Many people agree that happiness is the single most important thing in our lives. Yet, when it comes down to it, some of the same people might be unwilling to invest financially in their own happiness. Of course, money is also an important aspect of our lives that can play a role in our happiness.

Therapy is a tool that’s designed to help you be happier and healthier. It can set you up for long-term success. When people choose not to attend therapy because of the cost, it could be because they don’t understand the value of therapy. In Advekit (in select cities) provides a unique feature that allows you to enter your insurance in real-time and only pay what you owe. Additionally, Advekit bills on your behalf and you don’t need to wait for reimbursement.

How Much Does Therapy Cost?

Before we can get to why therapy is worth the cost, we need to know how much money therapy costs. The truth is, the cost of therapy ranges depending on a number of factors. In general, a person should expect to pay somewhere between $50 and $250 dollars for an hour of therapy.

Some of the factors that affect how much therapy costs include:

• The therapist’s qualifications. Therapists that have more schooling, training, and experience tend to charge more than therapists who have completed the bare minimum of training to become certified.
• Location. Like other items, such as gas and food, therapy tends to be more expensive in areas where the cost of living is higher.
• Reputation. Qualifications aren’t everything. A therapist’s reputation is also very important and can drive up the price if they are known to be very good at what they do. Therapy is a service and like a good mechanic, people will pay more for higher quality care.
• Length and frequency of therapy sessions. Of course, more therapy means more money. The longer your sessions are and the more you see your therapist, the more it will cost. The standard duration of a therapy session is anywhere between one hour and 90 minutes. Most patients meet their therapists on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.
• Specialization. Not all therapy is the same. Some forms of therapy use very specific techniques or target specific disorders that require a lot of experience and specialization to treat. These specialized forms of therapy may be more expensive than others. Examples include couples therapy and therapy for eating disorders.

Is it Possible to Pay For Therapy With Health Insurance?

Many insurance plans include coverage for mental healthcare--in some cases both In-Network and Out-of-Network benefits. Thanks to recent changes in the law, if you have a health insurance plan, it likely covers some therapy in some way. There are different therapy insurance coverage options available, so you need to check on the specifics of your plan to see what the criteria are to get covered. Some plans might require you to have a mental health diagnosis in order to get therapy covered. Most still have a co-pay even if therapy is covered. Using insurance for therapy sessions is a wise choice if you’re in need of treatment for anxiety, depression, or any other mental health issues.

If you don’t have insurance and you’re struggling to pay for therapy on your own, you might be eligible for state or federally-funded healthcare. Because of the Affordable Care Act, all of these plans are required to provide mental health coverage.

Is Therapy Worth It?

We feel that therapy is absolutely worth the cost. While the price might seem high, consider the fact that you’re making an investment that could help you to solve the issues you’re dealing with and give you the tools you need to continue to make good choices in the future. If you’re not convinced, consider the following benefits of therapy and counseling when you are asking yourself, “is therapy worth it?”

Healthy Ways to Cope With Life’s Issues

You may have heard the phrase, “life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it.” While it may seem a bit cliché, life throws unexpected and difficult things our way all the time. It’s up to you how you’re going to react to these events, and it’s not always easy.

Your success and happiness are determined by how well you’re able to cope with stressful events. Therapy is a great way to learn new ways of coping with what life presents to us. Therapy not only helps us to deal with whatever we are going through right now, but also gives us valuable tools for dealing with the inevitable stresses of the future. When you make the investment in therapy, it gives you the support you need now as well as in the future.

Processing Trauma and Grief

There are some things that we are simply not equipped to handle on our own. Past traumas and unexpected deaths are difficult events to process. When pushed down or left unsettled, the feelings that arise from these events can lead to psychological issues, including disorders such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Many therapy techniques are specifically designed to process trauma and grief.

The goal of therapy is usually to minimize the amount of negative impact that grief and trauma have on your life. This can be done in many different ways and it largely depends on the specifics of your situation. Trauma and grief are capable of altering the way that people think, feel, and act, so going to therapy to process their emotions appropriately is important.

In the case of using therapy as a tool to help process difficult life events, therapy is certainly worth it. This is because choosing to not go to therapy after suffering a loss or traumatic event could mean serious harm to your mental fitness. No one should have to suffer alone. A mental health professional can provide the guidance and assistance needed to help improve your happiness. 

Improving Relationships

Relationships are tough. Our bonds with other people are often one of the aspects of life we value most, but that value is rarely reflected in the amount of work we are willing to put in when relationships get difficult. Therapy is a fantastic tool to help you relate more skilfully and lovingly with the people that matter most. It can even help you to manage less personal relationships, like those with your coworkers.

When you attend therapy to work on your relationships, you’re making an investment in that area of your life. But in order for you to get the benefit of improved relationships from therapy, you don’t need to attend with that specific purpose in mind. It’s likely that no matter what your reason for going to therapy is, you’ll find that you become better at relating to others throughout the process. A fundamental part of being happy is relating well with others, so it’s highly likely that this topic of your relationships will come up at some point in your therapeutic process.

Help Achieving Goals

One of the best things that therapy can do for us is to give us practical help in achieving our goals. Part of the way that your therapist can help you to do this is by teaching you how to set realistic goals. From here, they’ll work with you on the specifics of how to achieve your goals. This work often has a focus on what stands between you and your goals, including your own limiting beliefs and negative self-talk. By overcoming the factors that keep a wall in between you and your dreams, you will find that you can accomplish more than you ever thought possible.

An Impossible Service to Quantify

Even once you’ve found the answers to the practical questions like “how much does therapy cost?”’ and you’ve gone through some of the ways that therapy can benefit you, it’s pretty difficult to put a monetary value on what you’ll gain from this service. Therapy helps you to be a happier person - that’s the overall goal, at least.

That said, it’s a good idea to be prepared for the cost of therapy and have a plan in place to pay for it. The last thing you want is to negate the benefits of therapy by adding financial stress to your life trying to pay for it. If you can afford it, therapy is one of the best investments you can make. Learn more and find the right match for a therapist on Advekit.

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Sources

https://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/therapy

https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/understanding-psychotherapy

https://psychcentral.com/blog/benefits-of-therapy-you-probably-didnt-know-about/