HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — May is Mental Health Awareness month and we're digging into some of the ways treatment could be improved in Tampa Bay.
Some therapists are booked out for months, while others have high prices. One woman said finding a therapist feels nearly impossible in the Tampa Bay area.
This is not an isolated issue; many people tell ABC Action News they just want some help but feel like it is a full-time job trying to find a therapist in our area.
Candice Rose lives in Tampa and knows firsthand the roadblocks that come with finding a therapist.
“Being able to just find one and then seeing if they take your insurance and then have your insurance pay for it, but the verification process is insane. Finding someone new and trying to start over is just so hard,” Rose said.
There are a lot of hoops to jump through before actually sitting down in therapy and getting the help needed, that includes finding a therapist in your insurance network.
Elyssa Barbash is the owner of Tampa Therapy. She said, “If you are looking to stay with insurance, that is a challenge.”
Her practice does not accept insurance. Her clients pay out of pocket or have insurance reimburse them.
Most people said finding a therapist in their insurance network is the hardest part. Even if they do, all the pieces have to line up. The therapist needs to accept your insurance, take new clients, work with your schedule, and have experience with the therapy needed.
“I think when it comes to specialists, there's not enough. For more of what we would say general mental health, there's a lot of people going into the field,” Barbash said.
Barbash thinks that’s an issue in the Tampa Bay area that there are not enough therapists that specialize in trauma, PTSD, and eating disorders.
While the need for therapy is high, so is the pricing. Therapy in our area ranges from around $100 to $150 for a session.
Some less expensive options and resources include:
- Searching for a therapist on Psychology today, or the open Path collective,
- Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, which has trauma therapists.
- Call ing 211 to connect with state resources
You can also ask a provider if they offer therapy on a sliding scale or ask if you have an employee assistance program at your place of work.
