FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS

Stepstone Connect offers exclusively online tele-mental health services over our encrypted and HIPPA-compliant platform. All clients are able to access their meetings with a smartphone, tablet, or video-enabled computer. Once admitted to Stepstone, your clinician will email you a link and meeting ID you will need to access your sessions.

The average IOP client stays in treatment for 10-12 weeks, with 8 weeks being the minimum. This can vary between individuals depending on their specific needs. After graduating IOP may clients continue to work with their individual therapist and attend a weekly group as needed.

Clients in our IOP program also scheduled for one individual session per week with a licensed Stepstone therapist. Those seeking individual or grouo treatment can have their session frequency tailored to their individual needs, seeing a therapist as often as 3 times a week to only once a month.

Stepstone Connect takes the privacy of it’s clients very seriously and uses a HIPPA- compliant, medical grade software for all telehealth sessions. Our platform uses TLS 1.2 with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256-bit algorithm for the Desktop Client, and does not allow for any screen recordings or any information to be saved after the video conference has been completed.

We are in-network with Aetna, First Health, and TriWest, but we are an out-of-network provider with most all PPO plans and provide courtesy billing. Our insurance team submits claims on behalf of clients and families, using the necessary IOP or individual codes. Clients with PPO insurance have had a lot of success receiving partial to full reimbursement with Stepstone. Our team will help clients and their families navigate this process by communicating with insurance companies and trying to obtain pre-authorization when necessary.

The cost for each person’s individualized program at Stepstone will vary depending on recommended level of care, including which services will be included as well as the frequency of sessions. We are able to accept most PPO insurance plans.

Not necessarily. Many clients who have come to Stepstone for an initial assessment were determined to need a higher level of care. Some of these cases include individuals who were found to be a danger to themselves or others. Psychiatric facilities and hospitals are recommended in those situations. Other times clients are coming in with chemical dependency issues and these clients do not have sufficient amounts of clean time to be appropriate for IOP in GOP. Referrals for residential drug and alcohol treatment centers are provided in such cases so that clients can be medically supervised for their detoxification phase under 24-hour nursing care. IOP is ideal for someone coming out of residential treatment and looking to step-down to a lower level of care.

The only people who can see you are the other Stepstone clients in your group and your Stepstone counselor. Stepstone clients often develop tight bonds through their shared experience in group sessions together, and of course, your Stepstone counselor needs to get to know you and vice-versa.

We encourage you to use just your first name and last name initial, or some nickname that you choose when attending a group. For added privacy most clients you see will live in another state or outside of your local area.