Low-Cost Therapy in Northeast/Downtown LA?
April 30, 2014 5:23 PM   Subscribe

Low-Cost Therapy in Northeast/Downtown LA? Difficulty: I don't have a car.

A perfect storm of major life events has opened up all at once (short version: impending unemployment/exit from academia, engagement to long-time partner, health crisis, family drama). I am a transplant to LA, and all of my close friends and family are several time zones away. While my fiancé is truly a source of unending support, this is a lot to wrap my mind around while just getting through the day/end-of-the-semester teaching and research responsibilities. I feel like I need to talk through my panic over several of these things with a third party, and begin to take some baby steps in useful directions on my own, so that I don't turn our home into a den of stress and anxiety. Where can/should I look for practitioners who see folks on a low-cost or sliding-scale basis in northeast or downtown LA?

Complicating factors:

- We share a car, and I don't have it during the workday. I am pretty savvy about bus and rail throughout this area, though. Nearby cities like Pasadena, Glendale, etc. are easy to get to, and even the east side of Hollywood or mid-Wilshire areas are doable (though it would be a long trip).

- I would prefer to meet with someone whose approach is more cognitive than psychoanalytic, and with someone who is a psychologist/psychiatrist rather than a counselor or social worker, if at all possible.

- While I currently have health insurance, it is through my graduate program (out of state), it's ending in May, and the company web site indicates that everything I've looked into out here is out of their network.

Recommendations for leads about organizations, search tools (besides the Psychology Today finder), or ways to approach this, as well as actual practices/practitioners, would be so appreciated. Thanks.
posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (3 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
I could recommend someone who I went to and like a lot. She's CBT-focused, in Glendale, charges on a sliding scale, and was very helpful to me. The only thing is she's a social worker not a psychologist. But I personally found her 100 times more helpful than the person I previously went to who had a million degrees.

My contact info is in my profile if you're interested in her info.
posted by drjimmy11 at 5:53 PM on April 30, 2014


I'd see if UCLA or USC has a low-cost clinic. Usually schools and hospitals will have clinics staffed by grad students. I went to one of these in New Orleans and it was awesome - I was skeptical but I did have several different counselors who were great.
posted by radioamy at 7:04 PM on April 30, 2014


Check out 211, the county's help and information line/website. You can also call them (at 211) 24/7.

It's far out of your preferred area, but I'd recommend the Edelman Mental Health Center in WLA to anyone else reading this who is in the area.
posted by Room 641-A at 7:26 PM on April 30, 2014


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