Mental Health’s Affordability Problem
Therapy (and healthcare in general) is often prohibitively expensive in the U.S.. This can be attributed to a broken system where insurance CEO profits are subsidized by rising patient premiums and stagnant provider reimbursement rates.
Due to unethical actions by insurance companies like United Healthcare’s wrongful denial of coverage to thousands of mental health claims, administrative phone mazes, and control over how treatment is provided, mental health practitioners are some of the healthcare providers least likely to take insurance. This makes clients’ search for culturally-responsive and specialized clinicians even more difficult, since seeing a generalist who’s not the right fit can end up being more unhelpful than beneficial.
This leaves mental health providers in a corner, as we can’t address this accessibility problem without major policy changes. We also have to find a way to do this without compromising quality of care. After all, no one wants to see a burnt-out therapist with 28736484 clients, as often happens in community clinics.
To help bridge this gap on an individual level, many providers offer a sliding scale, donate time to psychoanalytic training clinics, or partner with government organizations.
Partnerships to Increase Accessibility
We have a long way to go in addressing a broken system. In the meantime, I have partnered with two organizations that help clients access mental health care:
With Grace Inc. : With Grace Inc. provides access to six months of no-cost therapy to eligible adolescents and young adults ages 10-24. I currently work with the 18-24 young adult population in this program.
Samata Health: Samata Health works with many employers to provide free and low-cost mental health benefits to employees. This works in a similar way an employee assistance program does. Clients usually receive a number of free sessions subsidized by the employer. After this, clients will be eligible for a lower rate for follow-up sessions.
If you think you’re eligible for either of the above programs, you can schedule a free consultation with me here.
Additional Therapy Resources
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Study Center Treatment Service: PPSC is a renowned psychoanalytic training center and clinic. Many psychoanalaytic candidates (fully licensed professionals completing advanced training) donate hours to see clients at sliding scale fees.
The Open Path Collective: The Open Path Collective lists clinicians who have sliding scale spots on their schedules. This is a valuable resource for uninsured clients.