Seattle Direct Counseling and Coaching

31/03/2026

For WA state residents using telehealth for their services: if you are covering the cost of your telehealth visit using your health insurance plan, you should know that the pandemic emergency rules that allowed providers to offer telehealth in a number of scenarios has ended.

In particular, you should know that both the provider AND the client must reside in the same state as the licensure of the provider, and the telehealth visit is covered by insurance if both provider and client are in that same state of licensure at the same time.

For example, I'm a provider in WA state. If my client travels outside of WA state and wants to see me during their time outside the state, the insurance coverage of the visit can be denied.

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25/03/2026

The SDC/ Imei Hsu Counseling and Coaching office will be closed April 17 - May 3.

If you are thinking about starting services now, I recommend getting in two sessions before those dates to initiate momentum.

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16/01/2026

You may have heard that Medicare and Medicaid telehealth will be going through changes starting January 30 2026. Rural residents will be prompted to see their care provider in person at certain time intervals in order to continue telehealth services.

At SDC/Imei Hsu Counseling and Coaching, the two main insurance providers used are Premera and Regence (and their subsidiaries). Both of these insurance companies will continue telehealth therapy coverage, and this will remain as regular access that won’t revert to any pre-pandemic rules.

Part of the drive for this: as much as some have hoped AI mental health tools would be able to help more people, lawmakers and healthcare providers have agreed that A.I. can NEVER replace the level of empathy, testing that happens within the therapy hour with a real human, and enacting the motivations within in the client that moves them towards change.

In 2026, I will be moving into doing more therapy, not less. AI will not be the help that people need for their mental health.

Plus, I have a real, beautiful therapy cat named Minna who might give you a virtual meow. We aim to please while still going right into the “gates of hell” that may be happening in your life.

22/11/2025

The SDC/ Imei Hsu Counseling and Coaching virtual office will be closed November 27 to observe the Day of Mourning in honor of Native peoples (aka Thanksgiving Day).

P.S. While the virtual office message is always available 24/7, any messages left there are erased by the telehealth platform within 30 minutes.

20/09/2025

The SDC/Imei Hsu Counseling and Coaching virtual office will be closed Sept. 20 - 29 while Imei is out of the country.

Currently there is room for two more counseling clients and five health coaching clients. I am your Ideal Coach if you are peri or menopausal, an aging athlete, or someone who would like to experience better health and and you feel like you have tried everything -- twice! -- with mediocre or unsustainable results.

Emails will be returned on Sept. 29.

27/08/2025

Hope your summer has been enjoyable. For those of you in the PNW, the warm weather is slowly beginning to feel a little crisp in the morning, a sign of the impending Fall.

If you suspect you are sensitive to the change of seasons in the upcoming "Big Dark", start marking your calendars to start implementing a protocol for helping yourself prepare.

The SDC/Imei Hsu Coaching and Counseling virtual office will be closed August 29 - Sept 1 for the Labor Day weekend.

25/07/2025

The SDC&C office will be closed August 1 -4, 2025.

New client onboarding is taking place now and will likely close out in early September until the end of the year.

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10/04/2025

With all the concerns about AI taking away jobs, you don't always hear news about how AI could make jobs better.

This week I'll be introducing the use of Scribe software while hosting counseling and coaching clients on Doxy.me. It will help me create summary notes, full transcripts if I need them, and offer clients consent to use.

It is not automatically on. In my case, I can use my discretion and client consent to turn it on or not turn it on. Notes are available for 30 minutes after the session ends and is not recorded or stored by Doxy.me nor Scribe. As the Provider, I can download the note to my HIPAA compliant filesharing and storage platform.

This is good use of AI.

Photo: use ChatGPT (Open AI) to generate your own Mattel-style action figure of what you do for work, in your home, or represent an important interest of yours. I'm pretty sure, "Cat Mom" might be one of action figures!

15/03/2025

SDC/Imei Hsu Counseling and Coaching has applied for recredentialing with Premera Blue Cross. Recredentialing covers the next three years from 2025 - 2028.

You may have noticed that many providers in private practice no longer accept any form of health insurance including Medicare and Medicaid. It is a difficult decision made even more difficult and complex in the atmosphere of chaos and change in government funding.

As more people lose their healthcare benefits due to job losses and uncertain periods of unemployments, I'll be working to seek a solution for those who are in need of counseling and find themselves paying out of pocket.

In an imperfect system, I'm still trying to do right by each client. And still, we're here to help.

03/02/2025

The virtual office for SDC (Imei Hsu Counseling and Coaching) will open additional hours Tuesday afternoon and Thursday morning to accommodate additional requests for counseling and coaching until April 1 2025.

At that time, I'll reassess if all clients are getting their needs met with the new hours.

Here is my statement regarding recent Executive Orders that affect the vast majority of my clients:

"With the removal of DEI from U.S. government websites, corporations, colleges and universities, and DEI appointed positions, it is more important than ever that independent voices stand together to represent the disparate voices that constitute America and seek to end oppression and systemic biases in our world, the majority of which target black and brown people."

Regarding mass deportation of migrants:

I do not discriminate in offering counseling and coaching to any person who is seeks mental health support and deep health, regardless of political affiliation past or present. I am a provider who has sworn an oath to "do no harm" to my clients, and to be unbiased in my practices.

Any client I work with receives the legally binding practice of confidentiality and are advised of all their rights under the protection of that confidentiality.

At SDC, we're here to help.

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10/01/2025

The Virtual Office will be closed Jan. 12 - 20 and emails will not be closely monitored while I am out of office on a delayed holiday.

21/12/2024

As we approach the holiday season and the end of the year, we know that not all is well.

At SDC, you are not asked to plaster on a smile or talk yourself into positivity. You are welcomed into a virtual space to start with where you are.

Many of us use the end of the year to assess how things are really going and then decide if next year is the time to try and see if change is possible.

While the Seattle Direct Counseling and Coaching office closes the afternoon of Dec. 24 and reopens Jan. 6, this may be your time to consider what 2025 holds for you. And if I can be of help through counseling and coaching services, book your consult to find out more about how I can be of help.

Book your consults (Discovery Call) here
imeihsu.wixsite.com/imei-hsu-counseling

See you in the New Year!

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