I'm not sure, Steph L. I apologized if I got peanut butter in the chocolate.

Mmmm....peanut butter. Mmmm....chocolate.

It's all yummy.

A lot of places outsource or subcontract their mental health coverage, but they do have it. No mental health coverage at all would strike me as weird, given that you seem to have good overall coverage.

Sadly, I do not know of state laws regarding insurance, except to note from painful personal experience that nobody wants to cover anything having anything to do with mental health unless it's in pill form. Any other form of therapy or treatment for mental health is a stone bitch to get covered; even if you're, say, a state employee at a state university getting therapy from someone who is a faculty member at that same university, your insurers will still do their level best to dick both you and your therapist over.

I wish I knew something about CA state law, health insurance, and mental health issues that wasn't sour and bitter, but IME sour and bitter is the only flavor that particular something comes in.

No meantal health coverage at all would strike me as weird, given that you seem to have good overall coverage.

On the other hand, given that CA mandates parity for mental health insurance, maybe it's just part of the general policy and not listed as a separate package on your benefits site?

eta: otoh, real reality is usually a lot more like JZ describes.

I thought California invented therapy!!!

Nah, Vienna invented therapy. Then they sold the film rights to California.

ita, you should do it if a practitioner you trust is saying it's going to help you with the pain. UHC is my (evil) health insurance co. They outsource their mental health to UBH, which they own (I don't understand it). I pay an awful lot of my medical costs out of pocket because insurance companies tend to write off the treatments that work best for TOS as too alternative. But I do it because if I don't, I'll get so bad that I'll be unable to hold a job at all. And at least it can be deducted from taxes (if you have a flex spending plan or if your medical expenses are 7% or more of your income - which mine are).

Constant or chronic pain ruins your quality of life. If you believe that biofeedback will eventually lead to being in a lot less pain, then it's worth it. It's better than any little black dress, any strappy sandals, any pretty knives. It'll help you enjoy your life so much more to not be in pain.

I have enough out of pocket medical expenses, Spidra, that I just can't face doing this too. I'm already seeing four different people for the same stupid headaches. If there's stress involved in the fifth, I don't have it in me.

However, my plan indicates it is covered, so now I have to track this biofeedback lady down and tell her they're being a pain. OR talk to the insurance people.

Irony? Of course all this has given me a headache.

((((ita))))

Vienna invented therapy.

Virginia or West Virginia?