Help Sarah Stay in Therapy

I’m Sarah, a (former? I think?) sports editor living in Denver with my pug, Spruce. In June I was laid off from my job, and I lost my health insurance along with it. The short version of things: I need help paying for therapy to preserve my mental health at a really challenging time in my life.

The long version: I’ve been working with a local therapist since 2023 doing EMDR to address post-traumatic stress and manage garden-variety ADHD and depression. This therapist is the best I’ve ever had, and because of our work I’m in a really good place with my mental health — even though I have no job and my childhood dream of being a journalist is pretty much dead.

Getting laid off is usually a destabilizing experience for me, and past therapists have cited my six previous layoffs (lol what an industry) as significant sources of the trauma we’ve been working through with EMDR. But this time around I’ve had the tools and support to navigate this big life change without falling apart. I’m OK and I’d like to stay that way.

Here’s the rub. Without insurance, the cost of my weekly therapy sessions goes from $0 (because I met my deductible in January) to $160. I’m currently living on unemployment insurance, which is about half of my previous income. My rent is now more than 50% of my income, and I have just enough left over to pay for food and utilities. I’ve used up all of my health savings account.

I did explore other options before setting up this fundraiser. Even on unemployment, I make too much money to qualify for Medicaid. I looked at the marketplace, but premiums are around $300+ a month with minimal coverage and huge deductibles, and my therapist only takes Kaiser Permanente. COBRA would be more than $700 a month, so that’s a nonstarter.

There are some additional mental health resources in Denver, but the best-case scenario there would still be starting over with a new therapist, which would be a huge setback in my progress. It takes months to get a new person up to speed. The best thing for me is to continue working with my current therapist.

To do that, I need help. So I’m asking the internet if they can spare some cash to keep me on the right track. It feels bad! But quitting therapy would feel worse, so here we are. I have no idea how long I’ll be going without insurance, so I’m kinda arbitrarily setting my goal to pay for 9 or 10 weeks of therapy for now. Every little bit is helpful, and I’m committed to paying it forward when I get back on my feet.