# How much does theropy cost?



## Whoareyou (Jun 8, 2010)

and how long too, i have like no money, i want to save up enough to cure my mind but i need to know about therapy, any one can give me a synopsis of what they do with their therapist?


----------



## hatepickingnames (May 14, 2010)

Whoareyou said:


> and how long too, i have like no money, i want to save up enough to cure my mind but i need to know about therapy, any one can give me a synopsis of what they do with their therapist?


If you are in the US call your county's social services office and ask for a list of free/sliding scale therapists. The free ones generally never accept new patients as they are all full but you might get lucky. The sliding scale clinics depend on your income etc...can be 10 bucks....50....depends. Full price at a regular clinic would be over 100 an hour usually which I find criminal.

As for what you do....in my experience you pay them to patronize you...but then again I am not someone who ever liked it. I got sick of their silly little exercises that might work on weak minded lab rats but not real thinking humans. I also got sick of the "uh huh...uh huh..." while they nod and don't pay attention to half of what you said. Anyway some people like therapy. I hated it.


----------



## LALoner (Dec 3, 2008)

Sometimes schools will have grad students give cheap therapy as part of their training. Its sort of like the free haircuts at the barber school deal. I had a friend who did it when he was low on money, said the trainees are just as good as the rest he's tried.


----------



## hatepickingnames (May 14, 2010)

LALoner said:


> Sometimes schools will have grad students give cheap therapy as part of their training. Its sort of like the free haircuts at the barber school deal. I had a friend who did it when he was low on money, said the trainees are just as good as the rest he's tried.


How in the world can a student with no experience give quality care? If they can do it as well as the older therapists it shows the system is hollow.


----------



## JimmyDeansRetartedCousin (Nov 28, 2009)

It depends on where you are and what situation you're in. Here in the republic of Ireland you need health insurance or if you are in a low wage bracket you get a free or partialy subsidised medical card. I do cbt in Northern Ireland which is strictly the UK where all healthcare is free


----------



## Whitney (Oct 2, 2008)

I'm a college student so I go to my school's counseling center which is free for students. The first two therapists I saw were students (or "in training" or whatever) but now I am seeing a "real psychologist" who has experience. Not too sure if I really like her though.

If you can't afford to go to a real therapist, I would suggest Dr. Richards audio series. It isn't cheap but it is a lot cheaper than seeing someone at $100 an hour. 
http://socialanxietyinstitute.com/audioseries.html


----------



## QuackQuack (Mar 18, 2008)

So basically I should just go to one of the ones on my insurance company website and not try to find a "good" pay one? They'll all be equally bad, on average?


----------



## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

I see a psychologist at the anxiety research hospital for free and I see a therapist sometimes at my college for free too. I can see my psychologist once a week and my therapist up to twice a week, each for 1 hour.


----------



## LALoner (Dec 3, 2008)

hatepickingnames said:


> How in the world can a student with no experience give quality care? If they can do it as well as the older therapists it shows the system is hollow.


There have been a lot of studies showing that training doesn't matter. It seems all people want is a sympathetic listener and this doesn't require training.

I know that there are studies out there which show this or that method or training works better than average. I have found these studies are usually done by the person or group that invented the method. Studies done by neutral parties show all talk therapy methods are equally useful.


----------



## drealm (Jul 7, 2009)

Whoareyou said:


> and how long too, i have like no money, i want to save up enough to cure my mind but i need to know about therapy, any one can give me a synopsis of what they do with their therapist?


The best question I've seen in months.

You've acknowledged the stinging reality that many people can't get better due to lack of money.

I mean who cares if there's cures in the world if no one can afford them?

When I went to a shrink it cost $110 a session. For sessions to have any impact, you need to go once a week. So unless you have close to $500 to shell out a month for a temporary one hour placebo affect, I'd lay off this scam.

Oh yeah and it took three years of therapy to see even marginal results.

Therapy is a scam that's no different than witchcraft, voodoo, fortune telling, ect.


----------



## QuackQuack (Mar 18, 2008)

drealm said:


> The best question I've seen in months.
> 
> You've acknowledged the stinging reality that many people can't get better due to lack of money.
> 
> ...


I'm skeptical.


----------



## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

drealm said:


> The best question I've seen in months.
> 
> You've acknowledged the stinging reality that many people can't get better due to lack of money.
> 
> ...


Yeah, to hell with empirical studies, let's just ignore all scientific evidence and call **** whatever the hell we want.


----------



## VanDamMan (Nov 2, 2009)

Try some group therapy. It is much cheaper and possibly more effective.


----------



## QuackQuack (Mar 18, 2008)

VanDamMan said:


> Try some group therapy. It is much cheaper and possibly more effective.


I thought you see a regular therapist first, and then they assign you to a group?


----------



## CopadoMexicano (Aug 21, 2004)

You get what you pay for. Seeing a therapist that charges very little is as good as seeing no therapist. I see a psychiatrist that does both medication management and counseling.


----------



## VagueResemblance (Apr 17, 2010)

Short answer: go see for yourself, both costs and effectiveness will vary widely.

I've seen sixteen (I think. memory's hazy. yes, I have issues) therapists of various stripes, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, whatever; some were useless and some were not. Nearly all offered some flexibility on cost, from places that had rigid sliding-scale systems for patients of low income to one woman that saw me for free after I lost a job. 

Last one was very helpful, knowledgeable in CBT, charged $45 per weekly visit. Not bad at all, though I had to stop going anyway...


----------



## VagueResemblance (Apr 17, 2010)

drealm said:


> When I went to a shrink ...


How many have you seen?


----------



## VanDamMan (Nov 2, 2009)

QuackQuack said:


> I thought you see a regular therapist first, and then they assign you to a group?


Well thats only if you arrive wearing a suit bought at H&M.


----------



## spirowilliam (Jul 23, 2010)

It depends upon the treatment, facilities and services. There is also depends upon the place like in USA there is high cost but in Australia there is not that much high cost.


----------



## jjbnum3 (Nov 12, 2003)

hatepickingnames said:


> If you are in the US call your county's social services office and ask for a list of free/sliding scale therapists. The free ones generally never accept new patients as they are all full but you might get lucky. The sliding scale clinics depend on your income etc...can be 10 bucks....50....depends. Full price at a regular clinic would be over 100 an hour usually which I find criminal.
> 
> As for what you do....in my experience you pay them to patronize you...but then again I am not someone who ever liked it. I got sick of their silly little exercises that might work on weak minded lab rats but not real thinking humans. I also got sick of the "uh huh...uh huh..." while they nod and don't pay attention to half of what you said. Anyway some people like therapy. I hated it.


Thanks for the info.
As someone on SSDI their cover the last time I check was 50% for mental 
health visits.and the few therapist I talked to want cash payment and I guess you get your money back if your insurance covers it.
thats the way I understand it.

Also like someone suggest ealier I really like group therapy too along with meds if you choose. 
and the prices for a therapist are crazy high here around Auburn,ca.
but I was also calling the so called best in the area.
I'm talking $400 to $600 for the 1st vist.:afr


----------



## speedy1girl (Jul 22, 2010)

I am seeing a counselor at my university. She is working on her doctorate and already has her master's, plus she is an older student, so I feel really comfortable talking to her.

I agree that the benefit (for me) is when I talk to her, she is able to respond appropriately and help me feel better about my anxiety. I've only been a few times but it has really helped... otherwise I have no one in my life who truly understands what this social anxiety feels like!


----------



## LostPancake (Apr 8, 2009)

$16

Seriously, you should try this book if you're low on funds - Mind Over Mood. http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Over-Mood-Change-Changing/dp/0898621283. Sl31 recommended it to me.

I did 2 years of therapy when I was younger, and she sort of did this with me, but I never learned the techniques on my own. So after therapy, I was kind of lost when problems arose. It's cognitive therapy, and it's a workbook, so it's easy to fill the stuff out instead of putting it off for later.

This book is from 1995, and is not specifically for social anxiety. For that, the Gillian Butler book is supposed to be really good, and based on the latest research (the Clark and Wells model of social anxiety from 1995), but I don't have that yet. [edit: eh, halfway through it now, it's not very promising]

I know it's helpful to have a sympathetic person, but sometimes that can actually be counterproductive, depending on what their strategy is. One therapist I had at 23 was really sympathetic but I wound up just feeling worse, like I was wallowing in misery.

If I had done a workbook like this along with the therapy I would have actually learned what I was doing better. So I would recommend at least trying it, before shelling out a lot of money on therapists (multiple because it can sometimes take a while to find one you really click with).


----------



## wjc75225 (Jul 24, 2010)

My CBT therapist here in Dallas is $155/hr .. Insurance takes care of a big portion of that if you have insurance.


----------



## catalinahx (Jun 8, 2010)

I think someone else mentioned finding a place that has sliding scale fee's. it took me two months to get in with my therapist, they'll likely be booked. I have no income and pay $12 a visit every 2 weeks or so. I go to a place called Comp Care. You might have one near you, I don't know.


----------



## lde22 (Oct 19, 2009)

I live in CA, USA and one session with a psychologist was around $100. I have insurance but I have to reach a $300 deductible before they will pay anything. I don't know how much it will be when my insurance kicks in.


----------

