[MirandaL]

I´m in a quite difficult situation as I don´t know if I should stay in or leave the therapy I´ve been in for some months. I got into therapy and met a therapist that I profoundly like and I´m convinced that she can help me heal and get through my problems.

As my insurance won´t pay any longer I have to finance the therapy myself and as I live on welfare there is no chance that I can pay out of my own pocket, neither does the therapist offer free therapy or a sliding scale fee.

The therapist herself confirmes that we have a very good alliance and she wants me to continue in therapy. Don´t advice me to ask her for free therapy, that´s out of the question as it´s not her policy to do so.

At the moment I have money for approximately another six months in therapy and perhaps I will be able to get more money through charity, that is seeking money from welfare organisations. But I don´t know today if I will be granted any more money. The treatment time is at least twice that time.

I may have the opportunity to seek therapy through public health care but the chances to get the therapy I need (a year or more) and not just a few sessions is small. (Living outside the US).

Perhaps I will get access to free therapy but then I won´t be able to choose therapist as freely as I need and first and foremost I don´t know if I will meet a therapist that I can work with in such a good way as with the therapist I´m with at the moment. The time you have to wait to get to see a therapist is also often quite long.

So, how would you advice me? Should I stay with the therapist I´m working with at the moment and take a chance on that I will get more money during the six months? Or should I leave now and try to get into therapy through public health care?

I weigh in such things that me and my therapist already got quite far, the fact that I will compare a prospect therapist with the one I already see. I also weigh in the risk around continuing with my therapist and perhaps having to terminate the therapy prematurely because of money in about six months.

Really appreciate your advice and perspectives in this matter.

[Leah123]

Could you see her less often, like every two weeks, so your money would last one year? Then you could use the off days to do homework she could give you- practicing things, journaling, etc.

[MirandaL]

Leah123: No, this is not an option as the therapy is based on one meeting a week.

[SnakeCharmer]

I know what I'd do. It might not be the best thing for you, but I'm fairly certain that if I had really connected with the T I had and if I was making significant progress already, I'd stick with it for another six months, even if it didn't seem like a long enough time. It's hard to find someone you click with. When you do, it's important not to leave prematurely just because you may not be able to spend the optimal time together due to finances.

I'd make sure the T knew the state of my finances and I'd work with him or her to develop a treatment plan that would maximize my chances of improvement within six months. That might mean I'd do homework and workbooks and I'm sure it would mean that I'd work extra hard, making sure that I always did my fair share in and out of therapy to work toward getting better.

If I still needed more help at the end of the six months, and if no further financing was forthcoming, I'd then avail myself of whatever public services I could find. I'd ask my T if she'd write a letter to the new T or maybe talk to them on the telephone to discuss the kind of work we'd done together and to suggest areas where I still needed help.

I know I'd do that because I actually have done that and it worked out well. I wish you the best.

[Leah123]

Originally Posted by MirandaL

Leah123: No, this is not an option as the therapy is based on one meeting a week.

Do you mean you do not want to change or she refuses to allow it? Or something else?

[HazelGirl]

Even if you don't think it's an option, it can't hurt to ask (if you haven't already done so). It may not be the T's policy, but they can and sometimes do make exceptions to the rule, especially for established clients.

[MirandaL]

Leah123: It´s important for the kind of therapy I´m in that I go into sessions once a week and a lot would be lost if I had to wait for two weeks between every session.

Anyone else who has comments on how to do?

[MirandaL]

Hazelgirl: I don´t want to get into exactly why and how I know free therapy is not an option but that´s the way it is.

Welcoming more perspectives in this matter.

[MirandaL]

Snakecharmer: Thanks for sharing your story around this. It feels good that someone else has taken the step to actually take the chance to stay in therapy although a hard financial situation. How did you solve your need for therapy when you got to the point were you weren´t able to pay?

I´m still hesitating on how to do for myself but appreciate all kinds of perspectives from others in similar situations.

Hei Miranda. I'm sorry to hear you're in this situation. It sounds really tough. I wish I knew anything about how the Norwegian health care system works, but I can offer my own experience from Sweden: I went to a psychiatrist to discuss my antidepressants, and found out that he also offerend psychotherapy. I was paying out of pocket for therapy at that point, but I was not getting much help, the therapist and I were not a good match, and it was rather expensive. So I asked my psychiatrist if he would take me on as a therapy client, and he did. Thus, I'm now getting therapy which is paid by the public health care system, with a very good therapist who is helping me a lot; I see him twice a week and have been seeing him for over two years. The drawback is of course that he gets a long summer holiday, since he is a public employee.

My point here is that people who work in the public health care system can be very good, and you could be lucky - we have long queues for health care in general, but a therapist in private practice who has an agreement with the county (samverkansavtal is the Swedish term - I don't know whether you have similar things in Norway) can often have much shorter waiting times.

It does suck to have to leave a therapist you work well with. I really understand that. But just as it is with romantic relationships, there is not just the one therapist who will fit you, and I think it might be worth a lot not to have to worry about the financial side of things.

[SnakeCharmer]

Miranda, when I was in a similar situation, I found I had made faster progress than was anticipated, largely because I practiced what I learned between sessions. When it came time to move on, I had a similar experience to what Matodon described.

I found very good people were available to me, even if their offices were in old public buildings that showed a lot of wear and tear. The people were good. The buildings didn't matter.

Interestingly, I was introduced to new techniques. At first, I wanted to resist. I wanted to continue doing exactly what I had been doing. But as soon as I stopped resisting, I found the different approach opened up some new doors of understanding and I am glad it worked out the way it did.

[PeeJay]

What about the option of trying to make more money? Can you ask for a raise at work, take on freelance work, or apply for a promotion?

[Victoria'smom]

Here is what I'd do. Get your name into the public waiting list now so you'll have your therapist while you wait.