Mental health therapy in the United States is expensive. According to a 2024 study that analyzed over 175,000 psychotherapy providers, the average cost of a therapy session was $143.26 for those paying cash without insurance coverage. Unfortunately, the high costs of mental health services and support can prevent many people from getting the help they need. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), nearly half of Americans with mental health needs go without treatment. To help others, a teacher on Reddit making a “teacher salary” with “teacher mental health needs” shared the affordable mental health resources they discovered to help them stay well on a small budget after “refusing to pay $175/hour.” @therapydebbie #therapy #finance ♬ original sound – Debbie | NYC Therapist “Spent a summer researching what actually exists between ‘expensive therapy’ and ‘suffer alone.’ More options than I expected,” they wrote. They found several mental health services that were both free and low-cost. “Total: under $100/month for real, human support,” they added, noting that they receive monthly therapy at a community health clinic for $35, peer support calls between sessions for about $50 per month, and a free NAMI support group twice monthly. “It’s not perfect. I’d love weekly therapy with a specialist,” they shared. “But this is sustainable on my salary and it’s genuinely helping.” These are some of the helpful resources they found, along with additional suggestions from frugal Redditors who shared how they afford mental health services. Free mental health resources Warmlines According to the site, “Warmlines (also known as peer support warmlines or peer-operated behavioral health warmlines) are phone, chat, or text lines that provide empathetic listening and peer support to individuals who may be experiencing distress or loneliness, or those seeking validation from a peer with lived experience who identifies with their concerns and can offer a confidential and non-judgmental space for connection and self-directed exploration of possible solutions and alternatives.” Support groups The teacher noted that they use NAMI support groups, online and in-person, twice a month. Another Redditor shared: “I just want to add that there are many other free support groups as well: Sharewell, HeyPeers, Depressed Anonymous, Emotions Anonymous, The Tribe, SMART Recovery (if addictions to anything are part of the problem), etc.” 7 Cups 7 Cups is an online therapy resource. The teacher explained that, in their experience, “quality varies, but it’s free.” Library books The teacher shared that CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) books available for free through their local library are “surprisingly helpful.” Another Redditor noted, “a lot of public libraries now offer free access to meditation and mental health apps through their digital services. My library gives free Headspace access and also has Libby for audiobooks — there’s a surprising amount of good CBT and mindfulness stuff in audiobook form that you can just listen to on a walk.” Mental health workbooks A fellow Redditor shared a link to Mental Health at Home, a free resource for mental health workbooks. “I’d like to add a fairly large collection of free therapy workbooks,” they wrote. VA mental health services The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs offers veterans a number of options for free mental health support. “In the USA if you are a military veteran who served in a combat zone, you can go to a Vet Center and get mental health support for as long as you need it,” another Redditor shared. “For me that will be for the rest of my life. Not just for people who served in a combat zone, several other qualifiers– drone operators, Coast Guard drug patrols, military sexual trauma, and a few other I can’t remember. Call and ask and they will tell you. It saved my life.” Apps Redditors also shared their favorite free mental health apps. “Chiming in with my favorite free resource: freeCBT app on iOS and Android. parts of CBT are so formulaic it can literally be a … form,” one explained. “Anyway this has definitely helped me when I remember to use it.” Another shared: “There is also a free [mindfulness meditation] app by UCLA called Mindful worth looking into, to at least help ppl get started.” @evan.the.counselor Top 2 Recommendations for Affordable Support #mentalhealth #addiction #aa #recovery ♬ original sound – Evan the Counselor Low-cost mental health resources There are also a number of “cheaper” mental health resources available: Community mental health centers The teacher noted that these offer a “sliding scale based on income.” Open Path Collective The teacher noted that Open Path Collective can also help you find affordable therapists through its membership-based model. University training clinics Some local universities offer low-cost services through training clinics. The teacher shared that you may be able to find affordable care, noting that in their experience they found help for “$20-50 with supervised grad students.” One Redditor also shared that this helped them: “The university training clinic tip is gold. I did therapy there for a year, paid $25/session, and the grad student I worked with was excellent. They’re motivated and current on research.” Another Redditor added that they were “also seconding the university training clinic tip. The grad students are usually way more up-to-date on current research than some private practice therapists who haven’t read a new paper in 15 years. And they’re supervised by licensed clinicians so it’s not like you’re getting unqualified help.” The post Teacher ‘refusing to pay $175/hour’ for therapy shares the no-cost mental health resources they use instead appeared first on Upworthy.