What to Do If You Can’t Afford Therapy: 3 Practical Tips from a Psychotherapist
Therapy is an incredible tool to enhance mental and emotional well-being, but let’s be real—it’s not always affordable for everyone. While nothing can fully replace the support of a trained professional, you can DIY caring for your mental health on your own with good results. Here are three strategies that can help:
Write about it! Try documenting your troubles through journalling. Whether you are a worrier, trying to figure out solutions to problems in your head or you feel physical discomfort due to stress, journaling is an effective way to release emotions. Think of it this way: if you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and brain dump what’s bugging you, it literally leaves your mind and body. You can read it, you can put it away or you can destroy it when you’re done; it doesn’t really matter. The act of journaling gives the stress and emotions a place to go. Problems aren’t solved, but the perspective you gain from journaling will do wonders for your headspace and move you toward solutions.
Open up. You don’t need a therapist’s office to feel heard and supported. Reaching out to friends and family to tell them you’re overwhelmed is therapeutic. Talking things through with someone who listens without judgment can ease anxiety and help you feel less alone. Be honest about what you need—sometimes, a good listener makes a huge difference.
Look for affordable support: There are more affordable or free mental health resources available than ever before:
Apps like Insight Timer, Calm, or CBT-based apps offer tools for managing stress and anxiety.
Podcasts and YouTube channels from licensed professionals can offer guidance on managing emotions and building healthy habits.
Support groups offer shared experiences and community support and are often free or at a lower cost than individual therapy.
Low Cost Therapy is offered by many therapy practices to provide internship opportunities for therapists in training. This gives you access to free or lower cost services by a qualifying therapist who is working toward full licensure while being supervised by a senior clinician.
You deserve support—whether that’s through professional help, personal practices, or community connection. Contact us to learn more about these options or to book with one of our interns or to hear about the low-cost services we have planned for this spring.