FAQ
Where is your office?
The office is located at the following address:
101 North Meadows Drive Suite 115 Wexford, PA 15090
It’s conveniently located across from Whole Foods Market on Route 19, near Café Conmigo.
Just park behind the buildings. Parking is free!
Take the stairs or the ramp down to the courtyard, and the office is the first door on the right.
Do you offer teletherapy? Is this safe?
With whom do you work?
We specialize in working with people affected by…
- Grief and loss (including death and non-death losses)
- Other interpersonal issues, including trauma, acceptance, and LGBTQ+ issues
- Chronic Illness (including cancer)
With what age ranges do you work?
Currently, our practice is limited to adults 18 years and older.
I live in or am visiting another state. Can I see you?
That depends. Where you are (not where I am) determines this.
Dr. Dean holds active licenses in PA and WV, and can see you via teletherapy if you are currently physically (yep, even vacationing) in a state that has enacted legislation to permit that. You can see a list of currently active states here.
Dr. Pedersen is licensed in PA and can only see you when you are there. However, she will soon be able to see you in more states as well.
What are your hours?
They are By Appointment only.
Monday & Wednesday, 9 AM – 6 PM
Tuesday, 11 AM – 7 PM
Thursday 8 AM- 4 PM
How can I schedule an appointment?
Please call the office at (724) 271-8503. Or, for existing patients, use the patient portal (link in top righthand corner of this page).
Do you take insurance?
Yes, we am currently in-network with the following insurance companies:
- Blue Cross & Blue Shield plans
- Highmark Commercial Plans
- Highmark Medicare
- Lyra Health
- Optum Behavioral / United Health/ United Behavioral Health
- Medicare (Red, White & Blue cards)
- UPMC Commercial Plans
- UPMC Medicare
- Aetna
It is your responsibility to call your insurance to see if we are in network with your specific plan.
What is the No Surprises Act? Where can I find the appropriate disclosure?
Please see the following document for the No Surprises Act. If you are outside of Pennsylvania, please let me know and I will provide you the appropriate file.
pa-disclosure-notice-regarding-patient-protections-against-surprise-billing
What options do I have if you are not in-network with my insurance company?
Out-of-Network Health Insurance
If I am not in-network with your insurance provider, you may be able to receive partial reimbursement for therapy sessions depending on your out-of-network benefits. I will provide you with all of the necessary documentation to submit to your insurance company.
Self-Pay
Some patients choose to self-pay instead of using their insurance provider. The most common reasons for self-pay are because I don’t accept their insurance plan, they don’t have out-of-network benefits, or they simply wish to have more privacy.
When you use insurance, those companies require information about your diagnosis, treatment plan, and services rendered with each submitted claim. They can also place limits on the quantity and type of treatment they will cover.
Self-pay ensures that your personal information about your treatment remains private. Please contact me for self-pay rates.
What are your rates?
Please call the office to discuss.
What forms of payment do you accept?
I accept these forms of payment:
- Credit/debit cards (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express)
- Health Savings Account (HSA) cards
- Flexible Spending Account (FSA) cards
- Cash
- Check
What is your cancellation policy?
We require a call by FridayWe require 24 hours’ (1 day) notice to reschedule or cancel an appointment. For Monday appointments, we require you to cancel by the prior Friday before the time of the appointment.
Unless we reach a different agreement, the full fee of the amount we would charge the insurance (not what they have contracted to pay me) will be charged for sessions missed without such notification. Most insurance companies do not reimburse for missed sessions.
What’s your educational and training background?
From Dr. Dean:
I earned my master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology from Chatham University. My undergraduate was in drama from Carnegie Mellon University, which has been surprisingly helpful in becoming a psychologist.
My training included a pre-doctoral internship at Western Virginia University School of Medicine in Martinsburg, WV, where the focus was on behavioral medicine and health psychology. I completed rotations in an adult outpatient mental health clinic, family medicine and primary care consultation, and child and adolescent services… as well as minor rotations in oncology, neuropsychological assessment, and ADHD / learning disorders assessment and treatment.
After graduation, I completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the same clinic in WV while simultaneously serving as an assistant clinical professor. Later, I completed an additional postdoctoral fellowship in a private practice treating patients with obsessive-compulsive and related disorders.
I guess I like to learn!
What’s your professional experience?
My experience includes testing and treating children, adolescents, and adults with medical and/or psychological issues. These experiences have taken place in a cancer institute, several academic medical centers, an intensive outpatient clinic for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), an integrated primary care facility, an outpatient behavioral medicine clinic, a neuropsychology clinic, a community mental health center, and a private practice.
Recently, I served as a psychologist in the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center, and I’ve worked extensively with patients and families affected by cancer. I’ve also provided training, consultation, and supervision to interdisciplinary teams and students.
What licenses or credentials do you have?
Well, to legally call myself a psychologist, I must have a license. As such, I am licensed in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
I have an E. Passport from the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Board (ASPPB) to practice telepsychology in participating states.
I’m also on the National Register of Health Psychologists, have a Behavioral Therapy Training Institute (BTTI) certification from the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF), and am an active member in the American Psychological Association and Pennsylvania Psychological Association.
What’s the meaning of the alphabet soup of therapy I see: ACT, CBT, DBT, ERP, PE, etc. Which one will we be doing?
Well, don’t we all love to use acronyms and shorthand? These terms are short for several of the types of therapy I’ll use while we’re working together.
I practice using what has worked before and what has been proven to work for specific issues. So, therapy with me is different for everyone. I use these ABCs of therapy with a basic humanist approach (where you’re considered the expert on you!).
Here’s a short list, but please see my specialty and approach pages to learn more. Or simply ask… I love to teach!
ACT – Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
CBT – Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
DBT – Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
ERP – Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy
PE – Prolonged Exposure Therapy
As a native Pittsburgher, do you put fries on your sandwich?
May I ask you personal questions in therapy?
Therapy is focused on you. That said, at times, I may share personal things if I think there is a therapeutic reason to do so. But most of the time, I will not share anything personal.
So, you can ask. I may or may not answer, depending on if I think it is of a therapeutic benefit to you. If I don’t answer, I will likely let you know why or discuss that with you.
What brand of tissues do you use?
Oh, it doesn’t matter, but there are a lot of them here in my office. I have a way of making people cry. But, you know… in a no-harm kind of way.
Therapy can be hard. Tears may fall. You will grow through those tears. And if you see me via teletherapy, make sure you have YOUR favorite brand on hand.