Down times spur rise in calls for help
More people are seeking low-cost mental health services as the recession drags on, according to directors of clinics in the region.
Requests for help are on the rise at the Brookline Community Mental Health Center, the Therapy Center in Brookline, and Advocates Inc., which operates clinics in Framingham, Acton, Marlborough, Waltham, and Ayer.
“We see a lot more people who have lost their jobs, or lost their homes, or are in danger of losing their homes,’’ said Sara Trongone, who runs clinic and emergency services for Advocates Inc., which offers both drug therapy and counseling.
Advocates Inc. saw a 14 percent increase in crisis intervention calls to its 24-hour hot line in the first five months of this year compared with the previous two years, Trongone said. The nonprofit operation provides free emergency services for those who do not have insur ance, she said, and charges fees on a sliding scale for regular mental health services.
Samaritans, which offers a toll-free hotline in Boston and Framingham, has also seen calls increase, although executive director Roberta Hurtig said they could take more if they had more volunteers.
“The majority of the calls are people who are not actively suicidal,’’ she said. “These are people with nowhere else to turn.’’
Hurtig cited the example of a woman who lost her job and needed someone to talk through how she would tell her family. Samaritans also gets calls from adults who are struggling with moving back in with their parents because of financial necessity.
Calls are up 15 percent at the Brookline Community Mental Health Center, according to director Cindy Price. That’s about 120 new people for a center that regularly serves about 2,100 individuals annually. The nonprofit agency charges fees on a sliding scale based on income.
The callers aren’t likely to mention their economic situation at first, according to Price. They will be looking for help with anxiety, depression, or being unable to get out of bed, she said. Later they will disclose that one of the underlying reasons is worsening economic pressure.
“It’s not just people on the edges,’’ Price said. “Everybody is impacted’’ by the recession, she said. “I see people selling their homes because of financial difficulty.’’
Marital strife is another common complaint as money grows tight. At the Therapy Center, which provides counseling services, Leah Alexander said she has a number of clients who are dealing with conflict in their relationships as money worries put strains on communication, sharing, and decision-making.
“In talk therapy you have a place to share your feelings, you have someone to bounce ideas off of,’’ said Alexander. “These stresses are coming from life’s circumstances.’’
Requests for intake interviews at the Therapy Center were up 75 percent in the first four months of this year over the same period last year, according to Paula Berman, marketing director for the center, which charges fees ranging from $20 to $60 a session.
The center trains counselors who are studying for their doctorate in psychoanalysis at a Brookline institution, the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis. The therapists speak 13 languages, including Korean and Lithuanian.
Judith Sanditen, a psychologist at the center, said some of her clients have to skip their sessions from time to time because they can’t afford them. But she said they tell her that therapy is even more important in times of economic stress.
“They feel that talking about these difficult times helps them deal with them in the outside world,’’ she said.
Andreae Downs can be reached at andreaedowns@yahoo.com 