I’m finally ready to start therapy and they informed me that the therapist sessions are 100-150 dollars per one session and there is no way I can afford that. My mom said that she would help, but she constantly talks about money and how much I need to save, and I feel guilty for causing an extra amount of expense that she doesn’t need.
For those who want to ask about insurance- insurance in Korea does not cover most of mental health services. You have to pay out of pocket for psych stuff. National healthcare, however, covers 50% ish of my psych outpatient visits and also my meds are affordable. Again, there are downsides to all healthcare systems.
I get an allowance of 100 dollars per month, but if I pay all of that for therapy, I can’t buy food at school.
I might ask my mom for help but I know that I would feel super guilty.
So again, I’m stuck in my treatment journey I guess.
That’s really incredible about Korea. Here in the USA we have a lot of crime and often these days it’s a person who has a machine gun and shoots many people in public, so the government keeps saying, “we need to spend more money on mental health”, but funding gets cut even more every few years. Fifty years ago there were many mental institutions all over the place and now almost every one has been shut down with almost no alternative living situation. But my insurance pays for the occasional 10 day hospitalization, my medicine, therapist, psychiatrist, and a GP( general practitioner doctor ). But my psychiatrist has 100 clients. I see her usually once a month. It wasn’t a matter of wanting mental health care but having it imposed upon me. My psychiatrist can tell the government any day I should work if she really believes I can. I don’t like her having power over me but I’m not worried. I’m 52 and haven’t worked since I had a volunteer job at age 28, I don’t see how I could do it?
In the US, for people who don’t have insurance, there’s quite a lot of places you can go to with a sliding fee scale where you prove your income and the cost of your therapy sessions are based on your income and ability to pay. Look for it in your country just in case. Call around too. Some people might be able to direct you to places like that.