[Miracle1986]

Has anyone ever had a therapist that works on sliding scale?
Are they any good? Are they any different from a regular therapist?
Do they even exist? I have never found one.
Does anyone know how to go about finding therapists in my state (Ga, USA) who work on a sliding scale?
I have no health insurance and don't work. My husband is currently out of work, and the only income I/we have is my social
security check once a month and that is only like $330 and we have other bills we have to pay, but I really really need a therapist!!!!

[Rapunzel]

It all depends on the therapist. Therapists who work on a sliding scale are often the same ones who also take insurance and charge full rate to those who are able to pay the full rate.

You might start by looking up your local community mental health center, and ask if they can help you or provide a referral. Choosing a therapist from the phone book isn't ideal, but might also give you a place to start. I have established contacts and gotten to know therapists from the phone book when I was making referrals for kids and families that I worked with. You could also ask for referrals from medical doctors, schools, teachers, any community agencies, churches, etc.

Another option is to try a university clinic. It will either be free or low-cost. You would work with a student in training, but we all have to start somewhere. Students are always supervised by experienced and qualified therapists, so you would benefit from the supervisor's expertise too - almost like having two therapists.

[ECHOES]

Yes I have used T's at community mental health centers. My first, and only, pdoc was from one and I adored him

my t is a psychologist and she is seeing me on a sliding scale as i can't work currently. she's excellent. i've had other sliding scale ts (interns) in the past that were ok but not great. both psych central and psychology today have functions to search for a t in your area and they indicate if the t has a sliding scale on their online profile.

[Capp]

Manda,
My daughter is currently seeing a therapist through the community Health Services. She pays a $2 copay per visit, but was told it could be waived if necessary.
I also live in GA...perhaps the same service would be available where you live.

Her therapist is experienced, sensitive, and has helped her so very much. My daughter left a domestic violence situation so she has difficult things to work through.

My very best wishes,
Cap

[madisgram]

manda you may also qualify for medicaid assistance or ssi. i would look into this in ga. having lived there at one time they are not the most helpful state for helping those in need but i do believe you may find some assistance based on your income and hubby not working. some teaching universities have a sliding scale in their psychology dept. i am not sure of your location but i'd look into this too.
i was in a smilar situation many years ago and went thru the county where i lived. it got me thru a very rough spot when i really needed help. i hope things work out for you and let us know how this goes, will u? we care about u, manda.

[sittingatwatersedge]

My T works for the Village of St Joseph, which is a program run by Catholic Charities across the US.
BTW, to go through them one does not have to be a Catholic, and there is no pressure in that area at all. Where I am, they have one LPC and one MCSW (sp?); other areas I don't know.
Fee is based on a % of income but they certainly take other factors into consideration. for example, when my DH was laid off they did cut my fee in half.
I know someone in TX who is starting T through the VSJ and has very little income, they set a fee of $10 per session.

please come back and let us know that you find someone

[Berries]

[quote=Manda86;958789]Has anyone ever had a therapist that works on sliding scale?
Are they any good? Are they any different from a regular therapist?
Do they even exist? I have never found one.
Does anyone know how to go about finding therapists in my state (Ga, USA) who work on a sliding scale?
I have no health insurance and don't work. My husband is currently out of work, and the only income I/we have is my social
security check once a month and that is only like $330 and we have other

On psyche central home page upper right hand corner, click on look for therapists, then on that link, click on advanced search. put in your zip code. click on the issues you have. it will give you names and profiles of Ts with those particular specialties and what insurance they take and whether or not they do sliding scales.
Most Ts feel a moral and ethical obligation to have a certain number of sliding scale patients in their practice. And treat them just the same as their "regular paying customers!!" LOL
PS But I emphasize—“a certain number” they usually have a quota as to how many sliding scale patients they allow themselves and an absolute limit as far as how much they can slide their fee down.
They have to eat too. Ya know? LOL

[ECHOES]

I replied previously but I would like to include this also.

I found my current T by searching for the psychoanalytic institute nearest to where I live. I contacted the institute to see if they offered therapy there. Some do, but this one didn't. I then asked for a referral to someone in my community who was a candidate at the institute. A candidate is someone who is already a therapist and is training in analysis. I was fortunate that they had someone for me to contact and she is now my T She has been a therapist for 20+ years. She reduced her regular fee by a little over 20%. When I decided to add a session, she reduced fee for the 2nd session of the week.

Some universities also offer services at the university. One near where I am offers services to the public for $10.

Some ideas to consider. Good luck to you!

A friend of mine is taking her son to a VERY good therapist who is seeing him for only $10 a session (reduced from $100). My friend explained her situation and the therapist chose to see her son at the reduced rate.

it doesn't hurt to ask

[Miracle1986]

Originally Posted by madisgram

manda you may also qualify for medicaid assistance or ssi.

I am currently getting SSI. That is the $330/month I referred to in my first post. As far as Medicaid, I qualify for that too, but only during months my husband doesn't get a certain amount of money (he is an Army Reservist and before he was laid-off, he was getting paid every week, plus he was paid for his Army drill once a month. All of that combined was too much income to qualify me for Medicaid. But since he is not currently working, I should qualify, it's just a matter of letting my case worker know that he was laid off. I did this like 2 weeks ago, and I still haven't heard anything back. Grrr....

[ECHOES]

http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz...hoanalysis.jsp

There is a mention in here about contacting psychoanalytic schools to find a therapist who charges on a sliding scale.