At the Ventura Counseling & Wellness Center and our sister campus, West Valley Counseling Center, we want to make it easier and more comfortable for people to access mental health care. That’s why we do things like offer telehealth therapy and alternative forms of healing like art therapy and Reiki. Even so, we know that a lot of people face barriers to mental health care.
We want to identify those obstacles and give you some tips for overcoming them. Let’s look at three of the most common barriers to mental health care.
Stigma
All too many people avoid seeing a therapist because they don’t want to get labeled a specific way. Even when they have a sense that seeking treatment could help them, they suffer in silence. Long-held stigma about mental health conditions keep them from action.
Fortunately, the tide is shifting. More and more people are openly talking about mental health. People are starting to understand that mental illness works just like physical illness. It’s not the person’s fault and it often won’t get resolved without treatment.
Whether you live with a mental health condition or you just want to be a part of the change, you can do something to stop the stigmatization of mental health challenges. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has nine steps you can take.
Confusion about mental illness
Some people don’t seek mental health care because they don’t really understand it. Think about it. If a person doesn’t know that an oddly shaped mole could be skin cancer, they won’t see a doctor about it.
If people don’t know that their recurring anxious thoughts could be diagnosable, treatable anxiety, they won’t see a mental health professional about them. When they don’t know that their sudden loss of energy and interest in the things they enjoyed before could be depression, they don’t know to seek treatment.
If you or someone you love is feeling off or like you’ve lost control over your thoughts or emotions, do some homework. Google symptoms. Mental illnesses are much more common than many people think. And, good news, they’re very treatable, too.
Affordability and access
Even when people think they may have a mental health condition and want to get help for it, they face other barriers to mental health care. Specifically, all too many people think seeing a therapist is expensive. And they assume that finding one in the first place is a challenge, too.
Our team wants to help with that. At the Ventura Counseling & Wellness Center, we have a team of individuals with different specialties and interests. Talk with us about what you want to get out of your mental health care. Then, we can pair you with the right person from our team.
We also talk with you about what you can pay for your therapy. We work with you to make sure your care is affordable for you.
We’re here to help you overcome any barriers to mental health care that you’re facing. If you’re at all interested in talking with us, don’t hesitate to call or email us today.
