Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Timeline
Sessions are 45-minutes long.
It depends! We make a personalized recommendation for each client. Most clients have one session per week. Other clients have sessions twice a week, once every two weeks, once every three weeks, or once a month.
It depends on a lot of factors. Clients who have prior experience manipulating their voice (i.e., singing, acting, etc.), lots of time to practice, and a starting voice that is close to their ideal voice tend to require fewer sessions compared to clients without these factors. Clients looking to fine-tune their voice may take 1-5 sessions. Clients starting at the beginning may take 8-12 sessions.
When you are satisfied with your voice, you graduate yourself. Our time together varies depending on how many sessions you need and how often we meet. About half of our clients are satisfied within 3 months of starting voice therapy. Most clients are satisfied within six months.
Regular practice between sessions helps clients progress. We strongly encourage clients to practice a minimum of 30 minutes per day at the start of therapy and to increase towards full-time practice as you progress through therapy. We understand that it can be difficult to get in the routine of practicing! We look forward to helping you develop a routine that will work for you.
Clients learn in each session techniques that they can start to incorporate into everyday conversations. Your speed of progress will depend on your aptitude and how much practice you complete.
We work with clients at every stage, from people who are questioning or exploring their gender to people who see voice therapy as the last step of their transition. If you believe that voice training will improve your quality of life, we are happy to work with you wherever you are.
Payment
The standard rate for a session is $100.
We require that clients have a credit card on file. We charge the card at the start of the session. We also accept HSA.
Maybe. At this time, we are purely a private-pay company. This means that we are out of network with all health insurances and do NOT accept direct payment from any insurance company. Upon request, we can provide you with a “superbill” detailed receipt that you can submit to your health insurance company to request reimbursement. However, this does not guarantee reimbursement.
Coverage for transition-related voice therapy varies across insurance plans. You will have to reach out to your insurance company directly to see what your plan covers. Have the following information ready for your call: you are scheduling a voice assessment (CPT Code 92524) and subsequent treatment (CPT Code 92507) via telehealth with an out-of-network speech-language pathologist for a suspected voice/resonance disorder (ICD-10 Code R49.9). The representative may ask for an associated medical diagnostic code (ICD-10 Code F64.9). Inquire: if these services would be covered, how many visits would be covered, how much per session they would reimburse, and any preauthorization steps that you need to complete. The rep may ask why you want to work with an out-of-network provider or try to find you an in-network provider. If you are agreeable to finding an in-network provider, you may ask critical questions to ensure that the rep finds you a speech-language pathologist who is both voice-specialized and has experience providing gender-affirming voice training. The rep may ask why you require voice therapy.
We hold a limited number of income-based sliding fee scale spots for qualifying clients. We are working to become an approved provider with local queer organizations to participate in their therapy assistance programs to increase access to reduced-cost services. Please inquire during your consultation call.
We understand that our clients’ personal and financial situations can change unexpectedly, and this can make continuing voice therapy difficult or impossible. Please let us know when things change and we can talk through options. For example, clients may newly qualify for sliding scale rates or therapy assistance programs. Clients may reduce the frequency of their sessions. Clients may opt to suspend therapy services until a better time. Let’s talk about your situation.
Technology and Accessibility
We use SimplePractice for our client portals and telehealth sessions.
Telehealth requires that clients have access to a computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. The device must have a webcam, speakers, and microphone. The device must have Chrome, Firefox, or Safari. The Internet or data connection should be at least 10 Mbps. Please reach out with any specific device concerns.
Please join your telehealth session in a physical space that is reasonably private, quiet, and free of distractions and interruptions. This space should allow you to practice your voice at a conversational volume.
Clients who access their telehealth sessions via desktop or laptop do not need to download a special program. Clients who use a mobile device will need to download the free SimplePractice app. We use various voice analysis apps during the therapy session and strongly encourage clients to have these app(s) on their mobile devices for practice outside the sessions. We will walk you through the installation process.
Both our telehealth platform (i.e., SimplePractice) and our software for end-to-end email encryption and forms (i.e., PauBox) are HIPAA compliant and HITRUST certified. We take your data security seriously.
We strongly encourage clients to participate in sessions with both audio and visual connection. We find that this works best for most clients. However, we respect that there are many reasons why a client may not want to appear on camera, and acknowledge that requiring all clients to appear on camera would an accessibility barrier. Please communicate any concerns with being on camera so that we can plan for audio-only sessions.
Yes! When you complete your new client paperwork, the client portal will ask for your ‘legal’ name and give the option to add a ‘preferred’ name. The legal name will appear only on documents generated for your insurance company, if you ask for a superbill. The preferred name will appear throughout your client portal, on your invoices/statements, on appointment reminders, and during all communications with your clinician. Both legal and preferred names can be updated if they change during therapy.
Our goal is for our services to be accessible for all people. Sometimes we fall short of this goal. Please reach out with specific accessibility concerns and we work to remove those barriers.
Location
We provide therapy only online via telehealth. We do not see clients at a physical location. We strive to make our online platform as assessable as possible.
Short answer: Yes.
Long answer with explanation: TJ is a speech-language pathologist. Speech-language pathology is a licensed profession in all 50 states. Each state issues its own licenses to practice. The State of Michigan issued TJ a license to practice in Michigan. He does not hold a license in any of the other 49 states. The laws around telehealth require that the provider (TJ) be licensed both where the provider the client are physically located at the time of the session. TJ is in Michigan. This means that the clients also must be in Michigan.