What To Do When You Can’t Afford A Therapist
Last Update on April 9, 2021 : Published on April 10, 2021
We cannot deny the fact that therapy and counseling are expensive. Affording therapy and attending all sessions is not manageable especially when your pay is limited and you have responsibilities as well. And to be honest, therapy sessions do not come with a time limit.
Therapy is a snowballing procedure wherein no one can actually predict the timeline of success and growth. Therapy is not like a physical health condition treatment that will show instant results. Therapy takes time and most of the time benefits are not easily visible. Overall, it’s not a linear process.
However, there are also various people who are enjoying benefits earned from counseling and therapy. But, here comes the actual question, “what to do when you can’t afford therapy sessions.”
What if I tell you I have several ways to get you out of your mental health issues effectively when you can’t afford a therapist? This blog covers ways to deal if you can’t afford therapy. So, let’s get started.
11 Things to Do When You Can’t Afford Therapy
1. Check with Insurance
If in case you own insurance, ask your insurance company for providing you a list of professionals so that you can select an expert from your geographical area. Even if your insurance company is not ready for covering the expenses of therapy, ask them the details about what they cover so that you can help yourself from attending therapy.
2. Trying Out a Training Clinic
Training clinic generally offers sliding scale therapy wherein psychologists prepare graduate students for their exams and degrees. They provide therapy at lower costs and cover specific mental health conditions.
3. Trying Out a Community Mental Health Center
Community mental health center also provides low-cost counseling or therapy-related services that are generally covered by medical insurances. You can easily find a community mental health center nearby with the help of Google Maps or you can take the help of government websites.
4. Asking For Discounted Rates
Sometimes, online mental health platforms provide offers and discount coupons for valuable customers. You can check online platforms that provide discounts. Additionally, if you are going in-person therapy, then you can ask for discounts or coupons from the reception. Basically, some of the organizations offer a cash policy which is great for people who can’t afford therapy.
5. Re-evaluating Your Expenses
There are some 911 situations as well wherein you can’t afford therapy but still need therapy. In such situations, you can re-evaluate your expenses and check with the therapist if they can provide any kind of discount or loan for your treatment.
6. Consulting Congregation
If you follow your religion, then you can also talk to your pastor, priest, or teacher about your problems. Also, some churches provide therapy services as well at low-costs. If you wish to confess something, you can always reach to god.
7. Considering Body Therapy
Body therapy includes massage and chiropractic services. And, they also charge low fees for their services which are given by trainees or students. Physical and mental health is correlated with each other and you can always seek self-care services if you can’t afford therapy.
Also, you can check these below blogs for self-love and self-care.
- Influence of body image on mental health: Love yourself a little more
- A Quick Seven-Step Prescription for Self-love
- Benefits of loving yourself: Take the road of self-love
- Best Self-care ideas for a healthy mind, body, and soul
- 7 Self-care rituals and wellness trends from other cultures
8. Live True to Yourself
If you’re not able to get hands-on with these above steps, you can try self-help wherein the idea is to be staying true to yourself. Sometimes, we tend to ignore ongoing issues due to some limitations. However, by acknowledging your issues you will be able to solve most of the problems.
9. Push Yourself Towards Positivity
Positivity works like sun rays in a dark place. Therefore, try to be positive about things, do not overthink, push yourself to become a better version of yourself, and do not let toxic people run your life.
For more positivity, you can have a look at the below-mentioned blogs.
- 60+ positive phrases to encourage your child
- Learned optimism
- Bring change in your life with the power of positive thinking
- Positive emotions in our life beyond happiness
10. Self-Help Books
Self-help books are really effective especially when you’re fond of reading something new. Self-help books are not only about someone telling us to be positive, however, but self-help books also teach us various techniques of coping with a mental health disorder.
Ancient psychologists and philosophers actually believed that self-help is really effective in the form of books and reading. Now, we should be glad that we have access to a number of authors online and offline who have provided wisdom through their writing styles.
For best self-help books references, check the below list of blogs:
- Top 10 Therapists Approved Books For Self-Help
- 9 books that help you feel less lonely and makes you happy
- Best books to combat loneliness
- 10 Self-improvement books you can’t afford to miss
- Best coloring books: Set your mind at peace
- 10 Best Psychology Books
- 21 Best Mental Health Books
- Best Mindfulness Books to learn mindfulness
If you can’t afford therapists, they can help to find wisdom in the books. You can find the same advice given by a therapist in the book. Additionally, there are also several books published on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) that helps people to conquer negative thoughts. If you’re not interested in reading, you can also try audiobooks.
11. Support Groups
We all know that social support can really improve our mental well-being which in turn also benefits our overall well-being. Social support has some sort of golden connection with mental health that it always benefits us in some way.
To read a blog related to social support, refer to the below blogs:
- The Role Of Social Support For Health And Wellbeing
- How to build and maintain a healthy and strong support system
Talking about support groups, they are free and full of experienced people sharing their stories. Mental health issues always lead to chronic loneliness. However, with the help of a support group you can combat your loneliness along with it; you always get to share your thoughts and feelings without any judgment.
From the below list, you can find online support groups:
- 10 Best online divorce support groups
- Best online transgender support groups
- Best online grief support groups
- 5 Best Depression Support Groups
- Eating Disorder Online Support Groups
- Best online bipolar disorder support groups
5 Mental Health Apps for When You Can’t Afford Therapy
1. BetterHelp
BetterHelp is an authentic and affordable platform for mental health issues. BetterHelp is a one-stop destination for all your problems. BetterHelp has over 7,800 therapists with daily offers and discounts. The biggest advantage of signing in BetterHelp is it has experienced and licensed therapists. Download this app and get over your mental health issues.
Read: Honest BetterHelp Review: Get The Best Mental Health Help You Need
2. Calm
Calm is free and available on Android and iOS devices. The aim of calm is to reduce anxiety and improve sleep with the help of meditation techniques. It basically provides guided meditation which helps the users to relax, focus, and positively live their lives.
This app does not only help you with meditation but also helps in tracking daily streaks. It is specially designed for people who are beginners with a guide. It has advanced options as well. It is one of the best apps for people who can’t afford therapy.
3. MindShift
MindShift is created for people with anxiety issues. The only aim of this app is to shift the mindset of people towards positivity and making them less anxious in return. It works for people with generalized anxiety disorder, panic attacks, phobia, and social anxiety.
This app is equipped with various and effective coping strategies that help people in overcoming anxiety and stress. This app is completely free which makes it the best app for people who can’t afford therapy.
4. My Possible Self
My Possible Self is one of the best self-care and mental health therapists approved apps for the improvement of mental health. It is basically designed for improving the anxiety level. It is known to be a pocket therapist app with a better interface and easy-to-use properties. It is one of the best apps for people who can’t afford therapy and don’t know what to do next.
I hope this blog helps you to seek help when you can’t afford therapy. Comment down and share your experiences with the tips, apps, and resources shared in this blog. For more such content, follow Calm Sage on all social media platforms.
Thanks for reading.
More power to you!
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About The Author
Aayushi Kapoor
Aayushi is a Content Creator at Calm Sage. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Food Technology and a Master's Degree in Clinical Nutrition. Her constant interest in the improvement of mental health, nutrition, and overall wellness embarked upon her career as a “full-time educational writer.” She likes to make an asynchronous connection with her readers. Her mantra for living life is "What you seek is seeking you".
