WHAT SHOULD I CONSIDER BEFORE MAKING THE
CALL TO A MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL?

• What type of therapy are you interested in? (ie: couples, family, individual, group)

• How long do you expect to be in treatment? (ie: until the crisis is over, upon resolution of a particular issue, for long-term work)

• If you have insurance, do you want to use it?

There are advantages and disadvantages for using insurance for a mental health problem.

ADVANTAGE: The obvious advantage is that sometimes your insurance will pay a percentage of the costs of your sessions.

DISADVANTAGES: However, confidentiality may be compromised by using a third party to pay for treatment. In addition, when using insurance the therapist must often provide the company with a psychiatric diagnosis which ends up following you as part of your medical records. Moreover, the length of treatment is sometimes determined by the insurance company rather than collaboratively by you and your therapist.