Frequently Asked Questions

Do you take my insurance?

Our group only accepts public insurance (Medicaid) and the insurance for Penn employees (Penn Behavioral Health). We also have a varying out of pocket fee schedule; unfortunately dare not able to accept private insurance at this time. For those with private insurance, we can give you the information you would need to contact your insurance company directly and inquire about their reimbursement policies. Some patients are able to get reimbursements through their insurance company for out of network service.

What is PATCH?

PATCH stands for the Pediatric Anxiety Treatment Center at Hall-Mercer

Are you in Pennsylvania Hospital?

No, we are located in Hall Mercer Community Mental Health Center at 245 S. 8th Street (between Locust and Spruce Streets)

What services does PATCH provide?

We do one-on-one cognitive-behavioral therapy (mostly based on exposure therapy). We do not currently have groups. Our therapists are not MDs, and we don’t do meds, but we do have relationships with area psychiatrists and are happy to make referrals or to work with your psychiatrist.

What is the therapy schedule like?

Therapy is usually 1-2 times per week, for an average of 16-24 sessions – it can be longer or shorter depending on the needs of a child.

How successful is therapy?

While we don’t have specific statistics, research has shown that around 80% of people received significant benefit from CBT for anxiety, and most people come out of our clinic with a significant decrease in symptoms.

Does PATCH treat children on the autism spectrum?

We can treat anxiety disorders in (even low functioning) children with Autism if they are able to communicate (both expressive and receptive communication), can sit through a session (can be with reward system), and have some buy-in to the therapy. Often parents are more involved in these sessions.