Is therapy worth it? Seven personal stories about the price of mental health

As depression grows among Americans, therapy – and its associated financial costs – has also become increasingly common. Seven young professionals share their stories and discuss whether counseling was worth it for them

The price of mental health: ‘Why do I need to pay someone to listen to me?’

Matt, a 23-year-old New Yorker, recently started going to therapy again. Yet if he had to chose between it and smoking, drinking or eating, he would give it up

The price of mental health: ‘I’d rather be sad’

After a childhood filled with periods of intense therapy, Alex, a 27-year-old New Yorker with a career in theatre, doesn’t expect to go backIs therapy worth it?

Is therapy worth the cost? ‘I just can’t afford to go’

AK, a 27-year-old who lives in New Jersey, was in therapy on and off until a year ago, when she aged out of her mom’s insurance

The price of mental health: ‘therapy is not a magic wand’

Jenn, a 26-year-old New Yorker who goes to therapy every week, first asked her parents for therapy in high school

The price of mental health: therapy was ‘the best chance I had of feeling OK’

JE, a 29-year-old waitress in New York diagnosed with manic depression, says that, thanks to regular therapy, she is ‘in a really stable place’

Is therapy worth the cost? ‘At its best, it’s paying for a friend’

John, a 27-year-old New Yorker, started going to therapy after a painful heartbreak and says he found it ‘vital’ to working through his feelings

Is therapy worth the cost? ‘I got what I needed’

Eve, a 33-year-old New Yorker, spent almost a year in therapy before she got up the courage to leave her job. ‘Mostly she made me talk it out’

Dr Faith Spicer obituary

Other lives: Psychiatrist who developed support services for adolescents

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I left the voluntary sector completely exhausted, burnt-out and questioning why I had ever gone into it. More must be done to support staff