Blue Cross Blue Shield Therapists in Chicago, IL

Great question! We get asked a lot about what the differences are in degrees, licenses, and credentials of our therapists. All of our therapists fall under the umbrella of psychotherapists - and psychotherapy is what we do so you’re in good hands with anyone on our team.

Psychologists and Postdoctoral Residents have a doctoral degree in clinical or counseling psychology - either a Ph.D. or a Psy.D. For our purposes, there’s not much difference between a Ph.D and a Psy.D. Psychologists get more training in things like psychological testing and research methods than a therapist at a masters degree level.

LCSWs, MSW Fellows, LCPCs, and Clinical Fellows all have a master’s degree in counseling or social work. They spend a little less time in school than psychologists, but often have just as much experience with psychotherapy as psychologists once they’ve been in the field a year or two post graduation. Sometimes they even have more specialized experience in psychotherapy techniques and methods, because they’ve spent less time on psychological testing and research.

At Balanced Awakening all of our therapists have the qualifications (and personalities) to provide excellent therapy. The most important piece in deciding on what therapist to see is often based on goodness of fit which can include things like therapist specialties matching up with what you’re looking for, or a particular style of doing therapy that resonates with you.

Unfortunately, our psychologists at Balanced Awakening do not provide any formal testing and assessment services. We may sometimes use an assessment tool to gauge what might be of most benefit to the therapeutic process, but do not conduct formal written assessments for diagnostic purposes.

Yep! All of our clinicians work with clients who live in Illinois. Due to licensure laws, if you reside in another state we are unable to see you. Exceptions: Dr. Stumpner sees residents of Iowa.

We offer a complementary initial 15 minute phone consultation to answer questions you may have for us and to determine how we may work together.

Individual & Couples Therapy

Initial Intake Sessions (2), 55 minute each - $245

55 minute session - $220

*Please note that appointments that are not cancelled or rescheduled with a minimum of 24 hours’ notice (or before 6p Saturday for Monday appointments) will be subject to the full 55 minute session fee (either self pay rate or full contracted insurance rate).

Good Faith Estimate

Please note that appointments that are not canceled or rescheduled with a minimum of 24 hours’ notice (or before 6p Saturday for Monday appointments) will be subject to the full 55 minute session fee (either self pay rate or full contracted insurance rate). 

When you cancel an appointment without much notice, 3 people miss out on the benefits - you, another client who could be seen at this time, and your Chicago psychologist who loves providing therapy : ).

Most of our therapists accept BCBS PPO and Aetna insurance.

Unfortunately, we are not considered “in-network” with Blue Cross Blue Shield HMO plans. There are no “out-of-network” benefits with an HMO plan so you will be considered self-pay. See our self-pay rates above.

We have so many options for you to schedule that it can be overwhelming!

1) You can schedule via our online scheduler.

3) You can schedule a complementary client-therapist matchmaking call

4) You can reach out to us via our contact us page.

Yes, with some exceptions. Providers within the practice are able to discuss your care with other providers in the practice in order to provide the best care for you. Similarly, some of our providers are under supervision and regularly speak with their supervisor about their client sessions. Otherwise, there are 3 situations where we would have to break your confidentiality. These include if we learn of any potential child or elder abuse from you, we determine that you are at risk of harming yourself or someone else, or we receive a court order for your medical records.

This is a great question and will depend on a few things. For the most part, we recommend that you meet with your therapist once/week for about 3-4 weeks to establish your relationship and sort out what will help you most in the short-term. From there, you may continue to meet once/week or you may decide on an every-other week schedule. Usually therapy works best when there is some consistency, but sometimes for financial reasons or otherwise, sessions are less frequent.