Any way to save money on counselling/psychotherapy?

Dinah93

My husband has a myriad of mental health issues, he's been working with a psychotherapist for the last year who has helped him, but at £45 a week it is bankrupting us. Hes already done the 6 generic sessions he can have on the nhs. Are there any healthcare plans or similar that will save us money?

theoretica

Some employers have a staff wellbeing scheme which might be able to help.

Cazzaswfc

theoretica wrote: »

Some employers have a staff wellbeing scheme which might be able to help.

As above, a lot of employers provide an employee assistance programme however this may not include face to face.

In addition, if they have any healthcare schemes (may include this) if you can join this, cover starts immediately.

Big white Wall, fairly newish to the UK however very big in the US, online support to help those with mental health conditions.

indsty

No good suggestions I'm afraid - could he manage to maintain his improvement with fortnightly sessions?

Have you tried speaking to the people at SANE (the support charity for those with MH issues). They may be able to suggest something in your area that would help.

It does seem sad that if the counselling is actually helping, that it cannot be continued on the NHS. It could save them a lot of money in the long run by reducing the amount of medications, GP visits, or hospital admissions that a patient needs.

speedfreek1000

You maybe able to negotiate a price with the individual therapist.

Work out what you can really afford and see if they will accept it. Remember they have expenses to cover and also other patients who might be in similar or ever worse financial positions so please don't try and low ball them.

If you are on benefits or in certain other low income categories (can't remember the exact rules) there's also the low cost therapy scheme.

Usually you'll get a trainee therapist but they will be supported by a senior experienced therapist so there's no issue with the quality of therapy provided.

Caterina

Mind UK might be able to help, our local branch has a 6 weeks emergency counselling service and if people are considered to be in need of longer term they can go on a waiting list for up to 6 months of sessions, free of charge. Hope this helps.

jenniewb

It depends on how much your husband has built up a relationship with his therapist. If he is willing to start again, as others have said, people like trainee therapists and even some who are not trainees will offer a sliding scale to paying fees (ask first, never assume). Not all will though so it may mean changing therapists and things may also be time limited if say the therapist is training in one place but hoping to move/move back to another once qualified.


If your husband can ask his therapist for word of mouth recommendations as to where else to try- and even who else to try. Most of the time therapists will offer a consultation session to see if you can both work together and it will make a difference if there is that initial feeling that you can work together so never ignore the feeling that this isn't what you are looking for. If you are able to, try to arrange and put in place some boundaries such as how time limited things are, what can be afforded for (session numbers and for how long) and also if possible what he is looking for from therapy rather than it being open ended if money is an issue.


Also don't rule out things like group support (not always the same as treatment but can really help). Groups like Mind, Sane and Reach may have people and groups they can sign post you to. Don't expect them to be free though as most will have a group facilitator who is a therapist/counsellor or training to be one, require a room to be rented (along with heating and so on and etc) and with many places, people can sign up then chicken out but if they are paying a fee are far less likely to be a no show. A group only works if there are people who show up for it.
Other forms of therapy which will depend on the needs of the person looking for help can often change which type of therapist is suitable, for example CBT is very different to psychotherapy though they both will cross paths on each other.


Hope things work out though, and don't forget that there are always additional options to try if it really isn't at all possible to carry on with the original therapist. Don't ignore feelings of loss and frustration if things do have to end after 6 sessions but don't allow them to tell you there is no hope.

WantToBeSE

Many therapists offer a 'Sliding Scale', where what clients pay is dependant on their income.

For example, i was seeing a therapist who charged £35 an hour, but when my work hours went from FT to PT, i only paid £25. This was something that i asked about when i first contacted someone though.

So i looked for therapists on the 'its good to talk' section of the BACP and when i was emailing them to see if we would be able to work together, i would say that i am looking for someone who works on a sliding scale.

A lot of them didn't. But i found probably 5 that did.