Five Ways to Make Therapy Affordable

Therapy can be an invaluable asset to help you through the divorce transition. There is a great benefit in seeking professional therapeutic services to process the feelings which often accompany divorce, such as grief, anger, sadness, and resentment. Having an objective listener to assist you in decision making and goal setting and to help you with parenting and co-parenting issues can ease this transition. Yet therapy is often expensive. Even though you may now more than ever need this assistance, throwing on an added expense to an already costly divorce process can make this help seem out of reach.

With a little knowledge about your benefits and some creativity and flexibility from a therapist, therapy can become affordably accessible. Below are five ways I have helped make therapy services affordable for my clients:

1. Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) – Many employers now offer EAP benefits for their employees and their dependents. These benefits are pre-paid by an employer. EAP’s typically allow anywhere from 1 to 6 counseling sessions free of cost to the employee and/or their dependents. When requesting these services, employees give a brief overview of their difficulties, i.e., “going through a divorce” and can request a specific therapist or will be referred to a therapist near their home or work. The EAP is a third party entity and your personal information, including your counseling sessions, are kept confidential from your employer. 

Sometimes divorcing couples benefit from joint counseling. In most cases, since EAP services are provided to both employees and their dependents, joint counseling may double your sessions. Example: An EAP provides 5 sessions for each employee and his or her dependents. The employee uses 5 sessions for joint counseling. Then the employee’s spouse uses his or her 5 sessions for joint counseling. This totals 10 EAP-paid counseling sessions, which may be all the therapy a couple needs.

Employees are often unaware of these services. Just because you haven’t heard of an EAP doesn’t mean one isn’t available. When clients contact me for services, one of the first things I advise is to find out whether they have an EAP. I direct the client to contact their human resources department and request that they see me through their EAP. Employees are given a number to contact the EAP; the EAP then contacts the therapist and provides the needed paperwork. The initial phone call is typically all the contact you will have with the EAP. Some EAP’s request employees to complete a feedback survey at the end of their sessions, yet this typically remains voluntary. 

In many instances, clients choose to continue therapy beyond their EAP sessions, by paying full fees or by using the resources described below.

2. Healthcare Insurance – Coverage for mental health counseling has drastically improved since the United States began passing parity laws. While we used to see insurance covering a mere 8 to 10 sessions if anything at all, it is now not uncommon for insurance to cover 30, 40, or unlimited sessions. This is expected to continue to improve with the most recent October 2008 parity law. Parity, in a nutshell, means insurance companies must cover mental health in the same way that they cover physical health. Co-pays range from $0 to $30 per session. Often plans have deductibles which need to be met before coverage kicks in. In these instances, therapists may work with clients on a sliding-fee scale to make these deductibles affordable.

Understanding the ins and outs of your insurance plan can prove an exercise in frustration, especially in light of the many other professionals and bureaucracies you may already be dealing with in the divorce process. I offer to contact insurance companies on behalf of my clients and then I will explain their benefits in an understandable way.  It is not uncommon for therapists to provide this service.

3. Sliding Fee Scales – If space is open, many therapists may offer a sliding fee scale for those clients unable to afford full fees and without EAP or healthcare insurance benefits. Although many therapists offer a sliding fee, many do not advertise this service. When initiating a therapy appointment, it never hurts to ask “Do you have a sliding fee scale?” The worst they can say is “no” and they may be able to refer you to a colleague who does.
 

4. Group Therapy – This can be an affordable alternative to individual therapy. Groups typically consist of 4 or more people and the sessions generally last for 90 minutes. A typical fee for group therapy may range from $20 to $30 per session. This is considerably less than 50-minute individual sessions if you are paying out-of-pocket. Some insurance plans also cover group therapy sessions. In addition to lower cost, group therapy provides the benefit of the healing which occurs when learning from and sharing with others in similar situations. 

5. Gift Certificates – While a gift certificate for therapy may appear to be a peculiar present, it may come as a relief for friends and family who wish to be supportive during this time but are unsure of how they can help. The effects of divorce are widespread and often affect many people within your circle. Many times those close to a divorcing couple are torn between spouses. Because they held their own emotional investment in your marriage, they may find it difficult to lend support in an unbiased healthy way. The gift of therapy allows them to give you this support. The certificate could be used to cover full fees, sliding fees, or co-pays. For example, a $100 gift certificate would cover 5 of your sessions if you had a $20 co-pay. While not all therapists provide this service, it is another question that it doesn’t hurt to ask.