Working in the counseling realm for almost a decade, I have learned there are misconceptions about using health insurance to cover mental/behavioral health services. Here are the following reasons I do not take insurance. 
 
1. Confidentiality is very limited. Insurance companies require use of an Electronic Medical Records system. The Department of Health and Human Services records HIPAA violations and have recorded up to 24,000 violations in a single year from Electronic Medical Records. This would require me to disclose information to a third-party insurance or technology company, which increases the risk of your protected health information (PHI) to be compromised. Also a diagnosis can be disclosed through your insurance company that could affect future opportunities, such as future employment or a need for a federal background check. 

2. Medical Necessity Criteria has to be met. Insurance companies are based on the medical model, meaning they want to see a medical diagnosis. To access benefits for mental/behavioral health, therapists are required to assign a diagnosis to a client even if it's not appropriate. I believe labeling for the sake of tapping into health insurance benefits is not in the best interest of the client unless a client truly does meet the criteria of a diagnosis according to the DSM-V.

3. Insurance companies decide your treatment. Though insurance companies can be resourceful in pointing you toward several counselors to choose from, the counselor ultimately has to submit the treatment plan to the insurance company. The insurance company can dictate how many sessions they will cover, which may not align with your needs as a client. I believe therapy needs to be a collaboration of the therapist's expertise and client's spoken needs. 

4. You still have to pay out of pocket. In order for any service to be covered, your deductible must be met. Therefore if you have a $2500 deductible and only 50% of that is paid off, you would still have to pay out of pocket for each therapy session. Once the deductible is fully paid, only then can you pay your copay.