by KC Kelly, Ph.D., LMHC

http://DOCintheBiz.com

I was speaking to a man online the other day who was asking me all kinds of questions about how to manage his depression. This was in a public forum. I asked him if he was receiving professional help and he told me, “No, I will manage it on my own. I don’t want to pay for it.” This immediately made me begin to write an article to answer the question: Why should you pay for Counseling or therapy?

It upsets me so to hear so many people say that they will “manage by themselves”. So many people suffer for YEARS with undiagnosed depression or anxiety disorders and just never get the help they need for a variety of reasons. Many are discussed in my article entitled:

The Affordability of On-Line Psychotherapy

I do understand many of the reasons people don’t get the help they need so desperately, but it saddens me to think of them never having the quality of life they want or deserve. Certainly, you can get some help in online forums, discussions or support groups, but I don’t think that it can be quite as powerful as one on one help either online or face to face with a true professional. Online therapy just extends to the client, convenience, higher confidentiality and better affordability.

When I talk about getting help, I’m not by ANY means saying one should use MY services, although I never dismiss that as a possibility. I’m not here to plug my assistance, but I am here to urge geting SOME kind of help. There are free clinics in almost every community, universities often offer sliding scale fees or even free services, and sometimes religious mentors are available to help in some way.

When people tell me they are not going to get help, I often give the same response: If you had a heart condition or something similar, wouldn’t you go to the doctor for that? Why isn’t your mental health not worth the same?

When clinics, or even I charge just a small fee for services, I think this is a GREAT thing to do! The number one most important reason I feel it is so important to charge for service is that I feel if someone is paying at least a minimal amount for something, they will want their “monies worth,” and will most likely put in the effort needed to make change. How many times has one said, “Well, it’s free, so what the hell, I’ll take it, do it, eat it?” But what have they invested to get the very best out of the service or product?

Most people (not all) are very attached to their money. So, when someone pays money for a service such as counseling or psychotherapy, this gives them ownership of their issues and a sense, of “I want to get the most out of this.”

So, again, when it comes to getting help for emotional or mental issues, please don’t put it off. You don’t have to use my services, but I care enough to write an article attempting to persuade people to get some kind of help. You don’t have to feel so badly. You don’t have to feel hopeless. YOU’RE WORTH IT and you MUST believe that!

I hope this article shared some good insight into the question: Why Should You Pay for Counseling or Therapy?

Please visit me at http://DOCintheBiz.com for mental health self help links and the opportunity to email me for professional and confidential help with any concerns you may have. You are never alone!

Dr. KC
http://DOCintheBiz.com

This article is copyrighted by docinthebiz.com and may be respectfully re-distributed for non-commercial educational purposes granted that website link and author credit remain intact.