These days it's tough not to let the world get you down. More and more I'm hearing "Do you know a good therapist?" or "God, I've had the worst day...it's just never going to get better..." People are having panic attacks over the crappy job market, dead end jobs, and bad relationships. The quarter-century folk are afraid of getting bogged down in a job they don't lurve while the older-than-that bunch already feel stuck in a rut. And hell, a significant number of us barely have enough to get by as it is. Do we really have more cash to drop on therapy?
Maybe you’ve been rationalizing that all you need is to turn to your friends. But your friends have their own lives, their own problems, and their own burdens. If you actually care about them, it’s unfair to subject them to an eternal vent-fest. Therapists are trained to lend an objective, constructive ear to your issues, and they’re actually equipped to help you through major or minor crises. Here are some wallet-friendly mental health resources. Your friends will thank you for checking them out.
1. The Wright Institute of Los Angeles in West LA maintains the Hedda Bolgar Psychotherapy Clinic and offers counseling and therapy for adults on a sliding scale basis. The Clinic operates Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., so if you’ve actually landed a job in these harrowing times, you don’t have to stress about rushing out to see the shrink in the middle of the day. New patients can request an initial telephone intake interview by calling 310-277-2796. The interview/consultation is free, so please, if you're feeling it, reach out and touch someone.
WILA is located at:9911 West Pico Blvd, Suite 720
Los Angeles CA 90035
2. The Maple Counseling Center in Beverly Hills also offers low-fee mental health counseling for individuals, couples, families, and groups. Counseling is provided by interns working towards their PhD, social work or marriage and family therapy credentials, but don't worry, they’re all closely supervised by fully licensed professionals. Just think, while they help you work through your problems, you're helping them too! Win-win!
Counseling hours:Monday - Thursday: 8:00am to 9:00pm
Friday: 8:00am to 5:00pm
Saturday: 9:00am to 1:00pm
TMCC is located at:
9107 Wilshire Boulevard, Lower Level
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Telephone: (310) 271-9999
3. For those on the east side of town, the Hollywood Sunset Free Clinic provides medical, counseling and other such services to the communities of Echo Park, Silver Lake, East Hollywood & downtown LA. Their motto: "Health Care is a right, not a privilege." They've been taking are of the uninsured masses in LA since 1968 – no reason you can't or shouldn't get taken care of too.
HSFC is located at:3324 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026-2190
Telephone: (323) 661-0718
4. Valley people, I haven't forgotten about you. Temple Beth Hillel houses an in-house counseling center open to all, regardless of religion. (So no, you don't have to be a Jew to hit up the Temple, have no fears). Operating hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 8:00pm.
TBH is located at:12326 Riverside Dr.
North Hollywood, CA 91607
Telephone: (818) 762-4817
5. Still looking for some other options? If you'd rather do some research on your own, Los Angeles County has set up a great interactive website (I was shocked when I found it, I'm not going to lie) to narrow down services by type, location, etc. called HealthyCity.org – this link will take you specifically to the search page for counseling services.
Remember, living the RFB lifestyle should be fun, not painful. Please, find someone to talk to if you need it. We all have those days.
