<p>It seems like every time someone posts a problem, the suggestion is made to go to therapy/counseling. How does everyone pay for this? Our heath insurance has a high deductible, so I’d have to pay for many many many weeks of therapy out of pocket before insurance would cover 60% of it. In my position, I can’t have a flexible spending account. </p>
<p>One CC poster mentioned that her child was in therapy, she was in therapy and the family was in therapy. But my count, that’s a weekly tab in the $300-$450 range, or annually $15,000-$22,500. Are folks really paying that out of pocket?</p>
<p>Maybe I’m not convinced that therapy is worth that kind of tab. I know that if a family member was critically ill, I’d pay that kind of money out of pocket for treatment. But to talk to someone who may or may not be qualified to help…? (That’s the other Catch 22 - the therapists that take our insurance have no experience in the areas for which we would be asking for therapy. So I guess paying out of pocket for someone with experience is a better deal?)</p>
<p>Many large corporations offer an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to their workforces and their families. One of the services of some EAPs is free or discounted counseling. </p>
<p>Another option might be through non-profit counseling centers. A call to your local 211 might get you some leads on that possibility. </p>
<p>People seem to do what they have to or what they can. It is expensive, but with any luck it is also temporary. Some therapists will take less than their published rate if they want to work with you. It does sound goofy, but it is true.</p>
<p>missypie- we struggled with this.By the time I pay for therapy for each of my kids for different issues I don’t have money for therapy for myself. Once my son turned 18 our insurance no longer paid for his psychiatrist at the same rate. Since we felt he no longer needed the therapy we had him switch to a neurologist for his ADD prescriptions. Each check in with the psychiatrist cost me close to $400 whereas the neurologist took our insurance and it was around $40.</p>
<p>I have found that our insurance company also wants to reinburse for the lowest level of therapy. In our state that is with a Marriage Family Therapist. Even at that they don’t cover anywhere need the going rate. Also like you we found the insurance list was limited. From friends who are therapists they have told me it isn’t worth their time to take insurance.
In our area- Psychiatrist are up to $400 an hour.
Psychologists almost $200
I think most MFT’s are around $100.
One of my kids saw an Licensed Clinical Social Worker for therapy. That was a bit cheaper. She didn’t set off to find a social worker but she came highly recommended and she ended up being one of the best therapists my D has seen.
One way to save is to see if you can find an intern who is near the end of their hours. With my younger D that is what we did. It saved quite a bit. Also once she was licensed she did not raise our rate. But my D needs are not high.
I have a friend who uses two different people for her child. A therapist for talk therapy and a life skills coach for executive function disorder and organizational skills. The life skills person is much cheaper.
I find for myself AL Anon provides me with the help I need.
So basically I agree. Therapy is a luxury that many people can not afford.</p>
<p>I got all excited when I read that…I logged into our EAP website…they offer webinars, online quizzes and “authoritative articles.” Hope we aren’t paying too much to offer that benefit!!!</p>
<p>Does your EAP not at least offer a few visits to a therapist? Ours does. However- in past years (in Dallas) I did not find the level of counseling provided by EAP very good. It was a “get what you pay for” kind of thing. Also, it can take some time to find the right therapist. A smart kid (or adult) can manipulate a therapist pretty easily. Not every therapist can gain the patient’s respect and buy-in. Over the years my family has come across good therapists and many who were not good fits. There is a guy in Dallas who is excellent with teens and families, but he may have retired by now.</p>
<p>I also don’t have a clue how everyone seems to find therapists that are “highly recommended.” Whenever we ask any of our medical doctors, they say “we don’t know anyone; use whoever takes your insurance.” And NO ONE talks about seeing a therapist. I’ve determined that this is a regional thing. There are scores of therapists in the area and they aren’t homeless, so I assume people are seeing them. They just aren’t talking about it.</p>
<p>I should add that I am looking for a therapist with some very specific prior experience that maybe 4-5 in our metropolitan area have. Yes, I’m sure my son would love to chit chat with a nice lady in the church counseling office, but that’s not really what we need. I guess it’s maybe akin to wanting to see an esteemed specialist when your HMO will only approve a primary care doc.</p>
<p>I do think therapy can be worth the out of pocket cost if one gets the right therapist. Finding the right one and making sure there’s a good fit can be time-consuming and expensive. MissyPie- are you in Houston? I don’t remember, but I think you’re a Texan. If you’d like to PM me, I can recommend an excellent therapist who works with teens.</p>
<p>Our family has no mental health coverage. My sister is dangerously mentally ill (to herself, not others) and my parents make lifestyle adjustments to pay out of pocket. My mom and I both have depression and anxiety but since we are in no danger of killing ourselves we just suffer in silence so that we can afford to pay for my sister. There have been times she needed to be in therapy and couldn’t get it. In our family, we just do what we can and make do when we can’t. Many doctors are willing to use a sliding scale for costs, which tends to be how I manage to get my care when I get it. I’ve also gone the community health route.</p>
<p>We have tons of highly qualified, highly experienced therapists in different areas of concentration around here. I would guess that you must be right about it being a regional thing. That’s never been the problem for us, it’s just finding someone we can afford.</p>
<p>Maybe it is just Ca but it seems around here everybody and their grandma seems to have a therapist. With my kids most of their friends have therapists.
The first therapist we tried was one recommended by the pediatrician who was supposedly good with teen girls. We stuck with her for around 4 month till she deemed my child no longer needing therapy. When my child asked for another therapist down the road she specifically said can you find me someone different. I made a call to a friend of the family who was an adolescent psychiatrist and got some names.
Once for a CC member whose D was coming to my area for college I sent out an email to several friends who are MFT’s to ask who they would recommend for someone with certain issues. I know if I put out an email to my 11 member bookclub for therapist recommendations I would have quite a number of emails back in just a few hours with several names. Most of the therapists I know do not take insurance. If I needed someone good who took insurance I might have a more difficult time.</p>
<p>But once you pay for therapy week after week, how do you know it is working? I guess if someone is suicidal and they don’t kill themself, you can say it worked. But otherwise, mental health treatment just seems so vague…if you break your arm and you go in and have it set and eventually your arm is perfect, you can say the medical treatment was a success. But how many thousands of dollars does one have to spend to decide if it’s the “right” therapist?</p>
<p>One of my kids saw an Licensed Clinical Social Worker for therapy. That was a bit cheaper. She didn’t set off to find a social worker but she came highly recommended and she ended up being one of the best therapists my D has seen.</p>
<p>My sister is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). It’s not right to call a LCSW a “social worker” as if he/she were a county social worker with a bachelors degree. </p>
<p>Someone who is a LCSW is a licensed psychotherapist with a masters degree and typically 3000 hours of internship. They are licensed to diagnose.</p>
<p>Unlike some other therapists, LCSW’s are trained to take a detailed intake of a patient’s family history. That is often the essential difference when desiring a successful outcome</p>
<p>LOL, I find myself looking at kids I know, thinking, “I bet HE has a therapist…” How does the conversation with his mom go? “Can you recommend a good therapist for an adolescent?” “Why would you think* I *would be able to recommend a therapist!!!”</p>
<p>Quite a number of them.
We also have several community counseling centers that have sliding scales. When my oldest was young she went to a group therapy group at the recommendation of one of her teachers. I think we were the only family paying the full rate. Several of the families paid next to nothing.
It might help that we have a stand alone graduate school that specializes in Marriage and Family Therapy. Also in Ca MFT’s need to complete a large number of hours before they can take the licensing exam. Many of these interns run groups or see clients for a lower rate.</p>