How Much Does a Therapist Cost in Ohio?
Takeaway: Therapy is a meaningful step toward caring for your mental and emotional well-being. Whether you're navigating something big or just need extra support, understanding the cost of therapy in Ohio can help you feel more confident and prepared as you start the process.
It can be hard enough to attend therapy, let alone think about the cost of it! Counseling has many touted mental health benefits, such as improving emotion regulation, building coping skills to manage challenging situations, reprocessing past traumatic events to move towards a place of healing, and cultivating healthy relationships, all of which could lead to a more fulfilling life. However, it's important that you find the right therapist to fit your budget. In this article, we'll discuss how much therapy costs in Ohio, the factors influencing therapy costs, and the various avenues to help you pay for therapy.
I'm Brianna Halasa, a licensed therapist in both Ohio and New York. I see clients both in-person in Cleveland, Ohio as well as virtually in New York. I received my bachelors degree from Smith College and my masters degrees from Teachers College, Columbia University. I specialize in trauma, using modalities such as eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), somatic experiencing (SE), internal family systems (IFS), and intuitive eating to aid in my work with clients.
How much is a therapy session in Ohio?
There are several factors that could influence pricing when looking for a therapist. The cost of therapy could vary depending on the location, therapist's credentials, insurance coverage, and therapeutic approaches; therefore, the cost of therapy in Ohio ranges between $100 to $200 a session. A recent survey using exclusive data from Simple Practice estimated the average rate of therapy in Ohio to be $139. The average cost of mental health counseling is broken down in the table below based on the six largest cities in Ohio:
| City in Ohio | Individual Therapy |
|---|---|
| Columbus | $136 |
| Cleveland | $127 |
| Cincinnati | $137 |
| Toledo | $132 |
| Akron | $122 |
| Dayton | $116 |
Is therapy covered by insurance?
Yes, therapy is often covered by insurance. You can find a provider that is in network with your insurance through searching through your insurance portal's list of in network mental health providers. You can also search through online therapy directories, such as Inclusive Therapists or Zencare, based on the insurance provider you have.
There are pros and cons to working with a mental health therapist that partners with your insurance company. The main benefit of seeking therapy with an in network clinician is that your mental health treatment will most likely cost less than if you worked with an out of network provider, making therapy a more affordable option. However, this presents you with fewer options of therapists to work with, potentially longer wait times, and some insurance companies can put limits on how many therapy sessions they cover, reducing the care you receive.
If you choose to go the private pay route, many therapists offer out of network services. This means that they will provide you with a superbill to submit to your insurance company to receive a potential reimbursement for the therapy session if you have out of network benefits with your insurance. You have more autonomy in the care you receive, deciding how many sessions you need, more choice in therapists, and the therapeutic modality.
I am an out of network provider, which means that I work with many clients who are self pay or who receive an out of network reimbursement. This allows me to have more flexibility in how I practice, the number of clients I see in a day, and the ability to take care of myself while ensuring I provide the best care possible to my clients.
What if you can’t afford therapy?
While it might take a bit of extra work, there are ways to find affordable mental health services. Below are a list of options to aid in your search:
Open Path Collective. You pay for a one-time membership to access mental health professionals that offer therapy services between $30-$70 a session.
Medicaid provides health insurance to Ohioans with limited income and resources.
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Greater Cleveland: Offers free mental health support, peer support groups and programs, mental health education community resources and more.
Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). Many companies offer EAPs with free counseling sessions for their employees.
Therapists in training. Some practices offer reduced-rate therapy sessions with clinicians in training under supervision who are working towards their full licensure status.
Sliding scale options. Many therapists in private practices offer sliding scale rates to clients needing effective treatment at a lower cost.
Nonprofit organizations could help fund therapy for certain populations, such as the following:
Therapy for Black Girls is an online space that encourages the mental wellness of Black women and girls by offering therapist directories and resources.
National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network (NQTTCN) provides a therapist directory and financial support for therapy for queer and trans people of color.
Wounded Warrior Project, The Headstrong Project, and Cohen Veterans Network offer various forms of support, including mental health services, financial aid, and assistance with navigating benefits.
Why therapy costs what it does
This is my favorite question, specifically because I had the same thought when I was a client on the receiving end of therapy. There are various factors that influence a therapist's session fee, such as the following:
Trainings and Experience
In addition to earning an advanced degree, therapists often receive additional certifications and trainings. This allows them to specialize in a specific niche (i.e. trauma, eating disorders, addiction, etc.), learn different modalities to improve their scope of practice (i.e. EMDR, IFS, etc.), and stay up to date with current research and best practices. These trainings can come with hefty fees may influence the cost of therapy.
Time Commitment outside of Sessions
Mental health providers spend a significant amount of time outside of the therapy room planning and preparing for sessions, reviewing client progress, receiving outside consultation when applicable, and educating themselves.
Therapy setting
In-person versus online therapy sessions can impact the cost. In-person sessions may be more expensive due to the cost of renting an office space, parking, internet, and utilities. Furthermore, couples counseling and family therapy might be more expensive than individual counseling due more people and dynamics in the room that may require more specialized experience. Group therapy, on the other hand, might be a more affordable option for folks looking to work on their mental health and address common concerns in a group setting.
Session Length
Your mental health history, personal goals, and motivation to work towards those goals also might impact the total length of therapy sessions. Some clients might see tangible progress after a handful of sessions, whereas someone with a more complex mental health history might require a longer amount of care.
Is paying for therapy worth it?
Yes, therapy is often worth it! There are many reported benefits to committing the emotional and financial energy towards your mental health.
Emotion Regulation
It can be easy to ignore uncomfortable emotions, but ignoring them doesn't make them go away! Oftentimes, they come back more intense and prolonged. Anger, fear, or sadness can be seen as negative feelings to avoid, but there are no bad feelings! The sooner that you move through them, the faster you can get over them. Therefore, therapy gives you the space to unpack challenging feelings and find ways regulate them.
Improved Communication
By having the words to understand and express your feelings, you can then better communicate them to others and ask for what you need. This can improve connection and fuel healthy relationships.
Increased Coping Skills
Therapists have a whole toolkit of coping skills to help clients care for themselves through challenging times. Since every client is different, we often work to find the coping skills that resonate most, which could be incorporating more movement, breathing techniques, self-care ideas, reaching out to a trusted person, or working to find a few that best fit your needs.
Decrease in Distressing Symptoms
A randomized controlled trial showed that Somatic Experiencing was an effective therapy method for reducing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Furthermore, twenty four randomized control trials have consistently shown that EMDR in the treatment of emotional trauma and other adverse life experiences.
How to choose the right therapist (without focusing solely on cost)
Let's be real, cost can be prohibitive for many people accessing mental health care depending on their financial circumstances. However, if financially possible, I encourage you to consider other factors beyond cost, such as goodness of fit and therapist experience when looking for a provider. Research has shown that regardless of the therapist's treatment modality, the rapport you build with them yields the most promising results. You need to fully trust and feel safe with the clinician you choose to create the most lasting change.
Final thoughts
In this blog post, we touched on the average cost of therapy in Ohio, broken down by city; reasons therapy costs what it does; ways to access affordable care; and the myriad of counseling benefits. If any of this resonates with you and you're interested in learning more, I invite you to book a free 20-minute clarity call to see if we might be a good fit in working together and answer any additional questions you may have.
