Comments on: Real-Talk: Mental Health is Too Expensive

By: Alyssa Fischer

Alyssa Fischer — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 01:56:56 +0000

Hi Stephania,

I would never point at therapists and did not. The support needs to come from the government. Therapists work extremely hard and I agree that they deserve more for the work that they do. I mentioned sliding scales in the post.

By: Stephania Restrepo

Stephania Restrepo — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 01:11:16 +0000

It definitely is an issue how many can’t afford it, but we can’t point at therapists for the issue. Therapists make some of the lowest salaries for all if the work they do and in reality, they need to pay their bills too. We should be pointing fingers to the government and taking action for them to support therapists by subsidizing costs so that therapists can still make their living. Many therapists offer sliding scales

By: K

Thu, 08 Oct 2020 00:14:40 +0000

With even partial insurance, a month of anti-depressants can cost about $6, or 0.75% the cost of therapy. You also don't have to take time off work, drive half an hour there and back from wherever you are, pay the $200 fee for the one time you forgot or had to cancel under 24 hours because of a sick child, injury, or other obligation that made going to the appointment infeasible. It's the height of arrogance for people to express astonishment that some (most) people don't go to therapy. Even worse, not going isn't doing nothing. If all you do is take your meds for $72 a year, you're still way ahead of most people.

By: M

Fri, 12 Jun 2020 07:46:03 +0000

I am from the U.S. and finally found a therapist who could adequately treat me after I had tried with thirteen previous clinicians. I have complicated “stuff,” including PTSD and autism that I didn’t know about until I was three years into work with my current psychologist. I am eight years in and still learning the basics about self-care, self-compassion, and self-acceptance—I had a very abusive mother and a neglectful father. I can barely afford my sessions. My insurance premium is USD 530 per month and my copay per session with that plan is USD 40. I have two sessions a week and greatly benefit from this higher level of care. It has likely helped me not to attempt suicide for the second time. All totaled I pay over USD 800 per month to remain in therapy. How is anyone suppose to be able to afford this? I will continue to fight tooth and nail for my therapy and I will never ever give up my desire to reach my full potential. But I only get by every month with the skin of my teeth and I’m afraid. I don’t want to die by my own hand. I give my all to my therapy. I’m in it to heal decisively and to be able to lead a more or less typical life.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Mon, 13 Apr 2020 01:34:06 +0000

Thank you for posting this! There is such a stigma on mental health so not only do people not seek help because of that, but because of lack of medical coverage for it too. People who seek help professionally are left with a huge medical bill which can lead to debt. I read this article about what to do if you have a large medical bill, https://www.ez.insure/2020/04/avoiding-medical-debt/. What are your thoughts on it?

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 06:56:47 +0000

I thank you so much for writing this. I can not express how frustrating it is to want to help someone else and find put how truly inaccessible counseling is for the poor. With how much we as a society emphasize the importance of "getting help" when you are depressed, it's shockingly difficult trying to find someone you know or love the help that they need.

I want to help my brother in law, who I feel is at a point where intervention will keep him from falling further into a pit of despair.

Unfortunately he doesn't think it will help but has finally given in to give it a shot. However he just cant afford it and isnt willing to put in the effort to search for something cheaper.

I assumed it would easy for me to help him find something or someone that I could help him pay for but information is scarce.

We really need to put our money where our mouth is and make this idea of "getting help" something that anyone can do and not just something that makes us feel good to say.

By: Surviving

Surviving — Tue, 02 Jul 2019 04:38:54 +0000

Its difficult when I make maybe 8$/hr on a really exceptionally good day and have to pay a counsellor over 10X that amount for a 50 minute session. I am self employed and have costs too, but they are mostly all tax deductible as a business expense. This would be the same for therapists. I may not have a fancy degree but I have alot of knowledge. I work very physically hard for long hours. I have been held back from achieving what I could have in life due to mental health issues. I have spent alot on counselling. It has helped sure, but I could never afford much, so its been very slow. Mostly just keeping me going at least forwards a bit. Keeping me alive, out of hospital. I always felt guilty, 'less than' because I could not pay a full amount. Now I am old, and I have wasted alot of my life. I never was able to live up to my potential. I try not to dwell on regrets.
But I do wonder how things could have been so much different if I had been able to afford more help.
I wanted to be a real help to others in our mixed up society. There is so much sadness and loneliness out there.
It was all I could do just to survive myself.
BC medical should offer some subsidy towards counselling. We could be so much more productive as a society if we had help.
I also do feel that many counsellors feel entitled to make alot of money. And of course there are those who do not because they really are more about helping than money. Most have a masters degree, not a phd.
Yes there are costs, but any business has costs. Yes you can have student debt, but there are many bursaries, awesome student loans, etc, and a great many ways to live on the cheap etc whilst working and working towards a degree. Student debt doesn't need to be excessive. For many it absolutely is NOT.
So yes, I struggle with why I must pay a fellow self employed person 10x what I make. As a self employed person myself, I do not make much. (farming).
I personally know therapists thst make a great deal of money, and others that don't. Many make a good living working 3 or 4 day weeks. Sweet deal.
So ya, it irritates me when I hear all the excuses as to why counselling is so expensive.
I am thinking 80.00 is a plenty reasonable top end to charge. Especially for a 50 min 'hour'.
My thoughts.

By: Eric Castro

Eric Castro — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 09:47:07 +0000

Hi, I just wanted to say that, as an Argentine, I wish more countries in the world took example from our culture in regards to therapy. See, Argentina is the country with the most mental health professionals per capital in the world and with good reason: therapy isn’t taboo there, therapy is part of everyone’s day to day life and we take it as if it was going to the gym or taking dancing lessons; you talk about it with family, friends and they will share their own experiences with you -without getting into anything too personal. It’s not just affordable, but often just free as it is covered by social security. If you want to get a private professional that you might consider better qualified, it will still not break your bank account. Brazil is also a lot like this. Now I live in Paris and I did therapy for 80 euros a session for a while (less that 200 dollars but still too expensive) until I decided I preferred to use that money elsewhere, it was too much. Lucky me, as an Argentine I decided to start a new one but over Skype with someone in Argentina. Not only is affordable there, but also becomes so much cheaper because of the difference in cost of living. And it’s going great, she’s much better than the one I had here and can do it in my mother tongue which is another plus. I wish it could be this easy for anyone, because it’s a key part of our emotional development for anyone in our culture.

By: SUSAN

SUSAN — Sat, 10 Nov 2018 17:50:37 +0000

Hi Alyssa, I really get your concerns about the cost of therapy. I grew up poor, had outdoor plumbing for most of my early life and we didn’t always have enough to eat. Even so I’d like to share an alternate way of seeing therapy. This won’t apply to those folks who have no disposable income. It’s for those who decide a house or a degree is more important. I struggled with issues since my adolescence. I’m a psychologist now so I see things from both sides. I’m speaking as someone who knew something was very wrong from an early age. I could fake it because I was smart but as the years went by it got to be harder and harder to put out that “pulled together” look. (I’m sure I wasn’t fooling the majority of people).

I looked for help with 14 therapists until age 40 when I finally found someone that knew what the heck was going on with me. (Yeah, I went through my doctorate and not one professor noticed how dissociative I was. (not the DID type but the zoning out type). Even if they saw it I’m sure they wouldn’t know what to do with it.)

I mention all this because now I see my therapy and the cost of it like post secondary education. In fact, for how my therapy has helped, I’d say it’s a bargain compared to the cost and benefits of higher education. What’s the sense of getting an education when you don’t even know yourself or whether you’re pursuing the right thing. If I had gotten the right kind of therapy as a young adult - I’d have been a dancer. I might later pursue a career in psychology but I’d go in knowing I pursued my first passion. I’ve seen many clients who feel they're now trapped in careers that their parents pushed them into. Worse though are all the decisions they’ve made with family, partners, friendships etc. that might have been much better if they were actually grounded in themselves before making those choices.) And finally, what if you’re not happy in your own skin? So now you’ve finished College or you have the supposed house of your dreams and you struggle everyday to have meaningful connections and be happy. Who needs that. (People often mistake what’s outside of them will make them happy.)

So to have a good feeling of “me” I put off buying a home and put a ton of money into therapy. I chose the right type of therapy and it came back to me in spades. I may not have the same financial security as my colleagues today but I have something I feel is much more valuable - the security of a stable frame of mind. I know how to grow younger as I age and I love who I am today. I wouldn’t trade it for my younger self in the least.

By: Alyssa

Alyssa — Mon, 05 Feb 2018 17:03:21 +0000

In reply to Piggy.

Thanks, Piggy! You are a wonderful person as well. I am so glad we've been able to connect. It totally creates more anxiety finding an option that works (financially & mentally). That's the worst part by far!