How to Access Low-Cost Mental Health Advice in CVS
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were countless people across the country who, for various reasons, could not get the mental health care they needed. Now, after more than a year of economic, physical, psychological and emotional hardships, an increasing number of people are finding themselves actively seeking some form of psychiatric therapy or counseling.
In particular, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the number of people suffering from symptoms of depression or anxiety has tripled or quadrupled since the start of the pandemic. While more people are realizing that therapy can help them, overall this is a step in the right direction, unfortunately, finding a therapist – not to mention affordable – has become even more challenging.
But we’re starting to see this shift as mental health support is gradually becoming more available to some. For example, CVS Pharmacy now offers mental health consulting in some of its retail stores. Here’s what you need to know about the program and how to use it.
How to get mental health advice from CVS
The national pharmacy chain began its pilot mental health program in January 2021 at a dozen stores in Houston, Philadelphia and Tampa and plans to continue rolling out nationwide throughout the year, NPR reported .
Walmart started a similar program back in 2018 and now has 20 outlets with mental hospitals across the country. For now, mental health services are only available at CVS pharmacies in Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas , but the program will continue to expand.
It is also still unclear how much CVS consulting will cost, except for those with Aetna insurance (which is owned by CVS) who will receive this service for free. And as reported by NPR , CVS has struck deals with other insurance companies to lower the cost of treatment. It’s unclear how much the session will cost for those without health insurance.