Maya Hollister 
Why Finding a Therapist Is Harder Than Finding a Cardiologist The American mental health care system has produced an unusual paradox. There are more licensed therapists in the United States today than at any point in history, and yet finding the right one for an individual patient remains a process that most people describe as frustrating, opaque, … Read more
Tomás Reyes had been on Spravato for six weeks when the prior authorisation for his next dose got rejected by his insurer’s pharmacy benefit manager. He was sitting in a cubicle in Albuquerque watching his email inbox refresh, and on the other end of the chain was a dispenser at a specialty pharmacy in Memphis … Read more
Sofia was twenty-nine, a graphic designer in Minneapolis, when her midwife noticed something during her 28-week prenatal visit. Sofia had been crying in the waiting room. She had lost weight that pregnancy week instead of gaining. She told the midwife she was fine, the pregnancy was wanted, the partner was supportive, and she was just … Read more
Diane was forty-four, a bookkeeper in Cleveland, when she got the call about her son Eli at 11:47pm on a Tuesday. He was twenty-two. He had used heroin in a parking lot behind a Dollar General with a friend, and the friend had recognised the blue lips and called 911 instead of running, which was … Read more
The Bill That Should Never Have Arrived You found a therapist. You verified that they accepted your insurance. You attended sessions for two months. You were finally making progress. Then the bill came. Not the usual 30copayyouexpected.Abillfor30copayyouexpected.Abillfor1,200. The insurance company denied every single claim. The reason code on the explanation of benefits read: “Service not medically … Read more
Diego Salazar’s mother had been calling Medicaid offices in Houston for ten days when she finally cried in the kitchen. Diego, 19, had returned from his first year of college with what the campus counseling center described as a major depressive episode and possible bipolar features. The family’s Medicaid coverage was through Texas STAR. Diego’s … Read more
The Wrong Therapist Can Make Things Worse You finally did it. After weeks of putting it off, you searched for mental health providers near meand booked an appointment. You sat in the waiting room. You filled out the intake forms. You sat across from a stranger and told them things you have never told anyone. And … Read more
Daniel Park did not call himself depressed. He called himself tired. The 29-year-old second-generation Korean-American software engineer in Seattle had been working through chronic neck pain, headaches, and a stomach that kept rejecting food for almost a year. His mother brought him soup and herbal teas. His father suggested he sleep more. His primary care … Read more
Rachel, a 41-year-old corporate attorney in Chicago, sat in her office at 11 p.m. on a Tuesday and realized she could not remember the last day she had felt anything other than tired. She had spent fifteen years climbing to senior associate at a top-fifty firm. Her billables were strong. Her reviews were excellent. Her … Read more
When Marcus Whitfield opened the denial letter at his kitchen table in Cincinnati, his hands shook so hard the paper rattled. Three weeks of intensive outpatient therapy for severe depression — denied. The reason cited by his employer’s Anthem-administered plan: “not medically necessary.” His therapist had warned him this might happen. What she did not … Read more