Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Therapy in Philadelphia

How coverage works with Highmark

We are in-network with Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, the Blue plan serving Western and Central Pennsylvania. If you are a Highmark member seeing us in Philadelphia, the BlueCard program applies: you use your Highmark benefits with our practice just as you would at home. No referral is required for outpatient therapy, and telehealth is covered at parity for Pennsylvania residents.

What you will typically pay

A copay is a flat fee per session, typically $15 to $50 with Highmark, after your deductible is met. Some plans use coinsurance instead, a percentage of the session cost. Your deductible is the amount you pay out of pocket each year before your plan begins paying; many plans waive it for outpatient mental health. One call to Highmark member services settles which applies to you.

One thing Highmark members should know

Highmark is a separate company from Independence Blue Cross, even though both carry the Blue Cross name. If your card says Independence Blue Cross or Keystone Health Plan East, see our Independence Blue Cross page for out-of-network guidance.

Verify your benefits

Call the number on your Highmark card and ask: Do I have outpatient mental health benefits? What is my copay or coinsurance? What is my deductible, and how much is met? Is there a session limit? Do I need a referral?

What we treat with Highmark coverage

Anxiety

Under Highmark Blue Cross, anxiety is a covered outpatient behavioral health diagnosis, whether it shows up as panic, social anxiety, chronic worry, or physical symptoms with no medical cause. Anxiety therapy at our practice treats those symptoms as adaptive rather than defective and works on the relational history that trained them.

Depression

Major depression and long-running low mood are covered Highmark Blue Cross conditions. Our depression therapy is not a course of thought-correction; it examines what the depression is protecting you from feeling and what in your relationships keeps the pattern in place, which is where lasting change tends to come from.

Trauma and PTSD

Trauma treatment is covered under Highmark Blue Cross as outpatient behavioral health, from a single overwhelming event to years of an unsafe childhood. Our trauma-informed approach asks what happened to you rather than what is wrong with you, and paces processing so treatment does not become another overwhelming experience.

Grief and loss

Loss of any kind, including the deaths that do not get bereavement leave, is covered under Highmark Blue Cross. Grief therapy here is not about reaching acceptance on schedule; it is about being accompanied while you carry something that has changed the shape of your life.

Life transitions

Transition-related distress is a covered Highmark Blue Cross outpatient concern, and it does not require a crisis to qualify. Life transitions therapy attends to the internal work that lags behind the external change, which is usually why a wanted change can still feel like grief.

Relationships

Relational difficulty, including the patterns that follow you from one relationship to the next, is covered under Highmark Blue Cross. Our relationship therapy is individual and attachment-focused, aimed at the template rather than the last argument, and it often shifts a relationship without the other person ever entering the room.

Getting started

Start the intake (about 5 minutes), get matched personally within 1 to 2 business days, and meet your therapist. Request your match, or call (215) 399-4128.

Frequently asked questions

Last updated July 2, 2026