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Free mental-wellness resource

Therapy cost prep.

This education-only worksheet helps you separate therapy prices, plan benefits, employer assistance, sliding-scale leads, group options, and online-care tradeoffs before you call a plan, employer, clinic, or clinician. It does not provide therapy, choose a provider, decide coverage, file claims, or replace crisis support.

Education onlyOfficial sources linkedNot crisis support
Before the benefits call

Keep the care goal separatefrom the coverage answer.

This worksheet gives you a place to sort the question you want help with, the plan details you need verified, and the lower-cost paths worth asking about. It is mental-wellness organization only, not therapy, crisis support, provider selection, or payment advice.

1Care goal2Plan details3Next call
Worksheet bundle

Separate the care question, the coverage question, and the next call.

Use the worksheet to organize plan rules, EAP options, sliding-scale leads, and clinic questions before anyone makes a care or payment decision.

Prep structure

Keep affordability questions organized before anyone makes a care decision.

The useful work is separating the care question from the payment question, then collecting enough plan, employer, clinic, and local-resource details for a direct conversation.

  1. Write the care question first

    Name whether you are exploring individual therapy, group therapy, short-term counseling, psychiatry, or a support group before asking about cost.

  2. Separate list price from your price

    Keep the advertised session price, insurance benefits, deductible status, copay, coinsurance, and out-of-network rules in separate lines.

  3. Ask about lower-cost paths

    Check whether an employer EAP, community clinic, training clinic, group therapy option, or sliding-fee program belongs on your question list.

  4. Keep crisis resources separate

    A cost worksheet is not crisis support. If you are in immediate danger, call 911; if you are in mental-health crisis in the US, call or text 988.

Worksheet

What the worksheet asks you to collect

  • Plan name, member ID location, deductible status, copay, coinsurance, and whether mental-health visits have a separate benefit line
  • In-network and out-of-network rules, reimbursement form requirements, prior authorization questions, and whether telehealth is treated differently
  • Employer EAP phone number or portal, number of sessions if offered, confidentiality language, and referral steps
  • Sliding-scale, community clinic, training clinic, support group, and group therapy leads to verify directly
  • Questions for the clinician or clinic: fees, cancellation policy, superbills, payment timing, session length, and what happens if coverage changes
Boundary

What this public resource does not do

  • No therapy, diagnosis, or mental-health risk assessment
  • No provider matching, booking, referral, or clinician response
  • No coverage decision, prior-auth submission, claim filing, appeal filing, or payer send
  • No medication advice, payment recommendation, or guarantee that any service is covered
  • No crisis assessment or emergency-service replacement
Options to verify

Affordability paths belong on the question list, not in a promise.

Ojava can help you prepare what to ask. The plan, employer, clinic, public agency, or clinician still owns the actual eligibility, availability, cost, and coverage answer.

Verify

Insurance questions

Ask the plan about deductibles, copays, coinsurance, visit limits, prior authorization, medical-necessity criteria, telehealth coverage, and appeal steps.

Verify

EAP and workplace benefits

Some employers offer confidential short-term counseling, assessment, referral, or follow-up through an Employee Assistance Program.

Verify

Sliding-scale and local programs

Community clinics, public agencies, training clinics, and some nonprofit programs may offer lower-cost care. Verify eligibility, wait times, and fees directly.

Verify

Group therapy and support groups

Group formats can be a different care setting with different costs and fit. Ask who leads the group, what the goal is, and whether it is therapy or peer support.

Verify

Online-care tradeoffs

Telehealth may reduce travel and scheduling friction, but plan coverage, privacy, state licensing, clinician fit, and crisis policies still need direct review.

Verify

Documentation to keep

Save benefit screenshots, call reference numbers, clinic fee notes, superbill details, and the exact questions you asked.

Research basis

Official sources for this affordability resource

These linked sources support the education-only structure for asking about mental-health benefits, EAPs, official treatment locators, and lower-cost resource paths.

  • Mental health and substance abuse coverageHealthCare.gov, 2026. Supports education that Marketplace plans include behavioral health treatment as an essential health benefit, with plan-specific benefits and parity protections. It does not let Ojava decide coverage or payment.
  • Understanding Your Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder BenefitsU.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, 2026. Supports asking about copayments, deductibles, coinsurance, visit limits, prior authorization, medical necessity criteria, denials, and parity rights. It does not make Ojava a benefits advisor or appeal filer.
  • Find Help and Treatment for Mental Health, Drug, Alcohol IssuesSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2026. Supports pointing users toward official treatment locators, free or low-cost treatment resources, support groups, and crisis resources. Ojava does not provide crisis counseling, provider matching, or booking.
  • What is an Employee Assistance Program?U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 2026. Supports explaining EAPs as voluntary work-based programs that may offer free confidential assessment, short-term counseling, referrals, and follow-up services. It does not guarantee that a specific employer offers an EAP.
Where personal review belongs

Personal mental-health review belongs with qualified care.

The public worksheet helps you prepare affordability and benefits questions. Signed-in Ojava can organize your own notes and records for a bounded mental-wellness handoff, but licensed therapy, diagnosis, crisis care, provider selection, benefits decisions, and payment advice stay outside Ojava.

Which step happens whereThree places

Affordability prep

Use the worksheet to collect plan details, EAP notes, clinic questions, and lower-cost paths to verify directly.

Mental-wellness handoff

Signed-in Ojava can organize your notes and records for review without acting as therapy or crisis support.

Qualified care

Diagnosis, therapy, crisis assessment, provider selection, coverage decisions, and payment advice stay outside Ojava.