In this bonus episode, our hosts Callie Chamberlain and Dr. Kenny Poole share some tips for how to define and narrow down the options you have for mental health resources — whether they’re in-person or online.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to another bonus episode of Until It's Fixed. I'm Callie Chamberlain.
Speaker 2: And I'm Dr. Kenny Poole.
Speaker 1: As we cover ways to make healthcare work better for everyone, these bonus episodes will draw connections between the topic we recently discussed and our daily lives.
Speaker 2: We'll talk about one thing you and I can do today related to that topic to take charge of our health and wellbeing.
Speaker 1: Last week we spoke about the importance of therapy, but that's such a huge [00:00:30] question and therapy is so multidimensional. Before we kind of dive into the one thing that we are asking you all to do and that we will be doing, Kenny, what are your thoughts on the conversation we had?
Speaker 2: You know, I thought we had a really good comprehensive conversation last week and it hit several points that can be called out. We talked about the fact that so many of us face mental health challenges and there's some misconceptions around therapy that can be debunked through dialogue. There's common problems related to finding a therapist in the first place, but there's [00:01:00] hope for the future.
Speaker 1: I love it. And one of the things I was thinking about after our conversation last week was how there is so much stigma to get started and then once you're into the experience of being in therapy, it might not be a fit and you might have to try to find another therapist or another form of therapy that best suits your needs and where you're at. So having patients and being persistent is such an important key that I don't know that we talk about enough when we talk about therapy. So the one thing today [00:01:30] with all of that being said, is to know what your options are when it comes to therapy and mental health support.
Speaker 2: And one of the reasons, this is our one thing is that even if you don't wanna start therapy right now, it's good to know your options for both face-to-face therapy and telehealth options like apps.
Speaker 1: Absolutely. So let's get into that. First is employee assistance programs. And we talked about this a little bit in episode one, but employee assistance programs by themselves aren't necessarily therapy. But if your employed and your employer does have this benefit [00:02:00] available to you, e a P can connect you with a therapist or other types of immediate support. And oftentimes organizations will offer, you know, 1, 2, 3, even four sessions with a therapist that you can use toward identifying someone you wanna work with.
Speaker 2: And like an employee assistance program, one resource folks may already have but not note to tap is your primary care provider. If you have a doctor you already know and see, they may be able to make recommendations more specific to what you need.
Speaker 1: Yeah, [00:02:30] absolutely. And there's also a number of apps, absent websites that are available. Last week we spoke about AbleTo, but there are lots of other programs and organizations like AbleTo that provide access to therapy resources virtually. So that might be an option as well.
Speaker 2: Yep. And finally, there's support groups that can be engaged with online or also in local communities. Um, these are oftentimes related to specific topics or specific demographics, and a lot of times it's different from one-on-one therapy, [00:03:00] but the group setting can certainly be empowering. And also sometimes these local support groups can lead to one-on-one therapy options. So if you wanna check out some of the resources, you know, we've identified, that'd be great. Remember to be patient, the first option you try isn't always the right fit. So sometimes, you know, things may not work great out of the gate, but you can always revisit and uh, try again. And [00:03:30] then also remember that you're allowed to start therapy without being in a crisis, right? You don't need to necessarily have a quote unquote issue for you to be involved with therapy or to at least explore the process.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I remember somebody saying actually that they, uh, love to be in therapy all the time, and then when there is a crisis, they have someone that's available to them, but just to maintain their mental health and wellbeing, they remain speaking with a therapist, which I think makes so much sense and is a great point. So thank you for listening, everybody. [00:04:00] As we said, our one thing today is knowing what your options are when it comes to therapy and mental health support. Next week we'll be covering a different topic, which is about spirituality, religion, and how both of those are connected to our wellbeing in healthcare.
Speaker 2: Follow or subscribe wherever you listen so you get notified when a new episode is live. Catch you next time.