The Cost of Mental Health Treatment

    Something has recently come to my attention repeatedly, and that something is the cost of mental health treatment without health insurance. I recently found myself in a discussion with someone who wanted to seek treatment, but that person was worried that they couldn't afford to see a therapist. I've even found myself on social media websites, discussing possible ways someone could receive treatment, and the price they saw on Google or on websites for one-hour therapy sessions made them think that they were unable to get the help they needed.
     A one-hour counseling session can cost anywhere from $100 to $200, depending on the therapist, with private therapists generally costing more than a therapist that works out of a community mental health facility or community crisis center, and on the location. People tend to think the cost means therapy is completely off limits to them, and they view it as more of a luxury than a medical treatment. (I thought that before I got to college and majored in psychology because the only things involving mental health treatment I had seen were scenes on TV with rich ladies lying on couches in posh offices.) That isn't actually the case, especially not in community mental health.
     If a person needs mental healthcare and they don't have insurance or, if for some reason, their insurance doesn't cover mental healthcare, the community mental health agencies will work with the person seeking treatment on the cost of that treatment. In other words, just like community medical healthcare without insurance, mental healthcare without insurance works on a sliding scale for fees. You pay an amount that you can afford, even as low as $10 per hour session in some places, or sometimes a person can see a therapist in community mental health for free if a person is out of work with no source of income like unemployment or disability benefits.
     I even know that some private therapists also treat people on a sliding fee scale, but private therapists will usually be a little more expensive than a community mental health agency. My therapist, a private therapist, told me when I had trouble with my insurance that she wouldn't stop my treatment if the insurance couldn't pay. We could have worked something out, and I could have paid an amount that wasn't the whole $160 (I believe that was the price of my sessions, but I can't be certain) for each session. I know of someone else who went to see a private therapist I my rural, Southern area without insurance coverage for $10 per visit.
     If you need mental health treatment, but you don't seek treatment because you don't have $100 to $200 to pay per visit, please, don't let that be the only obstacle keeping you from getting help. Most therapists, especially those in community mental health agencies and community mental health crisis centers, won't ask someone to pay the whole $100 to $200 per visit. They will work with you and help you at a price you can afford because they want to help people. You honestly just have to talk to the people in the community mental health agencies or call the agencies to ask them about fees and if they can work with you, or even ask some friends (if you know any that have sought mental health treatment).
     I'll end with this: Mental health treatment isn't a luxury to which only rich people or people with great insurance have access. Maybe you've been trying some self help books or workbooks or those free apps for your phone that I mentioned in a previous post, but if that isn't helping you, you don't have to just suffer through it on your own. You can call a community mental health agency or even a private therapist if you have those in your area, and you can talk to them about the help you need and whether or not they work with people who can't afford the whole price of treatment. Most community mental health agencies won't turn someone away just because they can't pay.