In tough financial times, we all need to be reminded to budget for the items that are most truly important to us: food, health, shelter, and safety. These are the things we need to survive. Items outside of these necessities are just “luxuries” that we can do without. But never forget that taking care of your physical and mental health is not a luxury, it is a necessity for your survival.
Take Care of Your Mental Health During Hard Times Especially
The tougher your situation, the more important it is to keep your mental health sharp. You will need a sharp mind to be able to make correct decisions needed to better your overall situation and get to a better place.
Too often, people put-off seeing a therapist or counselor for their mental health concerns, hoping for a “better time”, a “better situation,” or “when money is better.” This is a completely backwards approach to the problem but is a knee-jerk reaction many of us are guilty of.
How Much Does Therapy and Counseling Cost?
Some therapists charge a lower hourly rate, and others charge a higher hourly rate — you can expect to pay anywhere from $30 per hour to $500 per hour depending on who the therapist is, their skills and background, their workload, and what insurance plans they accept.
Just like any other product, you get what you pay for with therapy and counseling; some therapists are better than others, and some therapists work better with some personality types than others. The key is to find the right therapist office and therapist that matches your needs.
Never Avoid Therapy Due To Financial Anxiety
Financial anxiety strikes every one of us at time. Before we buy a car, a house, or even plan a dinner out for the family, we start asking ourselves questions like: “can I afford this?” “Do I really need this?” and, “Can I live without this?”
First time patients of therapy and counseling sessions tend to get a lot of financial anxiety about paying for a therapist, and this is normal. First timers are also apprehensive about what they will get out of therapy. Will the therapy sessions be worth the money spent?
Never avoid therapy due to financial anxiety, especially if you have never experience therapy and counseling before. Open yourself up to the care and help that is received through therapy and it will assuredly benefit you.
Benefits of Therapy During Tough Times
No matter what problems you are facing, therapy helps. Will therapy miraculously cure all your problems without quickly and without effort? No, therapy usually takes a bit of time and effort, like exercise, but just like an exercise routine you will be elevated when you begin to see the results.
Therapy Helps to Organize Your Mind
When you have a lot of problems, too much to focus on, and the bad luck keeps driving you further into the ground, that is when the helping hand of therapy can save you from getting completely overwhelmed. Therapy helps you to take a step back from your problems, see them from different viewpoints, and helps you to organize your actions into an efficient plan for bettering your situation.
Therapy Helps You To “Let It All Out”
Humans need to “vent” from time-to-time. We all need to “get everything off our chests” and simply talk to someone and tell them our problems. This act of “venting” your problems makes you feel better because it gets your toxic and repetitive negative thoughts OUT of your head. This releases some pressure mental pressure and sometimes venting is all you need to make you feel better and start overcoming your problems. Therapists are — at the very minimum — the best ears you can vent-to.
A Therapists Opinion Is Often Better Than Friends and Family
Friends and family can be good for some problems, but others they may be too close to the problem to give you objective opinions or advice. Often, family members give you the EXACT WRONG advice, but we listen to them because we hold the opinions of our friends and family very highly. A therapist is also not as afraid of telling hard truths and friends and family members might be.
Therapists Offer A Different Viewpoint During Tough Times
Quite often, those that are struggling in a chaos of stress, financial hardship, and emotional stress cannot see a “light at the end of the tunnel;” all they can see is the problems in front of them. Therapists can dive into the darkness and show you the points of light that act as your guide through your current problems, and into a brighter future.
Happy People Make More Money and Are More Successful
The truth of the matter is that people are more successful and make more money when they are happy. During dark financial times, we have to keep swimming towards the better and brighter times. Those that only focus on the darkness never make it through to the light again, so in dark financial times, the brighter future is your light at the end of the tunnel that you are working towards. Happiness increases as the light brightens.
Making Therapy Affordable
There is a common misconception that all therapists are dreadfully expensive or that therapy costs more than the benefits received. Institutions such as The Arizona Relationship Institute (AZRI) can make therapy more affordable by employing a team of licensed therapists, student therapists, and counselors working toward increasing their credentials and education. AZRI also offers group counseling, workshops, and free classes to help those new to therapy adjust.
Therapists, like doctors and nurses, are constantly learning new therapy techniques and increasing their knowledge through education and obtaining higher credentials. Because education is expensive, you can expect to pay a higher hourly rate for therapy with a PHD therapist versus a student intern that is gaining hours towards their accreditation.
The Right Therapist for Your Needs
Your average person does not need the world’s most brilliant PHD of psychology to cure their mild depression; usually a Licensed Associate Counselor or even a student intern working towards licensure can offer basic therapy that will show positive benefits.
If you have serious mental health concerns such as mood disorders, PTSD, addiction and substance abuse, or severe depression, you would likely need a therapist with more experience and education. However, never underestimate the knowledge and credibility of those with less formal education and licensure under their belt.
The Differences Between Cheap and Expensive Therapy
What can you expect the differences between a discount therapist to be versus an expensive therapist? The differences are very subtle, especially in simple therapy cases. Quite often in the modern therapy market, expensive therapy usually includes more creature comforts and luxury, rather than the service itself being more evidently-inclusive. A Manhattan therapist that charges $500 per hour will likely have a better location and more creature comforts (like the expensive “therapist’s couch” movie trope we see in cinema).
When to See a More Expensive Therapist
A therapist’s hourly price is usually set by their own overhead costs and cost of continuing education. Demand is also a big factor in the price a therapist charges. Therapists that are more sought-after or have a waiting list will usually charge more per hour. If there is a therapist in-particular that you want to work with that charges more, we fully recommend paying more to see the therapist you want.
If a patient has seen numerous therapists or has been in counseling for a while but is not seeing positive progress, this would also be a point where we would recommend a more credentialed, experienced, or educated therapist. These “specialists” would likely come with a higher price tag for their expertise.
Therapy That Provides A Positive Reaction Is Always Worth The Expense
Do not let money-struggles dictate your mental health, and never put off bettering your mental state because times are tight. Your mental health is the first thing you treat so that the rest of your situation will get better – financially, emotionally, romantically, and philosophically.
Meet The Arizona Relationship Institute Therapists
At AZRI, we have a wide range expertise and education amongst our staff ranks. From our student interns and behavioral health technicians to our licensed therapists and Masters of science.
Not sure how to start with therapy? Start with our FREE consultation – it includes a free 15 minute phone conversation with our intake team to decide your therapy needs and best fits. Start the free consultation now…
