Low Cost Therapy, or, How Therapy Saved My Life

Here’s an ironic story.  In my first Composition class in college, I was assigned Kay Redfield Jamison’s memoir of manic depression An Unquiet Mind to read.  When she lists all the famous artists and authors who may have suffered from the illness – people like Virginia Woolf, Van Gogh, and Ernest Hemingway – I remember being disappointed that I didn’t have this disease.  Damn, I thought, I could make great art if only I had that mental illness.  Some people have all the luck. 

Be careful what you wish for.

But I still don’t have manic depression, or bipolar disease.  I have major depressive disorder, and even though they put ‘major’ in front of it, it still sounds like one just has a situation that will pass, not a serious mental illness like manic depression or schizophrenia.  But it is, and it’s taken me years and years to come to that realization.  It even took four years after I was first diagnosed by a psychiatrist (who was amazed that it had taken me so long to get medical help).  The illness had to almost pull me under the water line before I could scream for help. 

Maybe it took those four years because at first I was only treating my depression with antidepressants, which worked great at first, until my life got ridiculously stressful and I found myself seriously planning my own demise.  I needed more than 60 second meetings and prescriptions.  This time I sought therapy as well.

Therapy has helped me immensely.  I am on medication as well, and I’d say the help is about 50/50 therapy and medication.  The medication takes care of my physical symptoms, while therapy helps me to reframe my depressive thinking.  She was also, I felt, the only person who got that I was suffering from a serious illness at the time that I first started seeing her.  As I went through hating myself for my symptoms, thinking I was hopeless and useless, she constantly reminded me that I was recovering from depression.  Having her on my side against the onslaught of self-hating thoughts and misunderstanding friends and family was and is invaluable to my recovery.  Probably saved my life.

Therapy can be expensive for those without the resources (read money or mental health insurance).  One thing to note is that many therapists state on their website that they will work with you on the fee, so while their normal fee is maybe $200, maybe they will see you for $100, or even less.  As a doctor at the NYS Psychiatric Institute said to me, “You’re worth it.”

I know of one place in NYC that offers psychotherapy on a sliding scale: The Washington Square Institute.  I went there myself years ago for a while, and was charged $30 per session.  It did me some good, although I wasn’t ready to accept that I had a mental illness or needed medication at the time. 

Their website is here:  Washington Square Institute 

I'm sure there are other options for low-cost therapy in NYC, but I don't know them yet.  I'll keep my ear to the ground, though, and post anything else I find.  For those who don't live in the city, try googling "low cost therapy your city here," or "low fee psychotherapy your city here,"or some combination of those words.  Of course, the bigger the city, the more available resources.  

There is also the Psychology Today website that can help you find and shop for the right therapist.  That is how I found my therapist that I see today.  Go to their website and do a search for your city.  The psychologists listed have a short blurb about their practice and philosophy, and many have links to their own websites, as well.  

That website is here:  Psychology Today Therapy Directory.  

On The Mental Illness Happy Hour this week, Paul had a guest, Mike Carano, who questioned whether therapy really worked because he knows some people that it hasn't seemed to help.  I'm here to say that it works for me.  I've had many therapists over the years – some better than others.  It's a lot like my search for the right psychiatrist, if one wasn't working, I had to find someone else.  There are good ones out there.  This time around, I chose three from the listings and saw each one for one session before making my decision.  Many (not all) will see you for a free consultation, or have one with you over the phone.  

You're worth it.