13 Resources for Free or Affordable Mental Healthcare
Our health extends past what our bodies experience
Photo: Unsplash/@volkano
Our health extends past what our bodies experience. When our arm hurts, we go to the doctor, but why is it so taboo to talk to someone about depression, anxiety, or any other mental health illness? Even saying the words “mental health” or “mental illness” puts people on the defensive, or shuts down communication, especially in Latinx families and culture.
We need to open up the dark and dusty windows of the past and let the sun shine on mental health. It’s time to talk about it, encourage that others get help, and get help ourselves. Our mental health should be something we tend to just the same as we drink enough water and go to the gym regularly. Self-care is paramount, m’ijas! Your well-being is important! And money should never be an issue to you living your best, most peaceful, and fulfilled life. Here we share 13 great free or affordable mental health resources everyone should know about. Check it out, and then share this potentially lifesaving info with your others!
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Therapy for Latinx
Right when you go to the Therapy for Latinx site, a live chat pops up ready to help you navigate everything. But its easy layout already allows you to instantly search for a therapist close to your location and by specific specialties. Added bonus? “Therapists in [their] database either identify as Latinx, a POC or have worked closely with the POC community and understand our unique needs.”
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Youper
— Youper (@youper_ai) July 9, 2020
There’s an app for almost anything, and we are so thankful that there are more and more apps that allow people to get solid mental health support and care easier than ever before. Youper is described by the company as an “emotional health assistant,” which allows you to have quick conversations, track your moods, journal, get “emotional insights on anxiety, depression, stress, BPD, and more,” and integrate with Apple Health Kit.
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Step Away
Alcohol addiction is a serious disease. Sobriety is an everyday step someone with this addiction takes each and every day. Support keeps the person inspired, motivated, and supported in this life-long journey. The Step Away app “helps when you have cravings,” “will help you when in high-risk drinking situations,” “guide you through emotional risks,” and “help motivate and keep you focused when feeling down.”
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SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)
Another helpful mental health resource is the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. SAMHSA has a national helpline — 1-800-662-HELP (4357) — that is available 24/7, in both English and Spanish, to help individuals and families with mental and/or substance abuse disorders with “treatment referral and information.” You can also find treatment on their website; find other helpline numbers (including those for veterans crisis, disaster distress, and suicide prevention; check out a variety of programs, and more.
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Mental Health America
On the website for Mental Health America, you can use their mental health screening tools, find help with a provider, use their wellness tools, find a support group, and more. There’s even a cool online store with merchandise that reminds you that you are not alone, but rather part of a large, supportive community.
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Crisis Text Line (HOME to 741741 in the U.S.)
The Crisis Text Hotline, which is 741741 in the United States (686868 in Canada, and 85258 in the U.K.) allows you to text a crisis counselor when needed. The hotline “fight[s] for the texter.” According to their site, “our first priority is helping people move from a hot moment to a cool calm, guiding you to create a plan to stay safe and healthy. YOU = our priority.” The site also shares information on several mental health problems and how to get help.
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NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
The website for the National Alliance on Mental Illness is chock-full of helpful information. Since September is Suicide Prevention Month, they are sharing warning signs and risk factors for suicide, suicide prevention for college students, and more. On the site, you can also take a free six-session online program that will teach you how to support the service member or veteran in your life, find support for various groups including LGBTQ, and learn a ton about mental health.
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GoodTherapy
GoodTherapy allows you to easily find a therapist near you. On their site, you can also learn all about therapy, while also linking to marriage counselors, support groups, child counselors, treatment centers, psychologists, and more. The Good Therapy Instagram account (@good_therapy) is also a good resource for uplifting, inspiring, and motivating quotes.
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Open Path Psychotherapy Collective
The Open Path Psychotherapy Collective has therapists who “provide affordable, in-office psychotherapy between $30 and $60 per session (between $30 and $80 for couples & family sessions).” A lifetime membership costs $59, and with 24,000 clients matched to mental healthcare, and 35,000 students signed up to online wellness classes, it’s proven that the Open Path Psychotherapy Collective does effective work.
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Talkspace Online Therapy
Over 1 million people have used Talkspace to get online therapy with a licensed therapist. After getting an assessment, you choose a plan (they start at $65 a week), get matched with a therapist, and begin messaging with him or her when you want/need to. They respond one to two times a day, but if you need to talk to them more, you can schedule a video chat.
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Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA)
Around 40 million adults in the United States live with anxiety, making it the most common mental illness in the country. We are taught to live with and accept it, but we need to be taught real tools for handling anxiety effectively, and to know it’s okay to reach out for help. Places like the Anxiety and Depression Association of America aim to help us with this. On their site, you can learn the facts on anxiety and stress, suicide, depression, and co-occurring disorders, find help, and learn about mental health through webinars, podcasts, and more.
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Better Help
https://www.instagram.com/p/B163KnVik-v/
Better Help describes itself as “the world’s largest e-counseling platform,” matching people with licensed therapists that they don’t have to talk to face-to-face, but rather online. In a time where everything is online, and we don’t have the available time to sit in an office at the same time each week, finding help digitally just makes sense for a lot of people. Prices range from $40 to $70 per week, which is billed on a monthly basis.
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National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-TALK)
We hope you never have to use it, but everyone should know — and share — the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, which is 1-800-273-8255 (or 1-800-273-TALK). This phone number will connect you with crisis counselors who can help you, or a loved one, in a time of need. They are available 24/7, free of charge, and it’s completely confidential. You will also be linked with resources, with specific tabs on their websites for Native Americans; youth; disaster survivors; the LGTBQ+ community; attempt survivors; veterans; loss survivors; those who need help in Spanish; and people who need help who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have hearing loss.
Another great resource is the notOK app, which allows a linked trusted network to be automatically informed digitally if the app user is not doing OK.
