What to do When You Need Help, Where to Go, and Terms to Know
May 16th - May 20th
When living with a mental health condition or facing a mental health concern, it’s common to feel like no one understands what you’re going through. But many people overcome the mental health challenges they face. You aren’t alone – help is out there, and recovery is possible.
When you’ve decided to seek help, knowing what resources are available and where to start can be tricky. Use this decision map to help you figure out your options. If you don’t find help where a path ends, try any of the resources in the gold boxes.
If you’re thinking about addressing your mental health for the first time, you may come across words that seem simple but you aren’t exactly sure what they mean. Here is a list of terms used throughout the 2022 “Back to Basics” Mental Health Month Toolkit.
Options For People Without Insurance:
Ask therapists about their sliding-scale payment options. Get started by visiting mhanational.org/finding-therapy.
Look into local colleges or universities for an outpatient psychology program. Do a Google search for "outpatient psychology program" followed by the name of a nearby school, or search for "university hospitals" followed by your town or state if you don't know of specific colleges.
Group therapy generally costs about a third of the price of an individual session – a local community center should be able to guide you to a group that fits your needs. Check out your state's Department of Behavioral Health website or this directory of peer-run services at cdsdirectory.org.
Reach out to local nonprofits or resource centers – locate the MHA affiliate near you at mhanational.org/find-affiliate.