About Elizabeth "Liz" Polinsky
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Hi there! I'm a couple and family therapist in the Hampton Roads, Virginia area. I specialize in Emotionally Focused Couple and Family Therapy, and have a special passion for working with military and veteran couples. I believe that no one should face their struggle alone. I enter the room in a warm, honest, supportive, and direct way. I won’t be a distant therapist; I get up close and personal with whatever is going on. I excel at creating safety and comfort in my office so you can take risks, learn about yourself and your loved ones, and grow. You will get the benefit of my whole being—my years of training, laser focus on the issues, as well as my deep empathy and understanding. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I will be thoughtful, creative and work to help you build lasting and loving relationships. I will walk alongside you through your journey.
Reaching out and allowing somebody to help you sort through pain can be an intimidating process. It takes courage. Not every therapist is a good match and the most important thing is you. I believe the foundation to the therapy process is building a relationship between myself and my clients. Through this genuine relationship we’ll collaborate to help you live a more meaningful life that fits with your personal values and goals. I have the utmost respect for the bravery of each person that takes the huge step to reach out for help. I offer a free 20-minute consultation to see what it would be like to work together. My goal is to provide a safe space for your story and to help you achieve healthy relationships and self-worth. I would be honored to be part of your healing process. |
Liz, I still have questions about your experience...
Are you a licensed Therapist?
Yes! I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in Virginia (#0904011022), South Carolina (#11302), and Arkansas (#7735-C). I am also licensed as a Resident in Marriage and Family Therapy in Virginia (#0730000567) under the supervision of Marianne Shirilla, LCP, LMFT. While I am not yet independently licensed as an LMFT, marriage and family therapy does fall within the scope of practice for clinical social work as well as within my experience and training as a clinical social worker
What is your degree in?
I hold a Master’s of Social Work degree from the University of South Carolina. In addition, I have graduate Certificate in Social Work with Military Members, Veterans, and their Families from the University of South Carolina. I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Therapy with a specialization in Couple Therapy, and expect to graduate in 2023.
What is your previous work experience?
I have worked providing individual and group therapy for the Department of Mental Health in South Carolina as well as the Behavioral Health Clinical at the Veteran's Health Administration in Mississippi and Florida. While at the Veterans Affairs Hospital, I provided Warrior to Soulmate Couple Workshops to veterans.
I have been in private practice since 2019, focusing on working with couples and families to build a strong emotional connections, repair relationship, and communicate more effectively. I have a special passion for working with veteran and military couples, and over half the couples I work with are either active duty military couples or veteran couples.
I have been in private practice since 2019, focusing on working with couples and families to build a strong emotional connections, repair relationship, and communicate more effectively. I have a special passion for working with veteran and military couples, and over half the couples I work with are either active duty military couples or veteran couples.
ARe you certified in Emotionally Focused Therapy?
I have advanced experience and training in Emotionally Focused Therapy, and am preparing to submit my packet for EFT certification in the Fall of 2021. I am on track to be the first certified EFT therapist in the Hampton Roads area.
I heard you have a podcast...
I do! It is The Communicate & Connect Podcast for Military Relationships. With the podcast, I provide educational resources for military couples and families who are too busy or find it hard to coordinate schedules in order to attend regular therapy appointments.
Why Don't you take insurance?
I often have couples tell me that they want to use their insurance for couples therapy or have been to a couple’s therapist before and that therapist billed their insurance. So how come I don't? Stick with me here as I explain.
Insurance companies require 3 things to pay or reimburse for counseling:
MOST of the time, individual therapy is covered by medical insurers because it is simple for the therapist to identify who the client is, assign a diagnosis (assuming there is one that fits the presenting issues), and provide a treatment that is likely to help the diagnosis (for example, Joe attends therapy for generalized anxiety disorder, and the therapist uses cognitive behavioral therapy to treat his generalized anxiety disorder). This would be an ethical use of insurance, and the therapist would be able to provide documentation that fits with the treatment being provided. When the insurance company audits the client’s file, the therapist can how that he/she/they provided therapy to the client (Joe) and used established treatment methods (cognitive behavioral therapy) to treat the medical diagnosis (generalized anxiety disorder).
In couples therapy, this is totally different. Who is the client? The relationship – both people. Insurance companies don’t yet have a clear way to deal with this. They want to know there is 1 client. They will sometimes reimburse for “family sessions” but they still want to know who the primary client is.
That leads to the second problem: What is the diagnosis? When we work with couples, the only diagnostic issue we treat is “problems in the relationship”. There is a code for this, Z63.0, but insurers do not cover it. Further, let’s say you meet the diagnostic criteria for generalized anxiety disorder. If you are seeing me for couples therapy, then I am not treating you for generalized anxiety disorder. I am treating the problems in your relationship and we will assume that you either see another therapist for your generalized anxiety OR that your anxiety might lessen over time as your relationship improves. Either way, the treatment I am providing is Emotionally Focused Couples or Family Therapy. It’s a wonderful, evidence-supported treatment method for helping couples; it is not a treatment for individual mental health diagnoses.
So given all that, my documentation of our work together will show that both partners are the clients, we are working on problems in the relationship, and I am using Emotionally Focused Therapy to achieve this. Sadly, I have yet to find an insurer who will pay for that.
So why did your other therapist bill insurance? Some therapists are billing insurance because they’re not truly doing couples therapy – they are treating you for a diagnosis and your partner happens to be in the sessions with you learning how to help you with your diagnosis. Other therapists have a different understanding of insurance laws and regulations and genuinely believe they are operating within those bounds. And other therapists believe the ends justify the means. They know that couples therapy is necessary and helpful, so they choose a client to diagnose, code sessions as though they are treating that one client, and they assume the insurance company won’t audit their records.
The final reason I don't take insurance is because a skilled couples therapist will have advanced training and certifications. Being a couples therapist requires a skill set beyond that of a good individual therapist. Many therapists who are in training will accept insurance as they learn the models. By the time you sit with a skilled couples therapist they will have seen thousands of couples, sat in hundreds of hours of training and been supervised by other expert couples therapists.
So, to recap:
Pros of paying for couples counseling sessions out of pocket:
And so there you have it. The reason why I chose to be a full fee practice that accepts limited insurance for couples therapy. If you still have questions we would love to answer them because choosing a couples therapist is one of the most important decisions you can make!!
Insurance companies require 3 things to pay or reimburse for counseling:
- an identified client
- a mental health diagnosis
- evidence of treatment that directly serves the identified client AND the mental health diagnosis
MOST of the time, individual therapy is covered by medical insurers because it is simple for the therapist to identify who the client is, assign a diagnosis (assuming there is one that fits the presenting issues), and provide a treatment that is likely to help the diagnosis (for example, Joe attends therapy for generalized anxiety disorder, and the therapist uses cognitive behavioral therapy to treat his generalized anxiety disorder). This would be an ethical use of insurance, and the therapist would be able to provide documentation that fits with the treatment being provided. When the insurance company audits the client’s file, the therapist can how that he/she/they provided therapy to the client (Joe) and used established treatment methods (cognitive behavioral therapy) to treat the medical diagnosis (generalized anxiety disorder).
In couples therapy, this is totally different. Who is the client? The relationship – both people. Insurance companies don’t yet have a clear way to deal with this. They want to know there is 1 client. They will sometimes reimburse for “family sessions” but they still want to know who the primary client is.
That leads to the second problem: What is the diagnosis? When we work with couples, the only diagnostic issue we treat is “problems in the relationship”. There is a code for this, Z63.0, but insurers do not cover it. Further, let’s say you meet the diagnostic criteria for generalized anxiety disorder. If you are seeing me for couples therapy, then I am not treating you for generalized anxiety disorder. I am treating the problems in your relationship and we will assume that you either see another therapist for your generalized anxiety OR that your anxiety might lessen over time as your relationship improves. Either way, the treatment I am providing is Emotionally Focused Couples or Family Therapy. It’s a wonderful, evidence-supported treatment method for helping couples; it is not a treatment for individual mental health diagnoses.
So given all that, my documentation of our work together will show that both partners are the clients, we are working on problems in the relationship, and I am using Emotionally Focused Therapy to achieve this. Sadly, I have yet to find an insurer who will pay for that.
So why did your other therapist bill insurance? Some therapists are billing insurance because they’re not truly doing couples therapy – they are treating you for a diagnosis and your partner happens to be in the sessions with you learning how to help you with your diagnosis. Other therapists have a different understanding of insurance laws and regulations and genuinely believe they are operating within those bounds. And other therapists believe the ends justify the means. They know that couples therapy is necessary and helpful, so they choose a client to diagnose, code sessions as though they are treating that one client, and they assume the insurance company won’t audit their records.
The final reason I don't take insurance is because a skilled couples therapist will have advanced training and certifications. Being a couples therapist requires a skill set beyond that of a good individual therapist. Many therapists who are in training will accept insurance as they learn the models. By the time you sit with a skilled couples therapist they will have seen thousands of couples, sat in hundreds of hours of training and been supervised by other expert couples therapists.
So, to recap:
Pros of paying for couples counseling sessions out of pocket:
- No diagnosis is required. Since you're not going through your health insurance, the therapist does not need to assign a diagnosis to help cover the cost.
- Counseling is private, since there's no chance of an insurance company asking for case notes.
- Larger pool of therapists to choose from
- Your therapist can use different approaches and modalities in treatment, since they are not limited to those approved by the insurance company.
- Experience.
And so there you have it. The reason why I chose to be a full fee practice that accepts limited insurance for couples therapy. If you still have questions we would love to answer them because choosing a couples therapist is one of the most important decisions you can make!!
What do you do outside of therapy?
I hang out a lot with my husband and our pets. We are in the process of training our golden doodle, Bella, to be a therapy dog! I am also involved in research projects, clinical supervision and training of new therapists, and participate in ongoing Emotionally Focused Therapy consultation. Finally, I am the host of The Communicate & Connect Podcast for Military Relationships and provide relationship education through blogs, youtube videos, workshops, and retreats.
Elizabeth Polinsky currently works in-person at The Relationship Center at East Beach in Norfolk, Virginia.
Online Therapy is available for Virginia, South Carolina, and Arkansas.
Online Therapy is available for Virginia, South Carolina, and Arkansas.
4615 Pleasant Ave., Suite B
Norfolk, Virginia 23518 |
Elizabeth.Polinsky@relationship-center.com
info@relationship-center.com |
MAIN: (757) 788-2800
FAX: (757) 788-2778 |