How To Better Manage Your Mental Health Between Therapist Appointments

In 2021, in the midst of Sydney’s second lockdown, I attempted to take my own life. I was experiencing a bad bout of depression (something I’d been managing since high school), burnout from a self-imposed lack of personal and work boundaries, and had trouble seeing the point of it all. I felt severe shame when experiencing these feelings because I'm a mental health therapist — and if I couldn’t care for myself, then how could I care for others? 

The reason my mental health was so bad, though, was that I simply wasn’t managing it. I was used to seeing a therapist of my own, but I needed to manage my cash flow, so the thought of parting with a couple of hundred bucks per session didn’t seem to outweigh my need for support. I even thought that time spent to go and get a Mental Health Care Plan from my GP and then see a therapist would be better spent on freelance work to earn more money (and financial ‘security’). 

I was wrong, of course. But I’m not the only one who's ever had to weigh up the cost of their mental health with the cost of their rent or free time. 

The pandemic is now over (*crosses fingers*), but our quest for accessible mental health care remains. Therapy is expensive in Australia, especially if you want to go consistently, which is what is recommended, with once a week being the ideal for maintenance. On average, the cost of a fifty-minute session in Australia starts at $100 and may cost more than $300 — and that’s with the Australian Government’s ‘Better Access’ Medicare rebate. 

I’ve had many a conversation with friends, colleagues and clients lamenting the fact that the industry fee structure puts therapy out of reach for a lot of Australians. But we must weigh up the cost of the current state of our mental health against the cost of a therapist’s fees. The result is often a decision based on the past, rather than what’s needed in the present. We think, ‘I’ve felt bad like this in the past and I eventually got over it — hopefully this time I’ll just feel better soon, too’, because the thought of parting with hundreds of dollars can just be just too much to bear, especially with other rising costs of living. But just because we felt better of our own accord last time doesn’t mean we will this time around. Instead of seeking qualified support as our mental health starts to suffer, we are holding on to our dollars. And it’s costing us our livelihoods — and for some of us, our lives.

Then, there are the waiting lists, the (sometimes) time-consuming search to find the right therapist for us, and the stigma around mental health that we have to think about, too. 

Therapists are absolutely worth the time and money, though it’s understandable if you need to complement your mental health tool kit with other strategies to make your dollars and your days last longer. 

Here’s what else you can do when you’ve run out of sessions on your Mental Health Care Plan or can’t yet prioritise the time or funds to get into a session IRL:

Universities and colleges often offer reduced-price counselling for their alumni, while many workplaces offer their employees EAP (Employee Assistance Programs), and some local community groups offer group counselling for their more vulnerable citizens.  

If you’ve run out of sessions on your Mental Health Care Plan, it doesn’t mean you can’t apply for another one. See your GP and give them an honest account of your mental health, via their K10 measure. Regardless of whether you’re eligible, they should support you with local mental health management recommendations and advice. 

While weekly therapy would be ideal, not all of us can afford it. Consider drawing out your sessions from weekly to fortnightly, fortnightly to monthly, or just having ‘maintenance’ therapy every few months or so. However, when in need, be sure to book another appointment or practice one of these tips. 

Australians can access a range of mental health lines in moments of crises, or if you’re just feeling alone and helpless. For crisis support, there’s Lifeline (13 11 14) or Beyond Blue (1300 224 636). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders can phone 13YARN. The National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline (1800 250 015) supports people with substance use problems, while LGBTQIA+ community members can phone QLife (1800 184 527). Young people can also phone Headspace (1800 650 890) or visit ReachOut.

There are many mental health phone or internet chat services available – Google your specific condition and ‘mental health support Australia’ to find one that may suit your needs. 

When sad or anxious, the last thing we want to do is connect with other people, eat healthily, move our bodies, or limit our screen and social media time… but that’s exactly what we should do! All these things have been proven to improve our mental health, so it’s important we do them. I recommend writing a small list of things that make you feel happier when you’re down and popping it on your fridge or mirror — somewhere it can remind you of what you need to do when you least want to do them.  

A big part of why we feel so good after therapy is because someone is actively listening to us. When you can’t afford the time or money to see a therapist, who else could you turn to? Engage your work wife, your bestie, your cousin or your teacher as a ‘Mental Health Buddy’ and let them know that you may need to call on them every now and again when feeling overwhelmed. If they’re open to it, you can set up a text thread in case of emergencies and to get things off your chest — within reason, of course.

If you can't afford a therapist, consider reaching for a book to help self-soothe yourself. While books absolutely can't replace a therapist, they might help you develop strategies to help you go longer between appointments.

I created Paperback Therapy — a book centred on therapist-approved tools and advice for mastering your mental health — thereby turning my mental health adversity into a positive. It’s the practical book I wish I had in 2021 that people can dip into between therapy sessions to strengthen their coping strategies, improve their self-esteem, manage professional and personal boundaries, burnout, anxiety and depression, better their relationships with friends, family and colleagues, and more. It serves as an accessible reminder that our mental health is number one, and includes 25+ exercises you can do to actively participate in bettering your wellbeing. 

A therapist is someone who listens without judgement. While we can’t expect this of everyone, we can hope for the best. No true connection was ruined by an honest conversation when you’re in need — so until you can next get to your own therapist, try the strategies above, connect with your community, do your reading, and please, take care of yourself. 

Tammi Miller is a certified practising counsellor based in Sydney, Australia. Through her practise, BARE Therapy, Tammi enables clients to work through their blocks and cultivate better mental and emotional wellbeing.

Passionate about improved health literacy and with lived experience in mental health as both a psychotherapist and a client, she manages her own mental health using the same techniques she shares with readers in Paperback Therapy.

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