4 Ways To Prioritize Your Mental Health On A Budget
Taking care of your mental health shouldn't come at a high price tag. Today, we’re discussing 4 practical and budget-friendly ways to boost your well-being, even if you can't afford traditional therapy.
Group Therapy
When you really want to go to therapy but can’t afford it, group therapy is a great alternative.
On average a therapy session cost anywhere between $170-200, which is not always accessible to everyone, especially when you have no insurance to cover the session fee.
With group therapy, you’re able to get the same benefits at a lower fee and it’s a great opportunity to feel validated as you’ll be surrounded by participants who most likely share similar experiences to yours.
Sliding Scale
Sliding scale is when a therapist offers you a rate that is below their typical fee. The fee can either be without taxes, ⅓ or half of their regular fee.
The goal of sliding scale is to give those who can’t afford the regular fee an opportunity to receive emotional support when they need it. Everyone’s financial situation is different, and depending on their practice’s structure, most therapists are open to consider a sliding scale fee.
If you’ve been consistently going to therapy and were paying the regular fee but your financial situation unexpectedly changed, you can still have the conversation with your therapist to see what adjustments can be made.
If they’re unable to accommodate you at that time, they might help you find alternatives more suitable for your current situation.
Mental Health Apps
With the increase use of technology, there are now several mental health apps that can help you prioritize your mental health . These apps offer various features such as guided meditations, breathing exercises, sleep improvement, or help you set your own specific goals and give you an opportunity to track your progress.
The most commonly known mental health apps are:
Headspace: Focuses on guided meditation and mindful exercises designed to help users reduce stress, improve focus, and promote better sleep. Additionally, if you have more specific goals such as stress management and anxiety reduction, you’d meditation tailored to those needs.
Calm: This app offers similar resources to “Headspace” as it also has guided meditations and mindful exercises. The main difference is in their type of content such as the way they present sleep stories, calming music or videos.
Happify: Focuses on providing science-based activities (positive psychology) with the purpose of reducing stress and increasing happiness. It helps users manage negative thoughts, increase resilience and improve overall well-being.
As you’ll notice, there are a lot of similarities in those phone applications; the choice comes down to personal preference and what you think would be best suited for you.
Free Resources
Some free resources you can look at include:
Wellness Podcasts
Mental Health Youtube Channels
Online Support Groups
Free Therapy Services at your school/work
I hope you find those tips useful! If you’re interested in reading more, check out the other blogs.
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