Getting Through This Without Therapy

[Bragado Jansing]

Hey everyone,

After having several bad experiences, I finally decided to try seeing a therapist again today. Unfortunately, after calling nearly all the trauma therapists in the NYC area, either none of them have any openings, or they charge at least $300 per session, no sliding scale.

So it looks like I won't be able to get treatment in the near future. I also have to manage my symptoms while I apply for jobs because I don't want to end up on the good ol' streets.

Does anyone have any tips or advice as far as the mentality I should have going into this? I'm starting to pull myself out OK enough to be stable, but I'm still in a really bad place... there's simply no professional help available.

Thanks!

 

[Stickler]

https://therapysafetynet.org/resources/additional-resources-uninsured/

???

 

[Bragado Jansing]

Thank you. This would be an awesome resource for me, except one point. I moved out of NYC to NJ for a job that turned really bad, so now I'm stranded in New Jersey without a car. I'm right outside NYC, but unfortunately I am no longer a resident. New Jersey is inaccessible to me right now, so NYC is my only option.

Yup, I'm in some real crap here. Oh wait, there are some places I haven't called on that list. I'll give those a shot. Thanks again.

 

[Stickler]

Link Removed

Maybe?

 

[theshadowoftheliving]

If you are unemployed/uninsured, Medicare should cover you. You can apply anytime/even outside the open enrollment period. And, therapy is free.

 

[Suzetig]

If you can't get a trauma therapist specifically I'd look for a more general therapist to give support to help you become/remain functional. I had some good success with a CBT therapist who managed to keep me in work long before I was in a place to address my trauma. There may be space with someone less specialist.

 

[Sideways]

Agree totally with what @Suzetig said.

Ptsd symptoms can overlap a lot with both depression and anxiety. Generalised therapists are often well equipped to help you get stable and functional and assist with your general well-being. The bulk of my therapy has been from those who don't specialise in ptsd, and while they didn't try and help me process the trauma (outside their area), they still helped me immensely and I still use tools and strategies I learned from them every day just to cope.

 

[Elevatorguy]

Hey everyone,

After having several bad experiences, I finally decided to try seeing a therapi...

Some therapist are available through Skype for a lot less

 

[joeylittle]

Unfortunately, after calling nearly all the trauma therapists in the NYC area, either none of them have any openings, or they charge at least $300 per session, no sliding scale.

No way. What was your resource list?

Also, you really need to check the major NYC hospitals for mental health studies - many have nothing to do with medication, they have to do with cognitive skills, and you basically are getting therapy completely free - sometimes paid. You can also search for them on clinicaltrials.gov Mt. Sinai has a large research wing, I believe Columbia does also.

New Jersey is inaccessible to me right now

Train? I know NJ transit can be a drag, but it's a pretty big system, plus amtrak. I know you must know this, just am challenging your assumptions.

Zipcar?

Since you are unemployed - is that right? - can you consider moving to a cheaper/more accessible area? Because, yes, you are in the hardest place to find a therapist if you are uninsured; things get easier elsewhere on the East Coast.

If you are unemployed/uninsured, Medicare should cover you. You can apply anytime/even outside the open enrollment period. And, therapy is free.

Also, this.

Finally - get onto any wait lists that you can. Doesn't matter if you go onto 30, 40 - they do come through.

 

[Bragado Jansing]

Thanks for the good ideas and advice everyone.

My next phase is calling up general CBT therapists. If they can help me keep my head above water that's better than nothing. I called about 15 therapists/organizations today under the "trauma" phase of the search. Most of them didn't seem particularly qualified to deal with my issues. One therapist seemed a little iffy. One seemed outright abusive, like my last therapist, and it made me feel pretty nasty for a few minutes once I got off the phone, but I handled alright. I'm at least wiser now than I was before.

I have an appointment next week with a cognitive processing therapy specialist, but she seems pretty green, so I'm not sure how one deals with trauma without heavy professional and life experience (though I'm making an assumption here based on her CV). None of the therapists were able to grasp where I was coming from, which I guess is expected due to the weird stuff I'm dealing with... I guess it's not something you can understand based on past experiences or coursework.

I think I'm going to take a break tomorrow and focus on other responsibilities, then get back into it the day after. I'm on a waiting list now with an organization that seems pretty professional, so we'll see. As far as money goes, I have a years worth of expenses saved up, and a pretty solid resume, so I don't even know why I'm freaking out. Guess that's part of the fun of this.

 

[theshadowoftheliving]

Keep at it. I can sympathize with the disaster that navigating insurance/no insurance/changing insurance can be. As a result, I'm looking at my fourth therapist in a little over a year. All the change sucks. I've also not tried to process any trauma at all after the first one sank me into it so fast that I almost killed myself .... All the rest of the therapy has been focused on keeping me alive so I can eventually start to process the trauma.

But the result of all the changes and difficulties? I worked with therapists on getting all the pieces of my life together ... Employment, insurance, a primary care doctor, and now, I'm working on finding a really good trauma specialist that I will be able to stay with long term.

Long roundabout way of saying: a non trauma specialist that will help you with life is better than drowning. The first stage of trauma treatment is stabilization, anyways, so you would just be getting a head start on that part.

Be wary of studies, though .... They can be great. They can be horrible. They can have an agenda. Just read the fine print and know what you are getting yourself into.

 

[Whyteferret]

Thanks for the good ideas and advice everyone.

My next phase is calling up general CBT therapi...

@Bragado Jansing
CBT is an evidenced based practice for PTSD because it deals with thoughts and behavior. A good therapist can use the techinique for a variety of issues. most therapists will have at least some background in PTSD because of required continuing education units for license. It doesn't make them specialists but at least have a base knowledge,

Ask the therapist if they are confortable treating PTSD.