Crushed, Disconnected, and Despondent

I agree with Mavet. I am in WI. Between various county, state and government programs I didn't pay for health care for several years. Now that I have some (small) income I do have affordable copays for medication.

I pay about $15/month for coverage and $6/prescription. It is a life saver literally. I doublt I would be alive without the assistance I received for low income people with mental health problems.

BPDnewbie wrote:I am Australian and live in Australia, not sure where the free healthcare system with limitless resources comes in? It's costing me a fortune to see shrinks and system is failing a ridiculous amount of people with mental health. Thank goodness I had lots of money saved so I can afford to see a professional.

Am curious, what state were you living in and where did you seek help? I am looking to get CBT or DBT but can't find much on it in Sydney. But my shrink may be able to tell me more tomorrow.

I was living in Melbourne, Victoria when I was in Australia for the last three years. If I had to pay for therapy during all that time, I could get it refunded with medicare and end up only actually paying 50 dollars out-of-pocket. When I didn't have to pay I was eligible for some kind of government voucher program that based on my needs I qualified for free therapy sessions. I got like 12 free sessions a year and I wasn't even a permanent resident of Australia to qualify for the government program. I don't know what the program itself was called but my local doctor's office could tap into that resource. When I was living in Tasmania there was free counselling at this other place that we found. Also, once I had a better visa, I qualified for medicare and all I needed to do as far as finding a psychiatrist was find a bulk billing psychiatrist. So my psychiatrist visits were free too. I think all up, in the three years I lived in Australia, the most I ever spent on mental health help was probably $250. If that. And that includes being almost hospitalised once. And that's another thing, if you have medicare and things really hit the fan, then you can just go to a public hospital that accepts medicare and be seen at the hospital. And at the hospital there's even more resources given to you to use that are usually free or cheap. I'm finding it hard to find the same kind of resources here in America. I just don't know how to use the system here like I did in Australia.

Thanks for everyone else with their suggestions on what to look for in the States. I'll keep looking.

Hi, I am in the Tacoma area and just started looking for help for the first time. I have never posted on here before but just wanted to say hello and I feel you. I've been doing a lot research looking for places that offer therapy for low income but haven't found much. I did find therapists.psychologytoday.com and emailed a therapist that offers sliding scale. If I find any info that can help you I'll let you know.

Copy and paste this into you browser:
http://www.dshs.wa.gov/dbhr/rsn.shtml
Then click on your county (Thurston County). There are some phone numbers you can call. Tell them you need to see a therapist and don't have insurance. Most people who answer the phone are very helpful and will guide in the right direction. I was told I can talk to someone for an hour for $25. Hope this helps!

Thanks LiveLove! I actually now have health insurance and an amazing therapist. But I hope you find help and that we both get on the road to recovery! Thanks again for taking the time to reply to a really old thread of mine lol.