So, still on the lookout for a therapist.  My new health plan comes effective tomorrow, I just paid the premium. I am finding out the hard way that therapists are not very interested in helping you once they find out you are low income. It's interesting because the insurance pays them they are not getting the money from me.  When I describe my situation both professional and interpersonal I hear things like, "I can refer you to someone else who can connect you with resources," or they will ask for my insurance card and then just ghost me.  Pretty eye opening. My co pay on this plan for mental health is five dollars and when therapists hear that they bail, which is weird because it's what the insurance set.  Why would they try to raise the co pay when it's the insurance that set it?

I am glad that I am changing my health plan.  I finally met the neurologist that I was forced to go to-on Blue Cross I was told I had no say in choosing a specialist from the network.  I got to the office and halfway through the appointment he says..."How did you wind up here? I treat seizures, not migraines."  He also has ignored the four times that the pharmacy contacted him to do the prior authorization for the migraine meds so I have no meds. This is why I wanted to call ahead to the potential doctors to see if they handle my specific problem which is ocular migraines. The b*tch PCP shut me down and told me I had no say in who my new doctor would be-and they just randomly picked some doctor out of a lineup and it turns out he doesn't handle my situation...so bizarre. I explained to him what happened and he said he would connect me with a headache colleague, and also try to get my meds covered and the prior auth for me, and he has done absolutely none of that. The pharmacy just calls and calls him and he and his office ignores them. 

In the past when I had a situation where things were not working, or the office was unresponsive or there was a lot of red tape, I just simply shopped around and found a provider that was accessible and didn't make it a full time job just to get care.  I had a great relationship with my old office and they advocated for me, did the prior auth, and filled out the paperwork to file an appeal when my meds were denied, and gave me samples. They really cared about my situation and my health, and I got the meds and the care that I needed.  Unfortunately some of those doctors/therapists are not on my current plans.  But I think at least I can get my old primary care back who doesnt' have a problem giving me the copy of the referral or giving me samples. Some healthcare providers, medical ones as well as mental health ones actually care about if you get the treatment you need, and get well and some unfortunately appear to be in it for the money and will make no efforts to help you as a patient, and this goes for therapists as well.  It's funny in different professions how people avoidd doing what is literally their job.  At least in some of these cases with the therapists it's good I know ahead of time they are not interested or don't care; that is going to save me time later. Interesting though, because their bios say they handle trauma and family dysfuntion.