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It sounds so simple. When you have symptoms of anxiety, depression, disordered eating, trauma, suicidal thoughts, etc., you should seek mental health treatment…right? But it’s not always so simple!
Almost half of the people in the US who show clinically significant signs of mental health issues do not seek treatment. Why not? This isn’t a small number of people, and it isn’t a question that has a single answer. People are blocked from accessing mental health treatment for multiple reasons, and understanding those barriers empowers us to help people move past them and on into a treatment process that helps them heal.
You aren’t alone if you have concerns that hold you back from seeking treatment
As you read this list of barriers to mental health treatment, do you see familiar reasons for not seeking help? We put together this list based on research and experience (AKA you aren’t alone in these concerns), but we want to provide meaningful, practical ways to overcome these barriers.
Not knowing how to get started is a major barrier to mental health treatment. If you have an additional question you don’t see answered here, we welcome you to contact us to ask for more information. We are here for every step of the mental health treatment process, including helping you get past initial roadblocks to accessing treatment. THIRA Health can help answer questions and guide you toward the treatment option that is best for you
What are some common barriers to mental health treatment?
Cost, time, and insurance concerns
Therapy takes time, which you may not feel you have. The cost can also be high enough to be prohibitive, even when you have health insurance. Insurance companies aren’t always helpful in connecting you to practitioners who work for you or programs that fit your time constraints.
Social (and personal) mental health stigma
There are a whole host of incorrect assumptions, stereotypes, and flat-out misinformation about therapy. This negative-leaning misunderstanding of how the mind and therapy work is often called “stigma”. Mental health stigma is all over the media, exists at all levels of society down to our own families, and even from ourselves.
You may feel ashamed for needing help, and angry with yourself for not being able to just “get over it.” You may fear being labeled “crazy” or “unstable”, or you may feel like you don’t belong in therapy with the “crazy people’. You may worry you’ll be judged, ostracized, or punished for seeking help. Rejection hurts even more when your mental health isn’t in a great place, so shame and stigma can be very persuasive barriers.
Cultural stigma is a substantial barrier for some
Some cultures do not consider therapy to be helpful or find it deeply suspicious (sometimes with reason, given the historical treatment of certain races and cultures when it comes to mental health). Some cultures encourage you to only seek help from elders, religious leaders, or through religious observances, or to simply keep quiet about mental health challenges. While it’s a great idea to have a robust support system to help with your mental health, cultural stigma against therapy can prevent you from seeking the help you need.
Mental health symptoms make it hard to reach out
Anxiety, depression, trauma, eating disorders, borderline personality disorder, and more can stop you from reaching out for help with the symptoms, creating a deep need for support, yet the inability to access it.
You may be exhausted, demotivated, frightened, or overwhelmed by the thought of attempting therapy. Negative self-beliefs may feel too true to overcome. You may even resent the idea of changing, even though your mental health is keeping you from a life worth living.
Mental health symptoms may lead you to think that:
- Therapy won’t help this time, since it hasn’t helped before
- Therapy or medication will change who you are in a way you won’t like
- You will fail to follow through on the commitment, or the mental health treatment program will be too hard.
- You’re beyond help
- Therapy will ruin all your relationships
- Treatment will force you to change things you don’t want to change
Not knowing what your options are makes it hard to use them
You may think that taking a pill or lying on a couch and complaining about your mother are the only two options for intensive mental health treatment near you. It’s understandable to be unsure what your options are, as barriers to mental health treatment aren’t just about access. They are also barriers to knowing what’s possible.
What can you do to overcome these barriers to mental healthcare?
You have more autonomy in your choices than you might realize, and when it comes to overcoming barriers to mental healthcare, knowledge is power. Asking questions and learning more are your best options.
Learning more about therapy from people you know and trust can help break down the mental health stigma barrier
It’s highly likely you know someone who has been to therapy. A friend, a coworker, a family member. Starting conversations about therapy can help you find these people if you don’t already know who to talk to. You can learn from them what mental health treatment can really be like. Ask them to help you find a program or therapist, especially if your mental health symptoms are making it hard to access care.
High-quality therapy programs will answer your questions
You can also ask questions of therapy programs, like those at THIRA Health in Bellevue, without committing to participating in the program. Intake teams are staffed with people ready to answer questions and help you understand how therapy can work, how your culture will be respected and your concerns addressed, and what it might be able to do for you.
Additionally, a therapist can answer your questions in session. Asking your therapist about assumptions and stigma you’ve heard or experienced can help you find out the truth. You can also get an idea of whether your therapist is a good fit; a good therapist answers questions (even ones that aren’t pro-therapy) with honesty and without judgment. It’s your therapist’s job to help you learn and grow, and asking questions is a great starting point.
Talking to friends and searching the internet for intensive mental health treatment near you can help you learn more about what’s available
Talk to your friends about the types of therapy they’ve tried and liked. Some therapy programs only use talk therapy, somatic therapy, or a blend. Some incorporate behavioral therapy to help you adjust how you live your life to create greater satisfaction, like dialectical behavior therapy. Some therapy programs incorporate mindful movement and artistic expression alongside DBT, creating a more holistic approach that supports you in multiple ways.
Your best option for learning more about what’s available to you is by searching the internet for “intensive mental health treatment near me” and talking to the intake teams for the therapy practices you find. You can learn more about their programs, like residential, PHP, and IOP, what modalities they use, and gather information on what you need to do to get insurance coverage for therapy. They should be able to explain to you how therapy works in their offices, and can help you choose what’s right for you.
If you’re looking for intensive treatment near Seattle in Washington that is rooted in respect and research, consider connecting with the intake team at THIRA Health. We’d love to hear from you.
