well.. I'm depressed. Mostly cause of school and living in a mormon family.

I'm 18 and dont wanna break the bank (I wanna pay out of pocket), and I dont want to tell my parents about looking for one (for the insurance), cause it's because of their conditional love towards me.

My community college does not have any funds for counciling which really bugs me.

All I want is to talk to somebody about my problems like every week or so and have them help me figure out myself, my goals, and why I feel the way I feel, etc.

The suicide hotlines are great for when I'm feeling down, but I really need the peice of mind of somebody who cares and understands my needs. Advice? Thanks in advance.

honestly you don't want tot go throuhg insurance anymore they will keep everything on record, and will call your therapist and hound them for personal information. How much are you willing to shell out and how much do you want to see them? those are good questions to start with.

I first started with a councilor, she was just out of school so the down side was she was reletively inexperianced. But if your jsut looking for someone to vent to and have some good basic advice for depression it will work out ok. I ended up paying her 45 a session which is quite amazing actually, and reletively cheap.

Unfortunately i had to switch to someone with more experiance because of my extreme abuse. But if you just need a shoulder and non biast a wall to bounce ideas off of interns or jsut out of school ones a great solution.

Just do a search in your area for all therapists. i suggest using psychology today.com that is where i found both of mine. and i could narrow the feild i was looking for.

good luck i hope that helps a little

the sad thing is: I think i love my money more than i love myself.

but yes. I do think i'd go for the less experienced to save a couple bucks. I mean theyll still have a pretty good understanding of like depression and how to help right? I dont need top of the line people to work for me.

You are worth it. You are investing in your future you. And you are your only asset.

don't we all? trust me whan i started i hated having to pay, i still do every single time, but it was probably one of the best descicions of my life.....but you have to way the options on how much you need it. How much you want it, and how much do you think it will help?

yes my first one knew how to help me stop cutting, fight depression and helped me on my outlook on life. And family issues. But she did not have the experience for the extensive sexual abuse i had underwent hence why i switched. I do miss my first one but she helped me realize that i desearved more than what i was dealing with. i owe alot to her

My university has therapists who are only $12 an hour and the therapist I am working with is amazing. If you find a grad student or someone new in the field you won't have to pay very much. Also, many therapists will charge based on income. Don't be afraid to go to a grad student though, some people are just born to be therapists and it doesn't matter if they have a ton of experience.

Some townships and local governments offer counseling services. Don't give up!

well, I guess my main problem is idk where to look. I thought it'd be easy to go to my advisor for classes and ask them who they think I should talk to. Whoopdie do, there's nobody on campus. That sure gave me some hope. :/

My therapist offers different fees based on family wages-you just need to show last year's taxes for verification. I only pay $20 a session, which is less than what would I would pay with insurance.

Psychology Today has a therapist search (http://therapists.psychologytoday.com/rms/prof_search.php) but that is only therapists who are registered on the site. You might try doing a Google or checking with your insurance (even if you're not planning on using it) to see what therapists they have. I found mine through my insurance though I'm not using it.

I hope everything works out with you!

Do some looking around in your community. I have a family member who is a counselor for Catholic Charities. His patients pay on a sliding scale based on their income. There may be a similar program in your community and since you're a student, you probably wouldn't have to pay much.

Another idea is to seek pastoral counseling at a non-Mormon church. Most licensed clergy have at least some experience in counseling. Many are willing to help without you being a member of their church. While they don't have as much training as a psychologist, it might be a good place to start until you can find someone else to help. I understand why some people might not want to go this route, but if you could find the right pastor to talk to, it might help.

Good luck.

If you have insurance, for heaven's sake use it to find a competent, experienced therapist who suits you! You will pay only the copayment. And because you are eighteen, your family can't access any therapy information and you certainly don't have to tell them much about what you talk about.

Therapists are not hounded to give out personal information by insurance companies. A diagnosis is submitted to justify payment. That is a leak of information, yes. But laws and regulations protect that also. A lot more information is asked for if you are trying to get disability status, but you are the one that signs the release of information for that to happen.

You can tell your family you are feeling depressed due to school and leave the church out of it. Go get some help!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/06/2013 11:48AM by Adult of god.

I appreciate the much needed advice.

Thanks y'all

I cannot disagree more strongly with the post stating you do not want to use your health insurance's mental health benefits.

It is one of the benefits and you are paying for it. Do you want to send a message to insurance companies that they can bully you out of claiming a benefit with the threat they'll contact your health care practitioner and try to extort information from them.

On every level this is ethically wrong. And tacitly agreeing with it sends a message that there is something inherently wrong with treating mental illness as if admitting to having an issue is something to be ashamed of.

Find another university in your area with a medical school attached. They usually have therapists/psychiatry residents who will treat you for much lower than the going rate if you don't have insurance.

You love your money more than your well-being? I feel sorry for you, then.