Fee-For-Service (FFS)

TELL Counseling operates according to a flexible-fee pricing structure (sliding scale fee). Our fee per 50-minute session is flexibly designed to accommodate family/household income. 

Please note: On occasion, your therapist may schedule the initial family or couple session at 75 minutes (1.5 regular session fee). Subsequent family and couple sessions are then charged as regular sessions.

Sliding Scale Fee

For clients without insurance coverage, TELL Counseling uses a sliding scale system to provide subsidized care based on family/ household income. This applies to families and households with a monthly income of 900,000 yen or less. 

Please note: This scale is not applicable when a third party is covering the cost of the sessions. (E.g. insurance company, EAP etc.)

How do I get started?

• Please send an email to our Clinical Coordinator to apply for the Sliding Scale System. ([email protected]) 
• Please provide your gross income, to reflect ALL income from ALL resources (housing allowances, savings, offshore funds, trust funds, benefits, etc.) before taxes.
• All provided documents will be kept confidential and handled with the utmost care.

Acceptable Income Verification:

• Withholding Income Tax slip / 源泉徴収表
• Current pay stubs (recent 2-3 months)
• A copy of a recent bank account statement

Payment Method

Service fees (including applicable co-pays and deductibles) are due at/prior to each session. We accept payment by cash (for in-person clients only), bank transfer, and credit card (Visa, MasterCard, and American Express).

For more details about our bank account information, please review the Payment Options Information Sheet.

For Teletherapy (distance) counseling, clients’ credit cards will be charged within 5 business days of the session if payment has not been received prior to that.

Cancellation Policy

We require 24 hours notice for cancellation/rescheduling. 11,000 (tax incl.) will be charged directly to clients for missed appointments or appointments canceled with less than 24 hours notice. For Sliding Scale Rate clients, the cancellation fee is either the above rate or your agreed upon fee if it is lower. 

For the first appointment, the above policy stands. Please understand that the scheduling of an appointment exclusively reserves your therapist’s time to meet with you. If you fail to cancel an appointment in a timely manner or miss your appointment, we are unable to offer your reserved time to another client.

Insurance companies do not pay for missed sessions, so the client will be responsible for paying this charge if the appointment is canceled within less than 24 hours.

National Health Insurance

Services at TELL Counseling are not covered by the Japan National Health Insurance.

Private Insurance

Our fee is 24,200 yen (tax inclusive) for 53 minute sessions. International Private Insurance plans ( TriCare, AFSPA, etc.) provide some benefits to help their members pay for outpatient therapy/mental health services. TELL offers direct billing for clients with Tricare Prime and AFSPA. (Deductible and copays apply for AFSPA clients).

However, all other clients are responsible for paying fees upfront and then submitting payment of receipt to insurance providers for reimbursement. (For clients with Tricare Select, our billing department can submit the claims to Tricare for the client as a courtesy). Accordingly, we strongly recommend that clients contact their insurance provider to get specific information about their plan, prior to starting therapy.

It is important to remember that clients are responsible for:

• Obtaining the initial referral to your therapist (when required by your insurance plan).
• Obtaining pre-approval/ authorization for visits directly from your insurance provider (when required).
• Keeping track of your benefit limits.
• Paying all deductibles, co-pays, and other charges not covered by the insurer.
• Informing our office of any changes to your insurance coverage.
• Payment of all charges not reimbursed by your insurance carrier.

Please note that all clients are responsible for all non-reimbursed costs. Denied claims, deductibles, co-pays, missed session fees, late cancellation fees, and all other non-reimbursed costs are the responsibility of the client.

TELL Counseling is a provider of TriCare (ISOS) and AFSPA Insurances.

Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)

TELL Counseling is a provider of Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) for major EAP companies such as Peacemind-JEAP. We also have exclusive contracts with several multinational companies in Tokyo to provide confidential counseling services for their employees.

EAP is a form of benefit whereby a company arranges for confidential counseling at no cost to their employees, and in some cases, direct family members. Depending on the benefit, EAP plans cover the full fee for face-to-face or Teletherapy counseling sessions at TELL. To find out if your company provides mental health care EAP benefits, contact the Human Resource Department at your workplace prior to making an appointment with TELL Counseling. For more details about this benefit, please see here.