Blue Cross Blue Shield EMDR Therapy In Tennessee

Does Blue Cross Blue Shield Cover EMDR Therapy?

Yes, Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Tennessee health insurance may cover Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy if the health care provider accepts your insurance plan.

Jump to Section

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

How to Verify Blue Cross Blue Shield EMDR Coverage

Athena Care is in-network with most major insurance plans. Find out more about your insurance coverage by calling your insurance company or contacting Athena Care at 877-641-1155.

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

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a type of psychotherapy in which the individual receiving treatment recalls traumatic experiences while engaging in bilateral stimulation, such as side-to-side eye movement or tapping on each side of the body.¹

EDMR is a series of mental health evaluations that involve a phased, focused approach to treating trauma and other symptoms. It entails reconnecting the traumatized person to the images, self-thoughts, emotions, and body sensations associated with the trauma in a safe manner. This allows the brain’s natural healing powers to move toward adaptive resolution.²

How Does EMDR Work?

There are eight stages of EMDR therapy:³

1. Initial history discovery and treatment planning
   • The therapist gathers information about the client and creates a treatment plan. This phase will involve a discussion of the specific issue(s) that brought them to treatment and the behaviors and symptoms associated with that issue.
2. Preparation
   • The therapist will help give you particular skills to cope with any emotional problems that arise. Establishing a trusting relationship between the client and the therapist is one of the key goals of the preparation phase.
3. Assessment
   • The client will be requested to access each issue (from phase one) in a regulated and standardized manner throughout this phase so that each issue can be processed successfully. This target may be a specific image or mental picture that best represents the troubling memory and the negative belief that coincides with it. The goal is to turn that negative belief into a positive self-statement.
4. Desensitization
   • The therapist guides the person through a series of eye movements, sounds, or taps with appropriate shifts and changes of focus. This is done until their Subjective Units of Disturbance (SUD) scale values are decreased to zero (or 1 or 2 if this is more appropriate). The goal is to move beyond their initial objectives and heal in ways they never imagined.
5. Installation
   • The goal is to focus on and strengthen the client’s recognized positive belief to replace their original negative belief. “I am now in control” will be enhanced and installed.
6. 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.
7. Closure
   • This phase happens at the end of every session. Closure ensures that the person feels better at the end of each session than they did at the start.
8. 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?

According to the EMDR Research Foundation, over 30 studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of EMDR therapy for problems such as:⁴

• 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 BCBS EMDR Therapists Near Me?

With Athena Care, gaining access to an EMDR treatment clinic in Tennessee and a BCBS EMDR provider has never been easier.

A care coordinator can assist you with any questions or concerns about EMDR therapy Blue Cross Blue Shield coverage at one of our various Tennessee locations. Athena Care health clinics are open Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

When choosing EMDR therapists or care providers, 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

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

How Much Does EMDR Cost Without Insurance?

The following are average costs, though they may vary by location and other variables and may not reflect the actual cost of what you’ll pay for testing or treatment. Depending on your insurance coverage, the out-of-pocket cost may be minimal.

Plan on spending between $100 to $250 each hour/session for EDMR therapy. Each session lasts around 90 minutes. Keep in mind that numerous sessions will be required, and each session is charged separately, bringing the total to $800 to $2,000, on average, to reach desirable outcomes.⁵