Hi, everyone. I'm Emma McAdam, and I'm a licensed marriage and family therapist. And today we're
going to talk about how you can find free therapy or affordable therapy. And as you probably all
know, therapy can be really expensive. So let's talk about how you can find a good therapist that
you can afford. Now, first I know this video may not apply as well to other countries as the United
States, where I live. So in the UK or in Canada, they have universal health care, and getting
mental health services doesn't cost an arm and a leg there. But on the downside, I mean sometimes
there are long wait lists or it may be difficult finding a therapist that meets your needs.
In other countries there may not even be mental health providers in your area or financially
they're just out of reach. In the United States some insurance covers some types of therapies, but
even with insurance I know that most people end up paying a lot out of pocket, often in the realm
of $100 to $150 a session, which adds up to five to eight thousand dollars if you were to attend
a year of therapy. So my previous insurance, when I was working for a mental health company, had a
five thousand dollar out-of-pocket deductible for mental health expenses. My current coverage, being
self-employed, doesn't cover any mental health at all. And then and then there's people who have no
health insurance. So it's easy to see how mental health services seem out of reach for many. And
that's one of the reasons why I make these videos - to help people access mental health education
for free, or at least much cheaper than therapy. But there is there is no replacement for real,
in-person, individualized therapy. So let's talk about a few ways you can find services that are
less expensive or more accessible. Okay. So first, if you do have insurance, in the United States,
mental health coverage has improved a little bit. So if you do have insurance, start by calling
them to find out what they cover and who they cover, and then the first thing you should check
is to find out if your work or your insurance has an EAP, an employee assistance program. So many of
these programs offer three to five free therapy sessions per year. It's better than nothing,
and it's free. And then check with your insurance to see what providers are in network
and how you can get the best coverage for the therapist that you do want to see. Okay. The next
place you can find free or affordable therapy is with your school. So if you're a student, find out
what resources your school provides. In the United States, public schools are required by law to
provide testing and accommodation for issues that interfere with academics, and that can include
depression and anxiety and ADHD and PTSD and more. So some schools are more and some schools are
less willing to help out. Some schools you just really need to advocate a lot, like you need to
press them to get all the services that they're required by law to offer. And other schools offer
mentors and support groups and counseling and other services. So if your mental health issues
are interfering with your schoolwork or with your behavior, you can get an IEP plan or a 504 plan
where the school is required to outline what services and accommodations they're going to
provide you. If you're at a university, check out what their student services and counseling center
offers. And they often offer therapy at a reduced rate or even free sometimes. School services are
often free or inexpensive, so that's one of the reasons why they're a great place to try first.
The downside is that sometimes, especially right now when there's so much mental health backlog,
there's sometimes a very long wait or there's limited services or no services at
all. So if your school doesn't provide any counseling, you could also check to see if
they provide any psychological testing. It's often mandated by the government that they provide it.
And this can save you a lot of time and energy later. So, testing can help you get
a good diagnosis or differentiate if there's, you know, a learning difference like ADHD or a math
or a processing disability or something that's going on that's impacting functioning. So even
if you can't get therapy from your school, you might be able to get a psychological assessment.
Okay, next: university counseling services. So even if you're not a student,
you may be able to access discounted therapy services at a university, where students who
are studying to become therapists do therapy under the supervision of a licensed therapist.
So when I was training to become a therapist, we worked at a little clinic near campus
that offered therapy sessions for 14 to 30 dollars a session. So when you compare that
to the cost of regular outpatient therapy, to $150 a session or more, there's a pretty
good deal. Okay. The next great place to look is at your community mental health services.
Now, depending on where you live, these might be provided by your city, your county, or your state.
But these often have like a mental health or mental wellness center, and they'll offer services
to people with Medicare or Disability. And often for people without that, the services will be on
a sliding fee scale. So that means that your fee depends on your income. So if you have low income,
services are often very inexpensive and a lot more affordable than private-practice therapists.
The downside of community mental health providers is that often their therapists have large
caseloads and therefore a little bit less time to prepare for sessions and dedicate to each client.
Another way to find out what local resources are available to you is in the US, you can
call the NAMI helpline or 2-1-1, and both of these services can help direct you to local
resources for all kinds of things. And this this includes, you know, free support groups all the
way to homeless shelters. SAMHSA is another nationwide directory for both substance abuse
and mental health services. So both of those are places where you can learn more about the therapy
groups and services that are provided in your area. And because these are somewhat supported
by the government or funded by the government, their services are often a lot less expensive or,
you know, free, depending on the type of coverage you have or your financial needs.
Okay. Next, let's talk about private-practice therapists. So this is, in my opinion, probably
the majority of therapists in in my county are in private practice, right? And they typically charge
between 100 and 200 dollars for a 50-minute session. These therapists often specialize in
a certain area of mental health. They see fewer clients than their colleagues in county services,
meaning that hopefully they have a little bit more time to devote to preparing for each case, for
study and billing and training and all of that stuff that takes time outside of session. Right?
And some of these therapists only take private pay,
and others will bill specific insurances. It's it's we don't need to go into the details of this,
but it's quite complicated for a therapist to get on the board of an insurance company. So it took a
couple years for my practice to get on the board of, like, Blue Cross Blue Shield, for example,
so we weren't able to provide services that were covered by insurance for a couple of years
with that specific company. And we had to get licenses or get on the board for each different
type of insurance. And it just takes time. So when you call to set up an appointment, just make sure
to ask about fees and ask about insurance. You can also try asking if they or anyone they know
is taking any clients pro bono. And and that means for free. So, many therapists will see
one or two or a handful of clients a week who can't pay. But to be honest, right now
when many therapists have a full caseload and long wait lists, it might be pretty difficult to
find one with open pro bono slots. If you're gonna see someone in private practice, you can also ask
about a self-paid discount and any other discounts that a therapist may provide. So, my practice,
if someone is self-pay, they usually save, you know, $35 if they just keep a credit card on file.
If you're having a hard time finding a therapist who will take your insurance - and this is,
you know, a common problem - you can try contacting your insurance provider and asking them
for a list of their in-network therapists in the area. Another great place to find therapists is on
the website psychologytoday.com. And you can filter there by insurance or your specific needs
or what you're looking for. So that's another really good resource. The next place you might
be able to find free or affordable therapy is asking your local clergy. So for example, in Utah,
bishops are a great source for referrals. They've often worked with a few therapists who they know
and they trust and they send their flock to, and sometimes uh they can help out with the cost as
well. So speak with your pastor, your reverend, or other religious leader, and just see if they know
of resources that can help you and your family out. Another way to find a good therapist is
to ask for referrals from friends that you feel comfortable with. You you might be
surprised to find out how many people you know are in therapy or know a good therapist. Also,
I recently found out about Open Path. So, they're a psychotherapy collective, and they offer therapy
services for thirty to sixty dollars a session, which is obviously much less expensive than most
therapy providers. Online therapy from a provider like BetterHelp, which is one of my sponsors,
that can also be quite a bit less expensive than seeing someone who has to pay to keep their office
up and things like that. Now, obviously there are some limitations to doing therapy online. It's
just never quite as good as doing it in person, and there's some interventions you just can't do
online, but it's still a good option if you can't access therapy otherwise. Because BetterHelp,
you know, they employ only licensed therapists who are certified in their state to do therapy.
Okay. Support groups. These are another great source of education, therapy, and support,
and often they're free or cheap. You can often find these groups by asking your community
mental health provider what's out there. You can check with the local hospital or shelter. And I'm
talking about AA, Al-Anon, grief support groups. In the US you can try NAMI; they have a lot of
support groups for people experiencing mental illness but also for their families as well,
and you can get a lot of education even if it's just someone you love or care about
who's experiencing mental illness and it's not you specifically. Okay. Next we're going to talk about
free hotlines. So there are a lot of free hotlines in the United States. Many of them have counselors
on hand, and some of them you can just text; you don't even have to talk to them. So in the United
States, the National Suicide Prevention hotline is a good resource. And in my state, in Utah,
SafeUT is a local, it's an app that connects people who are struggling with a licensed
crisis counselor for free. So I would recommend that you do some research to find out what's in
your area. Now, lastly if you can't afford therapy or you can't find a good therapist,
there's still a lot you can do to improve your mental health. So I would recommend that you
seek education from high-quality sources like the website verywhellmind.com or Dr. Tracy Marks
on YouTube. Look for books on the topics you're interested in. I've got a list on my kit.co of
my favorite books, if you're interested in that. Um there's some apps that can be pretty helpful.
I'm not familiar with all of them. I mean, there are thousands of mental health apps.
But Bloom, Fabulous, Headspace, Noom, Take Two, MindDoc - there's just a ton of them.
And so you could explore the apps, because something - an app that's free or $10 or $20
a month is a lot cheaper than therapy. Nothing's nothing's going to replace therapy. I mean,
yeah, there's nothing like it. And these are at least a little bit of a resource that
can be helpful. In the future I'm gonna make some videos about my favorite apps and books,
uh hopefully soon, but I do have some links in the description if you'd like to learn more.
Okay. I hope you found this helpful. Thank you for watching. Bless you all, and have a good day.