Treatment Options for Low/No Income (US)
Note: This is for people in the US, although I’m sure you can find similar treatment options in other countries.
Finding treatment for eating disorders is difficult unless you are rich or have good medical insurance. Even those with those luxuries find it difficult to find adequate care, either because insurance will drop you before you are ready to leave treatment or you end up running out of money because treatment is so expensive.
Here are some options for you if you cannot afford or are unable to get intensive treatment.
12-Step meetings are free and essentially everywhere (even outside the US). The main eating disorder related 12-Step meetings are Overeaters Anonymous (most prevalent), Food Addicts Anonymous, Eating Disorders Anonymous and Anorexics & Bulimics Anonymous. Both Overeaters Anonymous and Eating Disorders Anonymous have online meetings you can attend if there are no face-to-face meetings in your area or you are too young to drive/don’t have adequate transportation.
12-Step meetings are not religious programs as is incorrectly believed. They are spiritually based and believe recovery depends on finding a Higher Power, but that doesn’t have to include God or anything else. Plenty of agnostics and atheists have found recovery in 12-Step meetings, and it’s recommended to try between five and seven meetings before throwing in the towel.
Not only do you find group support with others who are trying to recover/in recovery, if you choose to eventually work the 12-Steps, you will learn how to cope with all the underlying reasons that contributed to your eating disorder.
You may find other free support groups via Craig’s List, ED Referral, or the Something Fishy treatment finder. Even Google can be a good place to start. A lot of free support groups can be found at churches, hospitals, community centers, and other non-profit facilities. A lot will be lead by medical professionals, so they may charge a small fee, but it’s worth looking into if you find you don’t click with 12-Step.
2.) Therapist interns or Sliding Scale
If you can’t afford a therapist, look for a therapist intern. They will often have the letters MFTi after their name. A lot of these therapists are working towards getting their official license and will see you for free or a very low fee. You can often find them at local universities (if you go to college, check to see if your school offers any mental health services. A lot will for free), mental health facilities, or counseling centers. (When in doubt, always call and ask. Not a lot of MFTi’s will have their own phone numbers or websites. Calling local agencies or facilities and asking will be your best bet at finding them.)
Don’t let the fact that they are interns scare you. Although it’s true that they may not have the same experience as an eating disorder specialist or MFT, a lot are still able to offer you support and therapy. My first therapist was an MFTi that didn’t specialize in eating disorders and she was the best therapist I ever had. Also, seeing an MFTi is better than not seeing anyone at all.
If you are set on seeing a therapist who has their official license or specializes in eating disorders, call around and ask them if they offer sliding scale fees. If a therapist works on a sliding scale, that means they will work with you based on how much money you make. In other words, you basically pay what you can afford.
Although trying to recover on your own may be difficult to almost impossible, if you truly want to change and recover, I believe you can go a long way with self-help activities. I would recommend purchasing eitherThe Anorexia Workbook or The Bulimia Workbook, which were workbooks specifically designed to aid you in recovery from an eating disorder.
I also recommend browsing on Amazon, because there are several other workbook type books for all types of eating disorders.
If you want to browse various self-help books, almost every bookstore will have a section titled “Self-Help” or “Mental Health.” You may also find eating disorder related books in the “Addiction” section. If you can’t afford brand new books, used book stores often have the same sections included in their stores.
4.) Low Income/No Income Healthcare
If you are physically compromised by your eating disorder and feel that you need medical care, look around your area to see if there are any low income/free clinics. Also see what is available to you if you don’t have insurance. If you are an adult, sometimes you may be able to get basic healthcare.
If you go to a university, check to see if your school offers medical care. Sometimes medical care is included in your tuition (a lot of students surprisingly don’t know this). If you have a medical health facility on your campus and your tuition covers it, take advantage of it all you can.
Recovery using these methods may not be ideal, especially if your psychological or physical state is highly compromised, but it’s a start, especially for those of you who are willing and able to make changes in your life. Your eating disorder will try to convince you why option x, y, or z won’t work, but you’ll never know unless you try. And when I say try, I don’t mean attending just one meeting, or calling one therapist, or filling out one page of a workbook. I mean seriously investing a lot of your time and energy into recovery, because recovery isn’t going to happen overnight, especially with the above methods. They may not seem like they are working, but if you open your heart and mind to change, you’ll be surprised how much you can accomplish without going into treatment.
If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to message me!
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