What EMDR Therapy Costs in Kansas City (and How Self-Pay Works)
Most therapy websites make you dig for the price. I'd rather just tell you.
EMDR sessions with me are $150 for 50 minutes, the same as all my sessions. I'm an out-of-network provider, which means you pay directly and I give you the paperwork to seek reimbursement from your insurance if your plan offers it. HSA and FSA cards are accepted.
That's the short answer. The rest of this post covers what out-of-network actually means, how the reimbursement math works and how to find out what EMDR would really cost you before you commit to anything.
Why I'm out-of-network
This is a fair question and it deserves a real answer, because "doesn't take insurance" can sound like a red flag if nobody explains it.
When a therapist bills your insurance directly, the insurance company becomes part of your treatment. It requires a mental health diagnosis on file from the first session, it can limit how many sessions you get and that diagnosis becomes part of your permanent medical record. For some people that trade is fine. For others, especially people working through trauma who value privacy, it isn't.
Working out-of-network means you and I decide the pace and length of your care, not a claims reviewer. Nothing goes to your insurance company unless you choose to send it. And I keep a smaller caseload than high-volume insurance practices, which is exactly how I want to practice after 25 years.
How the superbill works
A superbill is an itemized receipt I provide with everything your insurance company needs to process an out-of-network claim. You submit it to your plan, usually through the member portal, and if your plan includes out-of-network mental health benefits, it reimburses you directly for a portion of the fee.
Many PPO plans reimburse a meaningful share of each session after you meet an out-of-network deductible. Every plan is different, and I won't pretend to know yours, so here are the exact questions to ask when you call the number on your insurance card:
Does my plan include out-of-network outpatient mental health benefits? What is my out-of-network deductible, and how much of it have I met? What percentage do you reimburse for CPT code 90837 (a 53-minute-plus psychotherapy session)? Is there a session limit per year? How do I submit a superbill?
Ten minutes on that call and you'll know your real number.
The HSA and FSA route
If you have a health savings account or flexible spending account, therapy is a qualified medical expense. You can pay the full $150 with that card, which means you're paying with pre-tax dollars. Depending on your tax bracket, that quietly takes a real bite out of the effective cost, and it works whether or not your plan has out-of-network benefits.
Is EMDR worth it?
The honest way to think about cost isn't per session. It's the cost of resolving the thing versus the cost of carrying it.
EMDR is not open-ended therapy that drifts for years. It's a structured protocol with a beginning, a middle and an end. For a single traumatic experience, some people notice significant shifts in 6 to 12 sessions. Complex or childhood trauma takes longer, and I'm always straightforward about what I'm seeing as we go. Compare that with what the unresolved version already costs you: the sleep, the bracing, the relationships, the years of coping that manage the pain without ending it.
I've written more about how this works on my main page for EMDR therapy in Kansas City, and current session details are always on my rates and insurance page.
Finding out what it would cost you
Here's a simple path. Call your insurance with the questions above so you know your reimbursement picture. Then book a free 15-minute consultation with me. We'll talk about what you're working through, whether EMDR fits and roughly what a course of treatment might look like for your situation, so the math becomes concrete instead of abstract.
No pressure and no games. Just the information you need to make a good decision.
Sara Wilper, LCSW, LSCSW is a grief and trauma therapist with over 25 years of experience. She is EMDR certified and works online with adults across Missouri and Kansas. Learn more about Sara.