Therapist
 

Hi, so I'm seeing a counselor from my university's free counseling service, and it's been 3 session so far. Everything is going great, I really like her, but because it's a free service, I only get 8 sessions max a year, and I can't see her more often than once every 1-1.5months. A part of me feels like this is not frequent enough to truly help me with the issues I want to get through (eating disorder, self harm, depression, etc.), and yet it took me years to make this step, I don't know how I'll ever get the courage to approach a therapist outside of school, not to mention the cost of it. Any suggestions as to what I can do?

Hi
Well done for going to see a university counsellor, thats a great achievement. I understand how 8 sessions would not be enough, my university's counselling servce is the same. Could you try looking for some charities in your area that offer free counselling? I use a SH charity and, although I've only been twice so far, it seems useful and there is no limit on the number of sessions. If you're struggling you could ask your university counsellor to refer you on to someone or at least point you in the right direction. Good luck!

Yeah, my school only does 10 counseling sessions within a year. Anyways, I met with someone for a few weeks at my school before he gave me the phone numbers of a few people who took my insurance. Your counselor should have a good idea of what is available in your area.

Hi, does this counselor have a practice or a referral? I would ask them, tell them your situation. I went to a psychologist she normally charged $100 per session and she did a sliding scale of $25 (or $15 I can't remember)

I went to psychologytoday.com and looked there, I looked for ones with sliding scales and just started emailing them with a brief description (SI, ED, etc)

Most go into it for helping, not the money.

Good luck!