We need better

This is probably going to come as no surprise to anyone who has ever tried to get help for their mental health, but oh my goodness is it hard!

There aren't enough providers. They aren't easy to find and don't specialize in the right things. They're full.

They don't take insurance. They don't take your insurance. You don't have insurance. You can't afford more than 6 therapy sessions. You can't afford a co-pay for one therapy session. Nobody does sliding scale.

The first therapist was a bad fit. The first med was a bad fit and so was the second.

Your work won't allow you any more time off for appointments. Or to deal with med side effects. You no longer have a ride to your appointments.

You don't have reliable internet for a Telehealth visit. You don't have a reliable adult to get your appointments set up. You have explicitly unreliable adults. You have adults who disagree with these visits.

Just showing up to the appointment took all your energy and there's no time left for implementation.

Seriously, dozens of barriers to treatment.

I can't solve a lot of these problems, but one of my primary goals is making mental health resources available earlier and more broadly. There are well-studied skills for emotional regulation and coping and interacting with others and being mindful and liking oneself. These are truly critical for all developing minds, not just the mentally ill.

If we can teach mental health like we do physical health, if we can get friends encouraging friends to try mental wellness programs with them, mental health education becomes a lot more accessible.

This stuff is way less useful if the only way you get exposed to it is by first falling apart and second being fortunate enough to still access treatment resources.

Let's change that.