Money is a sensitive subject for most. I can’t blame anyone for wanting to save money or cringing when they have to spend money on health care. I will never forget when I worked at Wal-Mart while in school and seeing people get very angry when they thought they were charged one or two dollars more then they should have.
I think there is something that makes us think we should not have to spend money on our own health care or it should be very cheap. Where does this belief come from? I don’t know. It would be great if it were true. However, it is not free or even cheap in this country. I wish it were.
When the average person pays $1000 to fix their car, they normally don’t like it, but go ahead and do it because they need it to be fixed. After spending that money, they see the value in it and go on. Ironically, when a client spends just a fraction of this sum of money on health care, such as coming to counseling (Which most of my clients don’t spend any ways near $1000.) or going to a doctor, they don’t want to do it, complain, avoid it, try to get out of paying and so on.
What is wrong with this picture of people not seeing health care, such as counseling, as valuable as something like getting their car fixed? The car will last a few more years at best. When a person spends money on their own health, such as counseling, that will often last many years and often change their life for the long term. It is very possible that counseling will also benefit family, friends, and others.
Ask yourself if your mental health is worth a few hundred dollars…I know your car is likely worth many times more to you.