Does Cigna Cover EMDR Therapy?

Does Cigna Cover EMDR Therapy?

Yes, CIGNA insurance may be able to cover Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy in Tennessee, depending on the specifics of your insurance plan. Your EMDR Cigna coverage may require a referral from your primary care provider before receiving treatment.¹ In addition, several variables, like whether or not you have a deductible and whether the service is in-network or out-of-network, will determine how much your particular plan will cover.

Jump to Section

• Does Cigna Cover EMDR Therapy?
• How to Verify Cigna EMDR Coverage
• What is Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy?
• What Does EMDR Therapy Treat?
• How To Find Cigna EMDR Therapists Near Me?
• How Much Does EMDR Cost Without Insurance?

How to Verify Cigna EMDR Coverage

Athena Care is in-network with most major insurance plans. To determine your CIGNA coverage for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, call your insurance company or by contact us below. One of our care coordinators can help you navigate your insurance coverage and help you get the care you need.

What is Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence based psychotherapy in which the individual receiving treatment recalls traumatic experiences while engaging in bilateral stimulation. This bilateral stimulation can include side-to-side eye movement, tapping on each side of the body, or similar.²

EDMR is a series of mental health assessments that involve a phased, focused approach to treating trauma and other symptoms. It requires re-establishing a safe connection between the traumatized individual and the images, self-thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations connected to the trauma. This enables the brain’s healing mechanisms to progress toward adaptive resolution.³

How Does EMDR Work?

There are eight stages of EMDR therapy, which typically consist of once or twice weekly 90-minute sessions:⁴

• Initial history discovery and treatment planning
  • The therapist develops a treatment plan after learning more about the client.

During this stage, the exact problem(s) that motivated them to seek treatment will be discussed, along with the behaviors and symptoms that went along with it.

• Preparation
  • The therapist will give you particular skills to cope with any emotional problems. Establishing a trusting bond between the client and the therapist is one of the key goals of the preparation phase.
• Assessment
  • To complete this phase successfully, the therapist asks the client to access each issue (from phase one) in a controlled and uniform manner.This target could be a particular image or mental representation of the upsetting memory and the corresponding negative belief. The objective is to change that negative self-statement into a good one.
• Desensitization
  • With appropriate shifts and changes in focus, the therapist leads the patient through eye movements, noises, or taps.This is carried out until the values of the Subjective Units of Disturbance (SUD) scale are zero (or 1 or 2 if this is more appropriate).The objective is to go beyond their initial goals and heal in ways they never thought possible.
• Installation
  • Focusing on and reinforcing the client’s acknowledged positive belief intends to take the place of their initial negative belief. As a result, “I am now in control” will be installed.
• Body scan
  • The therapist will have the person recall the original target issue and check for any remaining tension in the body. Reprocessing then addresses these residual feelings.
• Closure
  • This phase happens at the end of every session. Closure ensures that the person feels better at the end of each session than at the start.
• Reevaluation
  • The Reevaluation phase walks the therapist through the many treatment strategies required to address the client’s issues. This phase happens at the beginning of every session.

What Does EMDR Therapy Treat?

Over 30 studies have shown that EMDR therapy is helpful for issues such as:⁵

• Rape and sexual abuse
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Combat trauma
• Childhood trauma and neglect
• Life-threatening accidents
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Substance use disorder

How To Find Cigna EMDR Therapists Near Me?

With Athena Care, gaining access to an EMDR clinic in Tennessee and a Cigna EMDR provider has never been easier. A care coordinator can assist you with any questions or concerns about EMDR therapy Cigna coverage at one of our multiple locations, open Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Here, you’ll find a list of practitioners organized by city and information about their backgrounds and specialties.

When selecting an EMDR therapist, it’s important to ask lots of questions and keep the following in mind:

• Education, training, license, and years of experience
• Specialties and services offered
• Treatment methods and philosophies
• Insurance companies they work with
• Office hours
• Pricing
• Session length

How Much Does EMDR Cost Without Insurance?

The following are average costs, though they may vary by location and other factors and may not reflect the actual cost of what you’ll pay for EMDR testing or treatment in Tennessee.

For EDMR therapy, budget between $100 and $250 every hour or session. Remember that multiple sessions will be necessary, which brings the average total to $800 to $2,000 to achieve desired results.⁶

Sources

1. “Mental Health Benefits | Cigna.” Cigna, www.cigna.com/individuals-families/plans-services/plans-through-employer/mental-health. Accessed 9 July 2022.
2. “EMDR: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.” WebMD LLC, 2022, https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/emdr-what-is-it
3. “EMDR Therapy for Anxiety, Panic, PTSD and Trauma.” Remedy Health Media LLC, 2022, https://www.psycom.net/emdr-therapy-anxiety-panic-ptsd-trauma/
4. “Experiencing EMDR Therapy.” EMDRIA EMDR International Association, 2022, https://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/experiencing-emdr-therapy/
5. “Research Overview.” EMDR Institute, Inc., 2020, https://www.emdr.com/research-overview/#adaptive
6. “How Much Does EMDR Therapy Cost?” HowMuchIsIt.Org, 2018, https://www.howmuchisit.org/emdr-therapy-cost/