. That condition matters. Some plans have strong out-of-network coverage. Some have none at all, and no amount of paperwork changes that.
Here is the process when your plan does cover it.
You pay the full fee before the start of each session. We then provide you with a superbill, which is an invoice along with the specific diagnostic codes that explain why you sought help. You submit that superbill to your insurance company for full or partial reimbursement, depending on the guidelines of your plan. You may also be able to use an HSA card.
Your deductible usually comes first. Your plan may apply a separate out-of-network deductible, and where it does it is often higher than the in-network one. Until it is met you are typically paying full cost, with what you spend counting toward it. Plan designs vary enough that this is worth confirming rather than assuming.
Reimbursement is usually a percentage of an “allowed amount,” not of what you paid. This is the most misunderstood part. A plan that reimburses “70% out-of-network” pays 70% of what it has decided the service is worth, which may be well below the actual fee. Ask for the allowed amount, not just the percentage.
Ask which codes will appear on your paperwork instead of guessing. Your superbill carries diagnostic codes, and separately there are procedure codes describing the service itself. Psychotherapy procedure codes are time-based: 90832 covers 16 to 37 minutes, 90834 covers 38 to 52 minutes, and 90837 covers 53 minutes or more (APA Services). Pricing the wrong one gives you a number for a service you are not buying, so ask us which codes apply to your appointments and quote those.
How to check your benefits
Call the member services number on the back of your card. Write down the answers and the reference number for the call.
- Do I have out-of-network outpatient mental health benefits at all?
- What is my out-of-network deductible, and how much of it have I met this year?
- After the deductible, what percentage do you reimburse for out-of-network outpatient mental health?
- What is the allowed amount for the specific CPT codes my provider gave me?
- Do I need prior authorization or a referral?
- Is there a limit on the number of sessions per year?
- How do I submit a superbill, and how long does reimbursement take?
- For testing: are psychological and neuropsychological testing codes covered, does the reason for testing affect coverage, and is prior authorization required?
That last one matters most for evaluations, and it is the one people forget.
Our insurance checker is a faster starting point than the phone, though your plan documents and your insurer are what ultimately determine your benefits.
One protection you are entitled to. Under the federal No Surprises Act, if you are uninsured or you choose not to use insurance, providers must in most cases give you a Good Faith Estimate of expected costs before you receive care. If the final bill comes in at least $400 above that estimate, you may dispute it. The federal regulation gives you 120 calendar days from receiving the bill to start that process (45 CFR 149.620). We issue Good Faith Estimates as standard.
Is testing covered by insurance?
It depends on your plan and on why the testing is being done. Here is the honest version, including a piece of Illinois law that works in your favor.
Illinois has an autism mandate, and it names psychologists specifically. Under 215 ILCS 5/356z.14, state-regulated group and individual health plans must cover the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders for individuals under 21. The statute defines a qualifying diagnosis as tests, evaluations or assessments performed or ordered by a physician or by “a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise in diagnosing autism spectrum disorders.”
That is worth knowing before you assume an autism evaluation is out of reach.
One thing you may read elsewhere and should not take at face value. The statute contains a $36,000 annual maximum, adjusted for inflation. Federal law separately restricts yearly dollar limits on essential health benefits, and mental health services are one of the ten essential health benefit categories. As HealthCare.gov puts it, “Insurance companies can’t set a yearly dollar limit on what they spend for your coverage,” and those protections “apply to most health plans,” failing only for grandfathered individual plans (HealthCare.gov).
Whether that federal rule overrides the state cap in your case depends on your plan and on how it classifies the service. It is not something a consumer page can settle for you. The practical point is simply this: do not assume a $36,000 ceiling applies. Ask your plan what limit, if any, actually operates.
The significant exception. State insurance mandates do not reach self-funded private-employer plans, which fall under federal ERISA law instead. This is not a rare edge case. In KFF’s 2025 employer survey, 67% of covered workers were in self-funded plans, rising to 80% at larger firms (KFF). You cannot always tell from the card, because a self-funded plan is often administered by a familiar insurer whose name appears on it. Ask your HR department or your insurer whether your plan is fully insured or self-funded, because it determines whether the Illinois mandate reaches you at all.
Where coverage is usually harder. Testing done primarily for educational or academic purposes is a common exclusion, because plans treat it as a school district responsibility. Some insurer policies also exclude testing requested by an employer or a court, and some apply medical-necessity criteria that can exclude evaluation for uncomplicated ADHD. Whether any of these apply is a question for your specific plan, and worth asking before you commit.
What to do about it. Ask your insurer two specific questions before you commit: whether testing requires prior authorization on your plan, and whether the reason for your evaluation falls under any exclusion. Plans that require authorization can deny a claim outright when it was not obtained first.
If cost is the barrier, say so rather than quietly not booking. There is often a narrower evaluation that answers the single most important question instead of a comprehensive one.
Why we are out-of-network
Short, because you did not come here for a defense of it.
Insurance panels shape the work as well as the rate. Seeking reimbursement generally means submitting a diagnosis code, and plans can apply limits on what they will cover. As our FAQ puts it, staying out of network lets us “offer a full range of confidential, customized services to our clients with the focus and frequency that’s set by you and your psychologist.” It also means we can offer services that are not dependent on a specific diagnosis, which insurance usually requires.
That is a genuine trade-off, and it costs you more up front. It gives us more flexibility in how we structure the work. You are entitled to weigh it differently, and if in-network care is the right call for your situation, we will help you find it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does therapy cost in Ottawa, Illinois?
Our fees run from $120 to $295 per hour, depending on the scope of the service. Ask us where your specific service sits and we will tell you. You receive the exact fee in writing before your first appointment, in line with the No Surprises Act Good Faith Estimate requirement.
Does insurance cover therapy if the practice is out-of-network?
Sometimes, and only if your plan includes out-of-network outpatient mental health benefits. You pay the full fee, receive a superbill with diagnostic codes, and submit it for full or partial reimbursement depending on your plan’s guidelines. Some plans have no out-of-network benefit at all.
How much does an ADHD evaluation cost?
An ADHD evaluation on its own is $1,000. The ADHD Intensive with evaluation is $1,500, and the Therapy Intensive alone is $1,100 if you have had an evaluation completed within the last two years.
Will my insurance pay for psychological testing?
It depends on the plan and the reason for testing. Illinois law requires state-regulated plans to cover autism diagnosis for people under 21. Self-funded private-employer plans sit outside state mandates and held 67% of covered workers in 2025, and testing for educational purposes is a common exclusion.
How long does psychological testing take?
A typical evaluation is an intake plus several testing appointments, often 4 to 6 hours of testing in total, then a 90-minute feedback session. The written report is delivered 3 to 4 weeks after testing is completed.
Working out what this costs for you
The therapy cost that matters is not our headline fee. It is that fee minus whatever your insurance sends back, and the figure is different for everyone reading this.
You can get to it in about a phone call. Run your plan through our insurance checker, ask us which codes apply to your appointments, then call the number on your card with the eight questions above.
If you would rather just ask a person, book a free consultation and we will talk through both the clinical question and the cost of answering it. You get the number in writing either way.
You can also read more about therapy for young adults and adults or our ADHD intensives.
This article is general information about fees at our Ottawa, Illinois practice and about how insurance benefits generally work. Your plan documents and your insurer determine your actual coverage. Fees quoted were current at the date of publication.
References
Retrieved 20 August 2026, each fetched and the claim confirmed on the page.
- 45 CFR 149.620, Requirements for the patient-provider dispute resolution process. The $400 threshold and the 120-calendar-day window from receiving the bill. www.law.cornell.edu
- American Psychological Association Services. Psychotherapy codes for psychologists. Time ranges for CPT 90832, 90834 and 90837. www.apaservices.org
- Illinois Compiled Statutes, 215 ILCS 5/356z.14, Autism spectrum disorders. Statutory text confirmed 20 August 2026. codes.findlaw.com
- HealthCare.gov. Ending Lifetime & Yearly Limits. Annual dollar limits on essential health benefits, which include mental health services. www.healthcare.gov
- Kaiser Family Foundation. 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey. 67% of covered workers in self-funded plans, 80% at larger firms. www.kff.org
- Thrive Collective. Frequently Asked Questions. Fee range, superbill process, cancellation policy, evaluation structure. mythrivecollective.com
- Thrive Collective. ADHD Intensive. Published intensive and evaluation fees. mythrivecollective.com
- Thrive Collective. Psychological Testing. Testing proposal and report turnaround. mythrivecollective.com
