Local Resources and Help in Navigating Mental Health
The Hampton Roads Community:
Recently, we have seen a huge uptick in need for mental health resources from our community and communities all over our country. The mental health crisis is not a new thing, but with Covid-19 it has magnified the need.
One thing we have noticed is that many individuals do not know how to find services or utilize their benefits. We have created a resource below, that is not exhaustive, but a start to help mediate this gap in knowledge, so we can get more people connected to the services they need. Some of these resources are national, but most are more local in nature to the Hampton Roads Virginia area. Also, we know not everyone has benefits and we have included some resources for low cost and free services as well.
Finally, we have included some explanations to help in understanding your insurance benefits better. We hope this can be of use to our community and we will continue to grow the resource as more options become known or available. Everyone deserves the opportunity to obtain services that are high quality, ethical, and local. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.
Carmen Wolf, LMFT
Atlantic Family and Adolescent Therapy
Resources to find therapists
If you have insurance:
-Psychologytoday.com
On psychologytoday.com you can search by insurance type, presenting concern, location, and more. They also have a search option for Psychiatrists for medication management.
-Your insurance website, for example: Optimahealth.com
You can search your plan for providers in you area.
-Other various search engines: Goodtherapy.org, Seculartherapy.org, etc. These may be specified by need or just not as common as the above resources.
If you do not have insurance and need low cost or free services:
-This applies as well if you have a high deductible plan and cannot afford the full rate.
-Many of these sites below also accept insurance plans, please call to find out if they take yours.
-Openpathcollective.org
This site offers individual therapy sessions between $30-$60 per session and couples/family sessions between $30-$80 per session.
-Psychologytoday.com
You can also filter by lower cost and sliding scale on this site.
Local sites in Hampton Roads include:
- Center for Child and Family Services Hampton and Williamsburg, Virginia. https://kidsandfamilies.com1-757-838-1960
- The Up Center, Norfolk, Virginia. www.theupcenter.org 1-757-965-8638 This site offers sliding scale for those who need low cost services.
- LGBT Life Center, Various locations in Norfolk and Hampton, Virginia. www.lgbtlifecenter.org 1-757-640-0929 This site provides services for those in the LGBTQ community and offers a sliding scale for those who need low cost services.
- Southeastern Virginia Health System, Various Locations. https://sevhs.org/ 1-757-380-8709 This location has sliding scale options.
- Bacon Street Youth and Family Services, Various Locations. 1-757-253-0111 www.baconstreeet.org This site helps those who need low cost services.
- Jewish Family Services, Various locations. https://jfshamptonroads.org 1-757-459-4640. This site provides sliding scale for those who need low cost services.
- Hampton Roads Community Health Center, Various Locations www.hrchc.org 1-757-393-6363 This site offers sliding scale for those who need low cost services.
- Oasis Clinical Counseling Services, Norfolk, Virginia. www.Oasislcsw.com 1-757-271-9030 This site has recently received a short term grant to provide free short term services for Norfolk residents without insurance.
- Peninsula Pastoral Counseling Center, Newport News, Virginia. https://peninsulapastoral.org/ 1-757-873-2273
- Norfolk Community Services Board, Norfolk, VA. 1757-497-1115 They provide various services, please call to see if you qualify.
Additional Community Resources
- Sisters Healing Sisters, Virginia Beach. This site links clients to resources including mental health and provides educational workshops. www.sistershealingsistersinc.org 1-757-510-7519
- Virginia Community Response Network, Various Locations in Virginia. www.vcrn.org 1-434-202-6322. They respond to traumatic events that occur in Virginia and provide free services for those impacted.
- Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia. 1-757-446-0366 They provide free services via HOPES Free Clinic, they also provide various community events.
*This is not an exhaustive list, if anyone has any additional resources they believe belong on this list please reach out to [email protected] and we will take a look.
Understanding Your Insurance Benefits
Copay: This is a fee you must pay when services are rendered, you may need to meet a deductible, before this becomes the only thing you need to pay. This fee varies plan to plan. Mental health providers, who are in network with your plan, are mandated by their contracts with insurance companies to collect this payment.
Coinsurance: This is the same as a copay, except it is a percentage based off the contracted rate your insurance stipulates. I.e. if you have a 20% coinsurance (without any deductibles getting in the way) and the insurances contracted rate is $100, your coinsurance would be $20. This fee varies plan to plan.
Deductible: A deductible is a specific amount of money the insured person must pay before insurance will cover your claims. This fee varies plan to plan from hundreds to thousands of dollars. Sometimes deductibles apply for mental health, sometimes they do not, please check your specific plan. If you have a deductible that applies, your fee would be the contracted rate the insurance company dictates. Again, mental health providers, who are in network with your plan, are mandated by their contracts with insurance companies to collect this payment.
Out of Pocket Max: This refers to the max amount of money an insured person must pay their insurance company before the insurance company pays 100% of the fee for services. They can come in individual max out of pocket and family max out of pocket, depending on your plan. If the family max out of pocket is met everyone is covered at 100%. If only the individual max out of pocket is met, then only that individual is covered at 100%.
*Please understand this is basic information and will not cover every plan that may exist. Please ALWAYS refer back to your own plan to determine what your benefits are.
Understanding Providers Roles
Psychiatrist: Generally a psychiatrist is someone you go to for medication prescribing and management. They can also provide therapy and psychological assessments. They are a medical doctor.
Psychologist: They provide talk therapy and can provide psychological assessments for a variety of psychiatric concerns. They have a doctorate in Psychology.
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT): These are providers who can provide various forms of talk therapy and are trained in a systemic approach. Depending on their training they can see families, couples, individuals, and hold groups. What they choose to specialize in is their personal choice, but they framework is based in systems theory, i.e. we all effect one another. Licensure in the state of Virginia requires a Master’s Degree to hold this title.
Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC): These are providers who can provide various forms of talk therapy. Depending on their training they can see individuals, couples, families, and hold groups. Licensure in the state of Virginia requires a Master’s Degree to hold this title.
Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW): These are providers who can provide talk therapy and case management services, depending on their setting. LCSW’s are in a variety of settings including hospitals, private practice, etc. Depending on their training they can see individuals, couples, families, and hold groups. Licensure in the state of Virginia requires a Master’s Degree to hold this title.
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner: While these providers can provide psychotherapy, often they are utilized for medication prescribing and management. They have a nursing degree (BSN or MSN) and advanced training and credentialing in the field of mental health.
