Coping with the Cost of Therapy

Therapy can be affordable, especially if you have insurance to help with the cost. But what if you do not have insurance to help cover it? So, what can you do if the cost of therapy with a private practitioner, like myself, is outside your budget?

Agencies that Provide Sliding Scale Therapy in Chicago

Northside: the Family Institute of Northwestern or Trilogy

Downtown: Cathedral Counseling

Southside: Chicago Woodlawn Mental Health, the Claret Center, YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago, Friend Health

And, there are likely many more options. Type “sliding scale, low cost therapy” into google maps to research options near you.

If you have had a financial setback, and you want to keep your therapist

Sliding Scale Fees: In my practice, there are times when a client has had a financial setback and cannot pay for therapy for a period of time, but wants to continue with me. In that case, a sliding scale fee or a payment plan might make sense. Have a conversation with your therapist about options.

Bartering: If you do not have insurance, and your budget is really, very tight, you might consider talking to your therapist about bartering. Do you have a valuable skill like website development or research ability? Keep in mind that keeping confidentiality is essential to therapy, so whatever work you might do in exchange for therapy needs to be something that is done confidentially and without compromising the therapy.

If you really have no money for therapy right now, and you need to DIY it for awhile. (Or you want a little extra beyond therapy.)

There are some great low-cost programs out there that can help!

Anxiety: D.A.R.E has a program. Check out the book on Amazaon

Substance Use Disorder, especially alcohol: Check out Reframe in the i-phone app store.

OCD: the International OCD Foundation has a wealth of information, and reviews apps for OCD. Check it out at https://iocdf.org/