Finding a psychologist that takes Blue Shield?

April 15, 2015 10:52 AM

I have Blue Shield insurance and am frustrated by the limited search options available on their site.

I have Blue Shield insurance and am trying to find a psychologist that takes that my insurance. On the Blue Shield website I have tried the "Find a provider" tab then "Doctors" and then "Mental Health Caregivers" etc. etc. as they suggested elsewhere on their site. With the limited search options available of course I get over 100 providers in my area. Are there any other resources online that can help me find a psychologist with certain specialties in my area that takes my insurance? The more options available to specify the better.

posted by Captain Chesapeake to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

Best answer: Psychology Today has this search engine that lets you specify location, specialty, modality, and insurance.

Here is a search engine from different site that has similar options, including choice of insurance.

The one caveat is that these things may not be kept completely up to date, so if you find any clinicians that you are interested in seeing, I would recommend checking in with Blue Cross and/or the therapist's office.

Lastly, I would highly recommend going to a session with a couple different therapists to see who is the best fit before you make your final decision.
posted by litera scripta manet at 11:04 AM on April 15, 2015 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Came to recommend that same Psychology Today search engine. I had two windows up side by side, one with the Psychology today search and another with my insurance's provider finder and was able to get myself a good list to start with in a pretty short amount of time. Once you have a list of doctors who take your insurance, look at their websites to see who feels like a better fit for you. By that point you should have a small handful of people and you can start making calls.
posted by phunniemee at 11:19 AM on April 15, 2015

Response by poster: Wonderful. Thanks.
posted by Captain Chesapeake at 11:29 AM on April 15, 2015

Best answer: Caveat Emptor:

Note that often, mental health insurance is provided by a different company than your medical insurance. It will say what company on the back of your insurance card, usually in fine print toward the bottom.

You need to check the provider list FOR THE COMPANY THAT PROVIDES YOUR MENTAL HEALTH INSURANCE. It may be that if you go to a mental health professional that takes Blue Shield, the claim may still be denied because s/he does not take Cut-Rate Mental Health Insurance Co.

Also, you often need to call that company for pre-authorization.
posted by tckma at 11:44 AM on April 15, 2015

If your health insurance is through your employer, see if your employer offers an EAP (Employee Assistance Program). I've got BCBS insurance and the EAP did the work of finding therapists in my area who meet my specifications. The first three visits are free; after that you can continue with the therapist EAP found or get a referral to another therapist.
posted by caryatid at 5:09 PM on April 15, 2015

Best answer: Do you need to see a psychologist specifically? Or do you just want to go to a licensed professional who does counseling/therapy? I've found that LCSWs (licensed clinical social workers) tend to take insurance more often than MS's and PhD's.
posted by radioamy at 7:36 PM on April 15, 2015

Seconding the advice to look at practitioners' websites after finding them through the Psychology Today search engine--if you are looking for someone who specializes in something specific, it will sometimes come up in their searches but the person may only have a passing familiarity with it. I wish I had known this before interviewing a bunch of therapists who looked at me blankly and said, "Uh, well, I don't NOT work with that specific problem!"
posted by corey flood at 6:50 AM on April 16, 2015