Your insurance may already pay for this
Many people postpone therapy over cost while holding an insurance policy that would cover it. Private medical insurance in the UK, and international plans everywhere, increasingly include outpatient mental health benefits: psychotherapy, counselling, and psychological treatment, in person or by secure video. This page explains how to find out what you have, and how it works at this practice.
Does your plan cover psychotherapy?
The honest answer is: it depends on your policy, not your insurer’s brand. Within Bupa alone, some plans include generous outpatient mental health cover and others exclude it. The way to know takes ten minutes: call the number on your membership card and ask three questions. Do I have an outpatient mental health benefit? How many sessions per year, and to what value? Do I need a GP referral or pre-authorisation before starting? Note the answers and any authorisation number you are given.
International and global plans
For internationally mobile clients, the picture is usually better still. Plans such as Bupa Global, Cigna Global, AXA Global Healthcare and Allianz are built for people who live across borders, and most include outpatient mental health cover that travels with you and applies to video consultations. This is how executives and families in the Gulf, Asia and Africa routinely fund psychotherapy delivered from London: the Kuwait, Dubai and Singapore pages describe that work. Your table of benefits, in your policy documents, states the outpatient psychiatric or mental health limit.
How it works at this practice
Dr Jacquet works with major insurers including Bupa, Cigna, AXA and Aviva. Depending on your plan, the insurer is billed where arrangements permit; most commonly with international plans, you pay per session and claim reimbursement with a fully itemised invoice, which the practice provides with everything your claim requires. Sessions are at Harley Street in London, in Paris, or by secure video, in English and French.
If you prefer not to involve your insurer
Some clients with full cover still choose to pay privately, for one reason: absolute confidentiality. Using insurance means your insurer processes a claim, and with employer-linked schemes some people prefer that no record exists anywhere. The content of your sessions is confidential in every case; this is about the existence of treatment, not its detail. Both routes are equally welcome, and the work is exactly the same.
Book a confidential first conversation, with or without insurance. Version française : assurance santé et psychothérapie.
Common questions
Does Bupa cover therapy and psychotherapy?
Many Bupa and Bupa Global plans include outpatient mental health benefits covering psychotherapy and counselling; whether yours does depends on your specific policy and level of cover. The reliable way to know: call the number on your membership card, ask about your outpatient mental health benefit, the number of sessions covered, and whether pre-authorisation is required. Dr Jacquet's practice then provides everything your claim needs.
Do international plans like Bupa Global or Cigna Global cover online therapy?
Very often, yes: international private medical plans are designed for exactly this situation, and most include outpatient mental health cover that applies to secure video consultations as well as in-person sessions. Expatriates in the Gulf, Asia, Africa and Europe routinely use these benefits for psychotherapy delivered from London. Check your table of benefits, or ask your insurer directly.
How does payment and reimbursement work in practice?
Depending on your plan, either the insurer is billed where arrangements permit, or, most commonly with international plans, you pay for the session and claim reimbursement with a detailed invoice. The practice provides properly itemised invoices with the information insurers require. Dr Jacquet works with major insurers including Bupa, Cigna, AXA and Aviva.
What if I would rather not use my insurance?
That is equally welcome, and some clients prefer it for confidentiality reasons: paying privately means no third party is involved at all. The work is exactly the same. This is a personal decision, and it is worth knowing that using employer-linked cover involves your insurer processing your claim, though not the content of your sessions, which remains confidential.