When Therapy Feels Out of Reach

Quality mental health care should not be a luxury. If you are feeling frustrated with the cost of counseling, you are not alone. Even with insurance coverage, accessing mental health services can come with cumbersome challenges-and many providers feel this frustration too as they advocate for more accessible care. Financial barriers are often the very first hurdle people face when considering therapy, and they can be discouraging enough to stop someone before they even begin. Because this is such a common experience, here are a few insider tips to help make investing in yourself feel more financially doable.

Options/Tips to Consider

• Use an HSA or FSA to pay for sessions: You may already know this, but its worth a mention here so you can take full advantage of your benefits.

  
  

• Submit a super bill to file for reimbursement: A super bill is a document your therapist can provide. You pay for the session fee up front, but then you can submit a super bill to your insurance provider. Depending on your out-of-network benefits, you could be reimbursed for a portion or the full amount you paid for services.

• Consider working with a provisionally licensed provider: This could include a PLPC, PLMFT, and PLCSW. A provisionally licensed provider is someone who has graduated their master's program, and is currently under the supervision of a fully licensed therapist. For comparison, a provisionally licensed provider is akin to a doctor in residency.

• Consider working with a counseling intern: A counseling intern is someone who is currently in (and typically towards the end of) a graduate counseling program. The intern is supervised both by a site supervisor and a university supervisor.

• Inquire about sliding scale, or reduced rate options: To make services more accessible many providers have a portion of their case load reserved for clients who need cost sensitive services. It never hurts to ask!

• Consider reducing the frequency of sessions: To make counseling more affordable you can discuss meeting bi-weekly, monthly, or even bi-monthly. You and your therapist can discuss practical ways to integrate your work and move toward your goals in the time between sessions (this may include specific homework or a challenge to work on, reading a book recommendation by your therapist, or perhaps a brief phone call to check in between sessions).

Alternatives

• Consider group therapy: Group therapy is generally offered at a much reduced rate because of the volume of members attending. There can be many additional benefits to group therapy such as: connecting with people who have lived experience with what you may be going through, gaining new perspectives and insights, and having your experience validated and normalized. Connection is the best emotional regulation tool.

• Research local support groups in your area: Some examples of these include: Celebrate Recovery, AA (Alcoholics Anonymous), Al-Anon (group for families and friends of alcoholics), GriefShare, or virtual support groups.

• Research non-profit organizations in your area: A great example of this in the Kansas City area is MOCSA. The Metropolitan Organization Countering Sexual Assault (MOCSA) provides free counseling services to all survivors of sexual violence, as well as, their families and significant others.

  
  

A Gentle Challenge for Nurturing Your Mental, Emotional, and Relational Wellbeing

Two things are true: suffering and hardship are part of the universal human experience, and you were designed for abundant life. Therapy is a time investment (both inside and outside of session), a mental/emotional investment, and a financial investment. You are so worth this investment. If you are wanting to live more fully, with more freedom, equipped to show up well in the areas most important to you, while being supported with resources and skills to pursue your goals-then counseling is a wonderful, wise place to start. Without pressure or self-judgement, taking a thoughtful look at your budget can sometimes reveal small adjustments or expenses you could let go of to help make room for counseling-without sacrificing your sense of stability and care.