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Frequently Asked Questions

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Is Octave accepting new clients?

Yes, we are accepting new clients in all locations. To get started, complete a short questionnaire so we can find you the right provider.

Where are you located?

Octave’s services are available to clients living in California, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Washington D.C.

We also have physical clinics in California and New York:

We are currently seeing established clients in our New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Oakland clinics.

What hours are you open?

Monday - Friday: 8am - 8pm

Can I request evening or weekend appointment times?

Yes, we have limited early morning, evening, and weekend availability.

Which services are virtual?

Currently, all of our initial intake and therapy appointments are virtual. We are seeing established clients in-person on a limited basis, and new clients seeking in-person care will be able to book this in the near future.

How can I contact you if I have questions?

If you have any questions or concerns about our services, providers, or any other topic relating to your care, please contact our Support Team.

Who should I contact if I’m interested in working with Octave?

If you are interested in working for Octave, please contact careers@findoctave.com.

For employment verification, please contact our People Team.

What is the cost of Octave’s services?

Octave is in-network with multiple insurance plans, so most of our clients pay only a small co-pay fee. For those paying out of pocket, here are the ranges for our services:

  • Individual Therapy: $170-250/session
  • Couples or Family Therapy: $190-275/session

For details based on your state, use our Cost Estimator tool.

How do I cancel or reschedule an appointment?

We understand that things come up. To reschedule or cancel an appointment, please send an email to your provider. Appointments must be canceled or rescheduled at least 24 hours in advance of the session to avoid any charges.

What is your cancellation policy?

Appointments must be canceled or rescheduled at least 24 hours in advance of the session to avoid any charges. To reschedule or cancel an appointment, please send an email to your provider.

Clients who cancel a session with less than 24 hours' notice, or miss a session, will be charged a $100 cancellation fee to their credit card on file.

The minimum duration of a session with an Octave clinician is 16 minutes. Any sessions 16 minutes or less are considered a late cancellation and the late cancellation fee applies. 

All Octave sessions have a 15 minute grace period for clients to attend. Providers waiting longer than 15 minutes can end the session; the session will be considered a “late cancellation” and the cancellation fee will apply.

The cancellation fee is not eligible for insurance reimbursement.

Consecutive or repeated cancellations may result in your appointments being removed from the schedule. Consistent sessions are essential to make progress in therapy, and repeated cancellations can be very disruptive to your care. We also need to provide fair access to other clients who may need those appointment slots.

Why do you charge a late cancellation fee?

We respect our therapists’ time, and make sure they get paid even when a client has to cancel close to the appointment time. Unfortunately, insurance will not cover the cost of a late cancellation because no actual care was administered. 

It’s standard in therapy to charge the full out-of-pocket cost of the session ($170-250) for late cancellations, but Octave only charges a flat $100 fee. We do this so the financial burden isn’t such a shock for our clients, while still making sure our therapists are at least partially compensated for their lost time.

I have a good reason for late-canceling my session. Can my fee be waived?

We know emergencies happen, so we do have a process for appealing your late cancellation fee if you feel you have a special circumstance. In general, we can grant a fee waiver for these situations:

  • Health emergency that requires hospitalization 
  • Death of close family or friend
  • Jury duty
  • Natural disaster

To submit a fee waiver request, send an email to support@findoctave.com with:

  • The date of your canceled session
  • Your reason for canceling

Please note that your account may be automatically charged with the $100 late cancellation fee, but it will be refunded back to your credit card if your waiver is granted. Please do not dispute the charge with your bank until a decision on the waiver is made because Octave cannot refund charges that have an active bank dispute.

What types of therapy do you offer?

We offer several different types of evidence-based therapy approaches, including behavioral, mindfulness-based, and relational modalities. We tailor therapy to your unique values, needs, and goals and match you with the right therapist with a specialization suited to you. By providing a safe, solution-focused, collaborative therapeutic relationship, therapy aims to go in-depth, empowering you with tools to learn, practice, and experience new and more satisfying ways of relating to yourself, others, and the world around you.

How long are therapy sessions?

Therapy sessions are typically 45 minutes, but will vary depending on your personalized care plan.

How do I start seeing a therapist?

The first step is to complete a short questionnaire, so we can better understand your needs and preferences. A Care Navigator will then reach out within a few days with any follow-up questions, or to schedule an appointment with a provider.

Can I request to work with a specific provider?

Yes! If you have a specific provider in mind, please include their name in the initial questionnaire when it asks about your preferences, or let our Care Navigator know when they reach out. We do our best to accommodate these requests, although it may impact your wait time to starting services.

Are your providers licensed to practice therapy?

Yes. Our therapists are licensed to practice therapy in their state.

What issues do you treat?

Our providers have a wide range of expertise. Your Care Navigator will work to make sure you are matched with a provider that has experience with the issues you are looking to address.

We also have a diverse referral network, so if for any reason, Octave cannot provide the appropriate care for your needs, we can refer you to another provider.

Do you treat adolescents or young adults?

No, we do not treat anyone under the age of 18 at this time.

What is the difference between psychology and psychiatry?

The focus of psychologists is on treating emotional and mental suffering in patients using a variety of behavioral interventions and techniques. Psychiatrists are trained medical doctors, who can prescribe medications. This means they can use a combination of medication management and psychotherapy during treatment.

Do you offer psychiatry?

At this time, we do not offer this type of service. Octave providers can collaborate with psychiatrists if a client requires medication consultation or already works with a psychiatrist.

Who is a Care Navigator?

Care Navigators work to match you with the right provider, based on information you provide on your initial questionnaire and follow-up communications. If you prefer a live consultation call with a Care Navigator, you can request one when you fill out the questionnaire. They are not licensed providers, but are trained to support you throughout the matching process and work directly with an Octave therapist for all clinical questions related to the care you’re seeking.

How is the right match for service or practitioner determined?

The right match is based on four things: the type of service that fits your needs, the specialty/areas of expertise you require, scheduling preferences, and the personality style with which you connect.

The first 1-3 sessions will be used to determine a mutual fit between you and your provider. If the partnership doesn’t feel right, you should discuss this with your provider directly. If a change needs to be made, a member of the Care Navigation team will help find another provider to support your needs. Although rare, your provider might determine that Octave is not the right fit for your needs and more specific treatment or a different level of care is needed. In these cases, we will provide you with referrals to providers outside of Octave.

What insurance plans do you accept?

We are currently in-network with multiple employer-sponsored insurance plans. Co-pays and deductibles for our services range based on your coverage.

Octave also has teamed up with Evernorth Behavioral Care Group to deliver high-quality care to Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth members, in all our state locations. Through Evernorth Behavioral Care Group, Cigna members can access hundreds of providers, who also are part of Octave — and you can sign up through Octave's website to get started.

Does Octave accept Medicare or Medicaid plans?

At this time, Octave does not participate in any government payor programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. We also are not able to sign any single case agreements, which means we can't provide services to anyone who is covered by these plans, even if they want to pay out of pocket. This includes Medi-Cal plans in California and Medicaid plans in New York, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, Texas and Washington D.C.

How do I find out exactly how much I’ll pay?

You can start by getting a rough estimate by using our Cost Estimator tool.

Once you complete our onboarding form, we will contact your insurance company on your behalf to learn more about your specific coverage and benefits. Once we have this information, we can provide you with a price range you can expect to pay before you start care at Octave.

How does payment work and what are my payment options?

We’ll take your payment information when you book your first appointment. You’ll be billed at the close of your appointment, and it may take 1-2 business days for the charge to show up on your statement. We accept all major credit/debit cards — even some HSA and FSA accounts.

How do I get reimbursed from my insurance?

Many insurance plans are offering coverage for telehealth, including virtual therapy sessions. To verify your coverage, reach out to your insurance company. 

Following your appointment, we’ll give you the information needed to submit a claim to your insurance provider. This includes steps for submitting your claim and a superbill to help the reimbursement process go faster. If you need to request a superbill, please contact support@findoctave.com

After you submit your claim to your insurance company, either online or by mail, the company will send you a check with the reimbursed amount.

My insurance changed.  How do I inform Octave?

You can update your insurance details on our Client Portal. To login, enter your email address and you will receive a verification code to enter the portal. Within the portal, you can securely update your insurance information.

Once submitted, a Billing Specialist will complete a verification of benefits and email you with details regarding your coverage.

What do terms such as "out-of-network," "superbill," "deductible," and "co-insurance" mean?

Navigating insurance can be complicated. To help make it simpler, we've put together a brief explainer on insurance terms, and how they may impact your care at Octave. See our guide on common insurance terms.

I’m on the waitlist, but I need care now. What can I do?

If you’re in need of immediate care while on Octave’s waitlist, please dial 9-1-1 or visit your nearest emergency room. Please seek emergency care if needed. Octave cannot provide support for emergency situations. See a list of emergency hotlines.

If there’s a waitlist, why should I sign up?

By signing up with us, we can complete all the necessary paperwork to get you care as soon as possible. This includes the initial assessment questionnaire, as well as insurance benefits verification (if you want to use insurance). With all the pre-work completed, you'll be able to start care as soon as the right provider is available.

How do I update a payment method or insurance information?

You can update your method of payment and insurance details here on our Client Portal . To login, enter your email address and you will receive a verification code to enter the portal. 

Within the portal, you can securely update your payment and insurance information. If you experience issues or have additional billing concerns, please contact our Billing Team.

How do I cancel or reschedule an appointment?

We understand that things come up. To reschedule or cancel an appointment, please send an email to your provider. Appointments must be canceled or rescheduled at least 24 hours in advance of the session to avoid any charges.

For more details about cancellation, please see the "Cancellation Policy" tab on this FAQ.

My therapist didn’t show up to my session. What should I do?

Our care team understands the importance of always being on time, but sometimes there may be a miscommunication in scheduling. We’re here to help, to hopefully fix the situation as soon as possible.

All Octave sessions have a 15-minute grace period for both clients and therapists to attend. If your provider has not arrived to your session after 15 minutes from the scheduled start time, please contact support@findoctave.com for assistance.

Is Octave accepting new clients?

Yes, we are accepting new clients in all locations. To get started, complete a short questionnaire so we can find you the right provider.

Where are you located?

Octave’s services are available to clients living in California, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Washington D.C.

We also have physical clinics in California and New York:

We are currently seeing established clients in our New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Oakland clinics.

What hours are you open?

Monday - Friday: 8am - 8pm

Can I request evening or weekend appointment times?

Yes, we have limited early morning, evening, and weekend availability.

Which services are virtual?

Currently, all of our initial intake and therapy appointments are virtual. We are seeing established clients in-person on a limited basis, and new clients seeking in-person care will be able to book this in the near future.

How can I contact you if I have questions?

If you have any questions or concerns about our services, providers, or any other topic relating to your care, please contact our Support Team.

Who should I contact if I’m interested in working with Octave?

If you are interested in working for Octave, please contact careers@findoctave.com.

For employment verification, please contact our People Team.