As a society, we’ve made progress destigmatizing mental health services (e.x. #bellletstalk); the American Psychological Association surveyed 1,000 randomly selected Americans and found that 91% said they would consult or recommend a mental health professional if they or a family member were experiencing a problem. What great news!
Why then, as we reduce the stigma, is the usage of mental health services so low? Consider a couple of statistics below:
And it’s not like mental health issues are going away:
It’s a shame, because there’s surprising consensus in the academic community that therapy is effective - the average client receiving psychotherapy is better off than 79% of clients who do not seek treatment.
At Dawn, we believe the low usage is due to cost; as Russ Newman, PhD, JD, APA's executive director for professional practice, puts it "we've made progress in people's attitudes toward getting mental health treatment or seeking it for their loved ones, but cost, lack of insurance and access still can be barriers for people in getting the help they need." In fact, 87 percent of those polled pointed to lack of insurance coverage as a barrier to seeking treatment, and 81 percent pointed to cost concerns.
In an effort to combat affordability issues, we’ve answered some commonly asked questions about pricing and insurance, and are announcing a program that will improve access to affordable counselling.
Per-hour cost of therapy can range from $60 to $250 per hour depending on a number of factors (therapist experience, reputation, length of session, etc.).
Generally speaking, the per-hour cost of therapists by credentials are:
This often leads to the question...
There are two potential options: private and public counselling.
Private - therapists can offer sliding-scale (discounted) counselling. Typically, to be eligible clients need to be without insurance coverage. You can use Dawn’s database of therapists to see if a therapist offer sliding-scale or not.
Public - in major metropolitan areas there are often programs that offer free services. Take Calgary Counselling in Calgary for example. Calgary Counselling offers a pay-what-you-can model, with per-hour cost as low as $6. These public programs are good for brief stints of therapy, but often have long wait times and you may be required to work with a different counsellor each session.
There are three ways to pay for therapy which depend on if you have benefits and if your therapist direct bills insurance:
For your insurance plan, you’ll want to check you (or your partner’s plan) for three things:
The credentials covered vary via insurance company and plan. We highly suggest calling your benefits provider to understand exactly what is covered before booking an appointment. Most plans cover Registered Psychologists and Social Workers, some cover Counsellors.
Benefits plans can provide different levels of coverage: some will cover $400, some up to $3,000.
Some plans have a maximum amount per session (example: max $200 per session). Also, some plans require you to pay a % of the cost (example: 80% coverage).
If you want help understanding your insurance plan, please reach out by filling out an intake.
Dawn’s mission is to make mental health services more accessible. To do that, we’re offering $50 to anyone who is willing to:
We hope this accomplishes three goals:
What are you waiting for? Get started today.
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