Why is it so hard to get good therapy?

Therapy is too hard to get. A lot of therapists don't accept your insurance. Or they aren't taking new patients. It's also difficult to know what type of therapist is right for you. For this to change, we have to rethink what it means to get mental health care.

Topics Discussed:
* mental health
* mental illness
* psychotherapy

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THE PSYCH SHOW! Making psychology fun and easy to understand. Produced, written, and edited by clinical psychologist Ali Mattu, Ph.D. All videos are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute clinical advice.

If you or someone you know needs help immediately, you should take one of the following actions:
- go to your nearest hospital emergency room

[drali]

I want us to build a community that will lift each other up and celebrate mental health together. Let’s get started. What topic do you want me to tackle next?

[summahthevegan]

Found your channel through the Buzzfeed Psych reacts to movies thing and I just wanted to say to you that I have SO MUCH RESPECT FOR YOU!!! Seriously! THANK YOU for doing what you do.
You saw a need that wasn't being met and decided to do something about it.
I really LOVE when people don't just point out the problem but become a part of the solution.
Also did you know that your ads are all respectfully relayed mental health ads? Bc if you made that happen that's great.

[aqueerian]

Story time...lol.
I did my undergrad and specialised in Psychology because I wanted to help people and make the world a better place. Then I volunteered as a social worker at the national hospital in my country and did I feel helpless. By the end of the three months I had learnt that it would take breaking myself into many other selves before I could get to everyone. I admired my supervisors who were so open and willing to teach me and patiently answered my questions which bordered on nagging.
It's really amazing seeing it broken down like this. Channels like School of Life and Academy of Ideas have helped me navigate through life. Now yours is on that list.

I've since moved on to other things but what I know is that I want to go into the advocacy side of things. So pushing for policies that make the work of social workers, psychologists and counsellors a little easier. Not yet sure how...but I'm figuring it out.

[winnygallagher]

Finding a psychologist or therapist is hard, but in my experience, finding a psychiatrist is even harder.

Physicians won't prescribe mental health meds, and psychologists and therapists cant.

It took me 2 years to find a psychiatrist to prescribe my meds, and I was only able to do so when I switched to private health insurance.

[dsan]

Good stuff! As a therapist I sometimes look for videos that will help my clients when I can't see them or when I find a video that explains something succinctly that was discussed in session. The better quality the content out there the better. Also having people putting content out with evidence based practices/techniques helps combat the sketchy stuff you mentioned. Thank you! You are a rockstar amongst us!

[neurotransmissions]

This is great, Ali! We are so excited for your new direction. It is a very needed area. I would love to see a video specifically on how an individual can make therapy affordable. Cost seems to be a large barrier for people pursuing mental health services. Thanks!

[harshrana]

Dividing by means 107 Patients for each mental health practitioners

[MrAmtrak]

I'm lucky to be one out of 67 people.

[itsViirtueYEAH]

I found you through the buzzfeedvideo you did of analyzing mental health in movies. I think doing lots of collaborations like that will help you get more of the reach that you're looking for. I love the idea of what you're trying to do here and I'm going to show your channel to all of my friends who I think it would benefit

[ashleyleblanc]

Great video Ali! I love videos on any topic in psychology. Kati Morton does an amazing job on her channel and I love her content. As someone who is entering their third year of undergrad with hopes of being a mental health counselor I'd love to hear more about your experience as a professional in the field and the realities of the job. When you mentioned having only seen 67 patients this year I realized I hadn't ever really heard about that being an "issue" or part of what being a therapist is really like.

Thanks for all your hard work!

[elsajohnson]

As a therapist in private practice I am so happy happy happy to hear you only have 67 clients a year. After leaving a substance abuse nonprofit where you churned out clients in the thousands I have made a deliberate effort to keep my case liad small to be a more effective therapist.

I recently went to a conference where they were talking about using computerized avatars to do on line therapy which adapts its response as the client speaks. I think we all felt it to be a little too creepy, but as you pointed out there are not enough of us, and it is difficult to find a good seasoned therapist. Especially in rural areas.

Alot of my colleagues in p.p are churning out clients in high numbers and you know they cant be effective.

A big problem is poor insurance reimbursement or peoples unwillingness or inability to pay cash, in poor rural areas. Raise the reimbursement and maybe you would have more therapists.

[shuckol]

Hello, I decided to engage in this comment and give you my opinion about what I think it's one of the best things to address: the basics of mental health. I think it's important to address what are the most important things to always keep in mind. I think to have a very general-oriented personality, I feel that it's hard for me to get into details, I too much wander around getting interested to many stuff. I find it hard to achieve something concrete that it's built with time and effort, I simply lose interest too easily because I get lost in all the little things I could do better and can never see straight ahead the important stuff. It's a pretty heavy subject for me, I see it as a serious problem in my every-day life, but I think it'd be really important for others as well. Cheers and good luck with your project!

[kpmallon]

Great video. I love the new mission and agree the system needs a major change. I think group therapy, apps and other tech advances can help scale psychotherapy to the masses and make it more accessible to rural areas. F2F video sessions aren't ideal but I think it's the only way to help people outside of cities. VR could play a big role. Imagine a VR group therapy session with members from across the country. This means we'll have to get more creative about state licensing and maybe offer a national licensing process. All good topics to discuss.

[shiroiseyo]

This is a really cool concept since YouTube is such an accessible medium to a lot of people. Thanks for starting this! As for topics, it'd be interesting to hear your take on mental health within the health professions (such as how mental health professionals support their mental health) as an overlooked topic. :)

[ip-l]

Technology can be so helpful! Not using the tools whe have right now to do good (reach lots of people to help, as you explain) would be a waste. Its great to see more people catching on! More people like you, kati, or CREAS unam's channel.
Would love to see a topic on how to refer people to a psychologist! I face the same problem as a psychologist (in city quite populated but with few psychologist that do therapy). Great video!!

[Hidfors]

This guy is a fine example of what a real Hero is.
Thank you so much for your hard work :D

[xzonia]

I love Kati's channel, and I'm so glad to hear you're going to do educational psychology videos like her too! We need more professionals willing to help in this way. Thank you! :) <3

[saakshisinsinwar]

I just got to this video from last year, this is amazing...much needed effort on part of a professional such as yourself!

[ryanliberty]

I love that you have a favorite research paper and I love that you're rebooting! Can't wait to see how things change. 😃

[DrMeredithCary]

Kudos!! I love what you're doing! Keep up the fantastic work; you do it so well.