# Can’t Afford Therapy?

*6 Ways to Get Help for Less.*

> If you can’t afford therapy, start with what is free, then ask about sliding scales. 6 ways to get help for less, each with its price and its trade-off.

Canonical: https://glissa.io/blog/what-to-do-if-you-cant-afford-therapy  
Published: 13 October 2026  
Last updated: 29 October 2026  
By Glissa

If you can’t afford therapy, start with what is free: an employee assistance program through work, or a support group. Then ask a community health center or a university training clinic about a sliding scale. Some charge as little as $5 a session.

![A woman sitting cross-legged on her bed with a laptop on her knees showing a grid of therapist profiles, her chin in her hand, a lamp and a mug on the bedside table](https://glissa.io/assets/blog/profiles-on-the-laptop.webp)

## What can you do if you can’t afford therapy?

Start with what is free. Many employers pay for a few free counselling sessions through an employee assistance program, so check your benefits first. Then call a community health center or a university training clinic and ask about a sliding scale. Both set the fee by your income.

$80–200 a session

What private therapy usually costs

That is the market rate that Open Path, a nonprofit therapy network, gives for one session in the US. At one session a week, it comes to about $320 to $800 a month.

[Open Path Collective](https://openpathcollective.org/), read 13 October 2026.

Most of the cheaper routes ask for something other than money: a wait, a trainee, a group, or a set number of sessions. Knowing the trade before you call saves you time.

## Where can you get therapy for less?

These 6 routes run from free to about $70 a session. Each has a trade-off, and it sits right next to the price. Prices change, so check them when you call.

- **Free sessions through work** Many employers pay for a set number of free counselling sessions through an employee assistance program, often between 3 and 12, sometimes per problem. Ask HR or look in your benefits. The sessions run out, so use them for one clear thing.
- **Community health centers, free to low cost** Health centers funded by the federal government [must offer a sliding fee](https://bphc.hrsa.gov/compliance/compliance-manual/chapter9) if your income is up to twice the poverty line, and a full discount below it, apart from a small fee. Many offer counselling. [Find one near you](https://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/), then ask how long the wait is.
- **University training clinics, from about $5** Graduate students see clients under a licensed psychologist’s supervision, and the fee follows your income. [One clinic](https://psychology.ecu.edu/clinic/) charges $5 to $30 a session. Intake can close for part of the year, and most clinics cannot take a crisis.
- **Sliding-scale networks, $40 to $70** [Open Path](https://openpathcollective.org/), a nonprofit, charges $65 once, then $40 to $70 a session with a licensed therapist, or $30 with a student intern. It is for people whose insurance does not cover therapy well, or who have none.
- **Group therapy, less per person** One therapist works with a small group at the same time, so each person pays less than for a session alone. You share the hour, and you talk in front of others.
- **Support groups and guided self-help, free** [NAMI](https://www.nami.org/) runs free peer support groups, many of them online. Guided self-help means a workbook or online course with short check-ins from a professional. Peers are not therapists, so this suits everyday struggles more than a crisis.

![A woman at her desk with her laptop open, phone pressed to her ear and one hand on her forehead, listening while her own work waits](https://glissa.io/assets/blog/on-the-phone-for-everyone.webp)

*One call to ask about the sliding scale.*

**Find out which pattern is dimming you most**

The quiz in Glissa gives you one number, the 11 patterns under it, and one small dare for this week.

## Does cheaper therapy work as well?

Often, yes. A review of 23 studies found group therapy worked as well as one-to-one therapy. Another review, of 21 studies, found guided self-help worked about as well as face-to-face therapy for depression and anxiety.

- [Group therapy worked as well as one-to-one](https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2699.2.2.101): A review pooled 23 studies that tested group and individual therapy side by side, for the same problems. The 2 formats came out about equal. McRoberts, Burlingame and Hoag, 1998
- [Guided self-help matched face-to-face therapy](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291710000772): 21 studies and 810 people with depression or anxiety compared the two. There was no real difference at the end of treatment, or up to a year later. Cuijpers and colleagues, 2010

Both reviews measured whether people got better. Neither looked at cost. Fit with the person matters too, so if the first one is wrong for you, ask for someone else.

## You can start dropping the pattern with Glissa while you wait

A therapist helps with where a pattern came from. The pattern itself turns up most days, in small moments, and that part you can start on tonight. Glissa is an inner glow up for women, built for those small moments. It does not treat anything, and it is not for a crisis.

**Glissa, private therapy and a support group compared on cost, what you get, who carries it, day 30 against day 1, and what each is strongest at.**

| Compared on | glissa | Private therapy | A support group |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Cost | $4.99 a month billed as $59.99 a year | $80 to $200 a session | Free |
| What you get | A number, 11 patterns and a dare | A trained ear | People who have been there |
| Who carries it | You, for 30 seconds | A trained person | The group |
| Day 30 vs day 1 | Each day’s check-in, kept | Your therapist remembers | Whatever you remember |
| Strongest at | Dropping the daily pattern | Where it started | Not feeling alone |

Private therapy rates: [Open Path Collective](https://openpathcollective.org/). Day 30 retention on mental health apps: [Baumel and colleagues, JMIR, 2019](https://doi.org/10.2196/14567)

On your iPhone, a ten-question quiz gives you one number for how much of you is showing right now. Then a thirty-second check-in each day spots the old patterns that dim you. Saying yes to everyone is one of 11.

Each week you get one small dare, written from your own answers, to help you drop the pattern costing you most. It costs $4.99 a month, billed as $59.99 a year, so a whole year costs less than one private session.

**Put yourself on the list. Become magnetic.**

Get back the parts of you that you filed down to keep everyone else comfortable. It starts this week, with one small dare.

## How do you ask a therapist about price?

Ask before the first session, in writing. Ask if they have a sliding scale, and what their lowest fee is. If you are paying without insurance in the US, you also have the right to a written estimate of the cost before you start.

- **Ask about a sliding scale** “Do you have a sliding scale, and what is your lowest fee?” is a normal question to ask.
- **Get the estimate in writing** In the US, people paying without insurance can ask for a [good faith estimate](https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises) before the first session.
- **Space the sessions out** Fewer sessions cost less. Some therapists will move to every other week once the first few are done.
- **Find out who else they would suggest** If they are full or too expensive, ask who they would send you to.
- **Use the first call to check fit** Ask if they offer a short free call first, and how they work with the thing that brought you there.

![A hand holding a phone, thumb on the screen, the most recent sent message bubble highlighted](https://glissa.io/assets/blog/thumb-already-typed-yes.webp)

*The question about price, sent before the first session.*

## Questions

**What if I need help right now?**

If you are in crisis, call or text [988](https://988lifeline.org/) in the US, at any hour, for free. Outside the US, call your local emergency number.

**Is cheaper therapy worse therapy?**

Not by default. Trainees work under licensed psychologists, and in the reviews above, groups and guided self-help did about as well as individual sessions. Fit with the person matters a lot, so change if it feels wrong.

**Does insurance or Medicaid cover therapy?**

Often, yes. Medicaid covers mental health care, and [plans on the US marketplace](https://www.healthcare.gov/coverage/mental-health-substance-abuse-coverage/) must cover it too. What a plan pays for varies, so call the number on your card and ask about outpatient therapy.

**Can an app replace therapy?**

No. Glissa helps with the daily pattern. If you are struggling to cope day to day, talk to a doctor or try one of the routes above.

## You can start with one call this week

Pick the route that fits your week and make one call, or send one email. If money is tight because you keep saying yes to everyone, [how to say no without feeling guilty](https://glissa.io/blog/how-to-say-no-without-feeling-guilty) is the next read. [Does journaling actually work?](https://glissa.io/blog/therapy-journalling-or-an-app) compares 7 ways to work on yourself, and [every post on people pleasing](https://glissa.io/blog/people-pleasing) is on one page.

![Woman in a quiet kitchen setting her phone face down on the counter, a kettle on the stove behind her](https://glissa.io/assets/blog/an-ordinary-tuesday.webp)

*One call made, and the phone put down.*

Glissa is an inner glow up, 30 seconds a day on your iPhone, with one small dare a week.

## The glow up that starts on the inside

Get back the parts of you that you filed down to keep everyone else comfortable. 30 seconds a day, all the way back to 100% and past it.

$4.99 a month, billed as $59.99 a year