May is mental health awareness month, and in honor of that I wanted to share some tips on finding a therapist. Going to a therapist has truly been life changing for me, it’s more than just talking about “trauma”, it is helping you find coping mechanisms for things that happen in your daily life. Setting boundaries, having healthy relationships, prioritizing your mental health and energy – I could go on and on.

Some ways to find one:

I personally went to my insurance website and found therapists that were under my coverage plan and reached out to see if they were taking new clients. I also found a lot on @psych_today website where you can search for tons of therapists, which insurance they take and if they’re taking on new patients. My therapist is actually in Houston and we do virtual appointments, and I pay my $20 co pay.

@talkspace accepts insurance and non insurance patients.

@betterhelp is a virtual therapist network and ranges from $60-90/week (billed every 4 weeks).

@terapify Spanish speaking online therapist network $30 for 50 min sessions.

Find therapist interns – psychology students working on their degrees have to have a certain amount of hours providing therapy & you can sometimes find these folks for lower costs.

@capitalareacounseling has a sliding scale, which is super helpful.

Plumeria counseling center in Austin provides sessions for $70.

A lot of companies started offering free sessions or created access through an EAP program, so definitely check what your company has to offer.

Universities sometimes provide free or less expensive sessions to students.

Using an FSA or HSA. some companies add $$ in there for you or match – for mine I designate the amount I want to go in there during my open enrollment period & you can choose the amount it would be for therapy on a weekly, biweekly or monthly basis. those funds come available starting January 1.

I still have friends that go & pay out of pocket $100-200/session bc they love that specific therapist, so obviously an option.