Therapist for Cornell University Students on Aetna Student Health — Online in New York

For Cornell University students

The counseling center is good and also shared with tens of thousands of people. If you've been on its waitlist, or you got your allotted sessions and a referral list, your Aetna Student Health plan is the part of the puzzle nobody explained: it's a full health plan, and it covers therapy with an outside therapist the same way it covers a doctor's visit.

Note for this year: Weill Cornell Medicine students are on the same Aetna plan, which matters if you split time between Ithaca and the city. We're a boutique, culturally attuned practice, in-network with Aetna, and most of the people we see are students and young adults. Everything below is specific to Cornell's plan.

The Cornell plan, in plain terms

What Cornell enrolled you in.

Carrier

Aetna Student Health with OptumRx pharmacy

Administered by

Gallagher Student Health

Who's enrolled

All students; waivable

Plan year

Jul 1, 2026 – Jun 30, 2027

Confirmed for the 2026–27 academic year from Cornell University's own health-office materials. Plans change yearly; we verify your card before you're charged anything.

What it covers here

Therapy for a copay, from wherever you are.

Because Cornell's plan runs on Aetna's network and we're in-network with Aetna, sessions here are a covered benefit: 50 minutes over secure video, billed through Headway, with your copay shown up front. Most students book weekly and keep going through breaks — the plan year runs through the summer.

What we work on with students, most often: anxiety and burnout, identity and self-esteem, being a child of immigrants far from home, AAPI experience, relationships, and the transitions that pile up between eighteen and thirty. EMDR is available when talking alone hasn't reached something.

Book a Session

Cornell student questions

Does Cornell's student health insurance cover therapy off campus?

Yes. Cornell's plan is Aetna Student Health, a full health plan with outpatient mental health benefits. You can see an in-network therapist in the community — including us — the same way you'd see any doctor. The campus counseling center is one option, not a gate you have to pass through.

Are you in-network with the Cornell Aetna plan?

Yes. We're in-network with Aetna, and Cornell's plan runs on Aetna's network. Billing goes through Headway, so you see your copay before you book. We confirm your specific plan details before the first session.

Do I need a referral?

Aetna Student Health plans are PPO-style plans, and most don't require a referral for outpatient therapy. We check yours when we verify benefits, so there are no surprises.

Will my parents see it?

A student health plan is usually in your own name, so statements typically come to you, not a parent. If you're on a parent's plan instead of the school plan, tell us and we'll walk through what the policyholder does and doesn't see.

Where do I have to be for sessions?

Anywhere in New York State at the time of the session — Ithaca, with Weill Cornell in Manhattan counts, and so does a library carrel with headphones. A summer at home in another state means we pause; Florida is the one other state we're licensed in.

Other Aetna Student Health schools in New York: NYMC · Manhattanville · Iona · Syracuse · Rochester · RIT · all Aetna schools · every New York student plan.

Cornell students: your Aetna Student Health plan covers therapy here.