I'm dealing with the fact that I can no longer afford to see my psychoanalyst, and feeling resentment at a practice that is built around requiring an extraordinary amount of time and disposable income, despite its radical theoretical nature.
Who but the very wealthy can afford to go 2-3x a week at $100-200+ each session, for a process that takes years, for an annual cost of anywhere from $20K to 30K or more? It's like buying a new car every year. And what affordable health insurance plan would cover this?
My insurance only covers medically necessary short term, once a week cognitive behavioral therapy that's intended to go on for a duration of like 3-6 months, and I don't have access to in-network psychoanalysis of the sort we're talking about here.
It was my frustration with the limits of CBT led me to try psychoanalysis for the first time recently. I was lucky to find it at a low cost by working with a training institute so I can help grad students get experience. The psychoanalyst in training I worked with was great and I found the process more liberating and illuminating than CBT. But unfortunately they ended up sliding the scale back up after a few months beyond what I can afford, so I had to stop.
I saw how it is a slow, unfolding process, so I don't fault psychoanalysts when they say it's a process that takes years. I understand there's no shortcut when it comes to healing trauma and awakening oneself, or however you might define the process.
But what I don't understand is how the pricing works within our current US economic landscape, where paying rent, putting food on the table and getting gas is out of reach enough as is and most people (myself included) are living month to month. Not to mention the time commitment for those who work full time jobs.
So I'm feeling the frustration that psychoanalysis is effectively a luxury service for the rich. I was able to afford just enough psychoanalysis to see "ah yes, I do have more unexamined childhood trauma shaping my adult relationships than I realized!" but yet, I can't afford enough to continue to do the hard, slow work of deconstructing or unearthing or healing or however you might put it, in a way that you can really only achieve in a dialog.
do you agree the high cost barrier and level of wealth inequality in America makes psychoanalysis effectively a luxury service for the rich? and what are some realistic alternatives for those who can't afford psychoanalysis but who do believe in its value?