There is a
great tool that can help patients in the US find a social worker who does individual counseling. You can search by location and by area of expertise. Here are some of the areas you can choose:
Anxiety
Depression
Grief/Loss
Infertility
Life Transitions
Pain Management
Physical Illness/Impairment
Trauma, Post Traumatic Stress Disorders
The page for each social worker shows all of their areas of expertise, and also shows the populations they are familiar with. So, for example, I searched based on the issue that seems to be the biggest for me - physical illness/impairment. Then I ended up finding a social worker who accepts my bad insurance, who doesn't charge a fortune, who has a lot of expertise in depression, some expertise in physical illness/impairment and trauma, and some expertise with the cancer population.
Try it out! Some insurance companies will pay for several free sessions per "crisis." There are limitations with a social worker - they don't prescribe meds, but they may work in a practice with psychiatrists who can. The nice thing is that they tend to charge less than psychiatrists and psychologists.
In addition, the Association of Oncology Social Work has just started a
searchable database on their website. Since it's just started, there aren't many providers listed yet. After you register, it's easiest to just put in your city and state and see if anyone is listed.
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