Clinics
Teaching hospitals and the psychology departments of certain universities often have clinics that will see patients who are not students, including children and couples. These clinics are usually very affordable because they have masters or doctoral students seeing patients (depending on the school). These services will sometimes be slightly more expensive than a psychological institution but less expensive than a private doctor. Students who attend the university or faculty members can sometimes get services for free or as part of the school provided insurance.
Alternatives to Sliding Scale
If sliding scale is not for you, Melanie points out that some institutions offer the alternative of bartering for services. Rather than pay with money, the patient works for the institution for a day or two a week. This may even be therapeutic since tasks usually involve helping other people! For people who don’t qualify for sliding scale or want to stick with their doctor, they may be able to negotiate a payment plan or scale down the amount of sessions or even the length of sessions. This may be good for people towards the end of therapy but may water down progress if the patient and doctor are still in the thick of an issue. Talk to your doctor and see what your options are.
The right therapist, whether expensive or affordable, may take some time to find. The best thing is to know what kind of help you need and explore the different options available in your community. Therapy doesn’t have to be a luxury, it can be a Fab & Fru part of your life, as long as you keep an open mind and search until you find what you’re looking for.
Here are some additional resources to help you along:
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