Is one of your New Year’s resolutions to seek therapy? Are you already talking yourself out of it? Here are 4 reasons to make that initial appointment.
- Therapy is more affordable than you think it is. If you have health insurance through your employer, chances are, you have coverage for therapy sessions. As a result of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, mental health and substance use treatment must be covered to the same degree as medical treatment. For many clients, their co-pay for therapy sessions is $10, $20, or $30 per session – some insurance plans even cover therapy sessions 100%, meaning there is no cost to you! Many clients also aren’t aware that they can pay for mental health sessions using their health savings accounts (HSAs). If, for whatever reason, your insurer or insurance plan doesn’t fall under the provisions of this act, or you have a high deductible plan, don’t despair. Many therapists prefer not to work with insurance companies and will offer you a reduced rate if you are paying out-of-pocket. If weekly sessions are outside your budget, talk to your therapist about meeting twice per month instead. If you’re paying out-of-pocket, some therapists will also work with you to develop a specialized treatment plan that might be more within your budget – for example, two 45-minute, in-person meetings per month, combined with e-mail check-ins between sessions, for an overall lower rate than four meetings per month.
- Therapy is more accessible than you think it is. There are several types of licensed therapists, and most urban and suburban areas have a plethora of therapists to choose from – psychologists, licensed professional counselors, licensed clinical social workers, licensed marriage and family therapists, etc. You can find a list of covered therapists on your insurance company’s website, and looking at therapist search directories (e.g., on Psychology Today’s website) can give you a flavor of what’s in your area and which therapist(s) might be a good fit for your needs. Many therapists offer before or after work appointments, or weekend appointments. Some will also offer appointments via videoconferencing software, allowing you to reduce time spent on driving, parking, etc. If you go this route, be sure to ask your therapist about the software they use and whether it’s HIPAA-compliant. FaceTime and Skype are NOT HIPAA-compliant options. Video therapy (also called teletherapy, telehealth, or telepsychology) is also a great option for those of you who live in rural areas. Many studies have shown that teletherapy is as effective as in-person psychotherapy. Online therapy isn’t for everyone, however, and not all therapists are well-versed in the nuances of this type of therapy, so be sure to do your homework if this option sounds appealing to you.
- Therapy is more helpful than you think it is. Many clients who find themselves putting off therapy over and over again think that going to therapy will be a waste of time – that there’s nothing a therapist could do to help them feel better. If this sounds like you, let me persuade you to reconsider. Psychology is a science, as well as an art, which means a lot of really smart people have researched the effectiveness of therapy. Research has demonstrated clear benefit of different types of therapies, on different types of problems/symptoms, for different people. And, although many clients think medication is the best way to treat their symptoms, a number of studies have shown that the effects of medication may be more short-lived than therapy for some problems (e.g., anxiety), and that a combination of medication and psychotherapy works best for other problems. The take-home message? If you want to feel better for longer, with fewer side effects, try therapy!
- Therapy is more popular than you think it is. Everybody’s doing it! Well, not everybody, but a whole lot of people see therapists. It’s difficult to gauge the exact number of people going to therapy for many reasons – chief among these is the fact that there is still stigma associated with being in therapy in many communities, which results in underreporting and deflation of statistics. And, this data is not easily collated from available records due to confidentiality laws and the fact that many individuals pay privately for therapy. The best data I’ve seen suggests that, in 2009, approximately 13% of the U.S. population sought any kind of mental health treatment, and about half of these folks were in therapy. These numbers are likely increasing. I challenge you to perform an informal poll of your friends, family, and acquaintances, and find out how many have ever seen a therapist. I think you’ll be surprised at what you find.
Change things up for 2018 – give therapy a try.