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Insurance

Therapists Who Take Optum

Optum manages behavioral health benefits for many employers and UnitedHealthcare plans. Five of our clinicians accept it.

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What Optum is

Optum is the behavioral health arm connected with UnitedHealthcare, and it also runs mental health benefits for some employers. You may see Optum on a separate card, in an employee assistance program letter, or as the behavioral health number on a UnitedHealthcare card.

If you are not sure whether your mental health benefits go through Optum, call the number on your card and ask.

Clinicians who take Optum

Maggie Johnson, LPC
Dr. Sunetra Martinez
Michelle Mitchell, LMFT
Kamau Richard, LPC-S
Torresy Smith, LPC

Employee assistance programs

Some employers offer a small number of free counseling sessions through an employee assistance program, often run by Optum. Those sessions follow their own rules and may require an authorization number before you start.

Ask your EAP whether the sessions can be used with a clinician here, and whether your regular Optum benefits pick up after they run out.

Getting started

1.
Call Optum
Ask about outpatient benefits and whether you need an authorization.
2.
Choose a clinician
Pick from the five above.
3.
Request online
Use the client portal.
4.
Finish paperwork
Enter your Optum details by 7 am on your first session day.

A mother checking her plan on a tablet at a dining table

Paperwork timing

Complete the insurance section of your paperwork in the client portal by 7 am on the day of your first session. If it is not complete by then, we will not know you plan to use insurance and you will be billed the full session fee.

At a glance

Clinicians: Five
Formats: In person in Sugar Land and telehealth across Texas
Ages: Teens through older adults; Michelle Mitchell also sees children
Not covered here: Testing, hypnosis and medication management

Matching your concern to a clinician

Kamau Richard works with anxiety, PTSD, grief, addiction and couples by video. Torresy Smith focuses on teens, young adults, athletes and compulsive habits, and leads our Kicking Compulsive Habits group. Maggie Johnson brings a chaplain's background to grief and faith. Dr. Martinez works with teens, adults and families, and Michelle Mitchell sees couples, families and children.