Does cheap, decent online therapy exist?
October 1, 2022 1:29 PM Subscribe
What the title says--I need cheaper therapy options. Do you have an online one that you recommend?
Due to a recent move and the rising costs of everything, I am spending $300 a month on therapy that I now should be spending on other things (food, rent). My longtime therapist has been really helpful but I'm only getting two visits a month out of this and it's adding to my stress at this point because of the financial burden.
So, before I quit therapy entirely--has anyone found an actually helpful, comparatively cheap online therapy service? My experience is that you really do get what you pay for in terms of mental health care, but maybe I'm not looking hard enough for the diamonds in the rough. I'm fine with a biweekly session frequency. Thanks!
Due to a recent move and the rising costs of everything, I am spending $300 a month on therapy that I now should be spending on other things (food, rent). My longtime therapist has been really helpful but I'm only getting two visits a month out of this and it's adding to my stress at this point because of the financial burden.
So, before I quit therapy entirely--has anyone found an actually helpful, comparatively cheap online therapy service? My experience is that you really do get what you pay for in terms of mental health care, but maybe I'm not looking hard enough for the diamonds in the rough. I'm fine with a biweekly session frequency. Thanks!
Could you switch to once a month or see if 30 minute sessions are possible? Have you discussed this with your therapist to brainstorm solutions?
I agree with gemutlichkeit about trying a community mental health center, group therapy and/or seeing what other options are possible with your health insurance. Are there any graduate schools near you that train therapists who could offer sessions with therapists-in-training at a reduced price?
My great therapist is $100/session out-of-pocket so maybe you can find a good local therapist who charges less than the $150/hour you're paying now. Same for my psychiatrist: perhaps you could see the later if one is covered by insurance while talk therapy isn't. While the doctors don't have as much time to talk due the appointment being usually focused on medicine, I find my monthly 20 minute check in (with a $20 co-pay) to be beneficial even if medicine isn't be prescribed!
It's tricky because you understandably want a price that fits your budget and your needs but I don't think the perfect cheap online situation exists unless we're talking about underpaying people, which has ethical issues. You could try therapists abroad via Zoom but many have an agreement to charge people from abroad a higher rate than locals pay, case in point being Argentina. Everyone deserves access to high quality, affordable therapy and it sucks that it still is out-of-reach for so many. I know it was for me for a few years when I really could have benefited from it most! The silver lining is that having had a good therapist, even briefly, helps us in times we can't go and then helps us catch up once we can go back.
posted by smorgasbord at 3:09 PM on October 1, 2022
I agree with gemutlichkeit about trying a community mental health center, group therapy and/or seeing what other options are possible with your health insurance. Are there any graduate schools near you that train therapists who could offer sessions with therapists-in-training at a reduced price?
My great therapist is $100/session out-of-pocket so maybe you can find a good local therapist who charges less than the $150/hour you're paying now. Same for my psychiatrist: perhaps you could see the later if one is covered by insurance while talk therapy isn't. While the doctors don't have as much time to talk due the appointment being usually focused on medicine, I find my monthly 20 minute check in (with a $20 co-pay) to be beneficial even if medicine isn't be prescribed!
It's tricky because you understandably want a price that fits your budget and your needs but I don't think the perfect cheap online situation exists unless we're talking about underpaying people, which has ethical issues. You could try therapists abroad via Zoom but many have an agreement to charge people from abroad a higher rate than locals pay, case in point being Argentina. Everyone deserves access to high quality, affordable therapy and it sucks that it still is out-of-reach for so many. I know it was for me for a few years when I really could have benefited from it most! The silver lining is that having had a good therapist, even briefly, helps us in times we can't go and then helps us catch up once we can go back.
posted by smorgasbord at 3:09 PM on October 1, 2022
Best answer: I have worked at community mental health centers as a therapist, and they typically only accept Medicaid, and sometimes Medicare. They're also staffed with generally not-too-experienced therapists (one of the few places that hire therapists straight from grad school) making low wages and saddled with an extremely high caseloads and tons of clients. If you have medicaid insurance, it may not be a terrible option though because there are usually still some good therapists there. (unless people commenting are referring to some other type of "community mental health" that I haven't heard of)
As far as affordable online therapy, I'd recommend looking at directories such as psychology today therapy den, or inclusive therapists, and searching for those who accept your insurance or who have sliding scales fees, and offer online therapy as well- most private practice therapists at this point offer online options.
there's also open path collective (www.openpathcollective.org), which is therapy priced at $30- $60 per session, but it's for uninsured, or underinsured, people. You might be able to use it if your insurance isn't adequate. The therapists in that directory generally do this in order to be able to offer lower fee to some clients. It's a good service.
I would try avoid online services like betterhelp or talkspace- these are corporations that pay therapists abysmal wage (I think $30 per session), expect therapists to be on-call a lot, AND apparently sell client data! That being said, if you are truly desperate for a therapist, it's an option. I have heard of people liking their therapist through those services, again if you're desperate and can overlook the other stuff.
posted by bearette at 3:33 PM on October 1, 2022 [6 favorites]
As far as affordable online therapy, I'd recommend looking at directories such as psychology today therapy den, or inclusive therapists, and searching for those who accept your insurance or who have sliding scales fees, and offer online therapy as well- most private practice therapists at this point offer online options.
there's also open path collective (www.openpathcollective.org), which is therapy priced at $30- $60 per session, but it's for uninsured, or underinsured, people. You might be able to use it if your insurance isn't adequate. The therapists in that directory generally do this in order to be able to offer lower fee to some clients. It's a good service.
I would try avoid online services like betterhelp or talkspace- these are corporations that pay therapists abysmal wage (I think $30 per session), expect therapists to be on-call a lot, AND apparently sell client data! That being said, if you are truly desperate for a therapist, it's an option. I have heard of people liking their therapist through those services, again if you're desperate and can overlook the other stuff.
posted by bearette at 3:33 PM on October 1, 2022 [6 favorites]
Especially if you are okay paying something for therapy, many private therapists will sliding scale down some under what you are currently paying. My current therapist goes down to 50 out of pocket for example (between insurance and my out of pocket or ends up being about a total of 100 per session for her, but I know her floor is 50 per session). I know quite a few people in private practice where 50 a session would be ok.
Therapy in costs lower than that or through insurance often have wait lists, but it is possible to find people who will work you. Community mental health is a mixed bag, but if you can find somebody you like it can be a real cost saver.
posted by AlexiaSky at 3:58 PM on October 1, 2022
Therapy in costs lower than that or through insurance often have wait lists, but it is possible to find people who will work you. Community mental health is a mixed bag, but if you can find somebody you like it can be a real cost saver.
posted by AlexiaSky at 3:58 PM on October 1, 2022
I don't know if anxiety is relevant for you, or if the weekly expert call schedule works for you, but Unwinding Anxiety costs less per year than I had been paying per month for therapy, and I feel like I'm making as much progress or more. A lot of things therapists have said to me over the years have only clicked now because of the frequency of contact with app modules daily, app reminders multiple times a day, and weekly live group chats with neurologist, psychologist, psychiatrist via the app.
posted by Former Congressional Representative Lenny Lemming at 5:14 PM on October 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Former Congressional Representative Lenny Lemming at 5:14 PM on October 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
Have you looked at Open Path? I don't know if your income is within their limits but the sliding scale is $30-60 for individual therapy. Almost every therapist is open to tele therapy these days, it seems to me. Anyway I like Open Path and have gotten several clients there. It's cheap but it's not Better Help type bullshit. (Therapy startups tend to take advantage of newly licensed who really just want to be therapists and are willing to put up with terrible caseloads for not much money. So you get a bunch of therapists who are at the same time not super experience and quite burned out, it's wonderful.)
posted by less-of-course at 6:55 PM on October 1, 2022
posted by less-of-course at 6:55 PM on October 1, 2022
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If you want to pay out of pocket, you could also consider group therapy.
Definitely make sure you're paying for therapy through your HSA or FSA (if you are in the US) and see if out of network coverage might be possible with your insurance.
posted by gemutlichkeit at 1:56 PM on October 1, 2022 [1 favorite]