How to Pay for the Help You Need

As if the consequences of addiction aren’t difficult enough, many people find the demands of recovery equally daunting. Financial challenges can be especially pressing in the early stages of the healing journey. Many addicts and co-addicts are already strapped because of money spent on addictive or reactive behaviors. Who is prepared for the expense of recovery work? It’s not usually a line item in the personal budget, and the cost of getting help can be quite a shock.

When people contact Bethesda Workshops, one of the most frequently asked questions is, “How can I afford a workshop? I don’t have that kind of money!” This concern is certainly understandable. Keep reading to learn about the cost-effectiveness of attending a workshop, as well as practical ways to fund this option.

Intensive Workshop: The Most Cost-Effective Treatment

Admittedly, the cost of an intensive workshop can be an initial shock. In the overall picture, though, a workshop is actually less expensive than any other alternative. Consider these facts:

• An intensive workshop provides approximately the equivalent of one year’s worth of weekly counseling. Most professionals estimate someone needs a minimum of two-three years in therapy to adequately address the issues related to addiction and codependency. Attending a workshop provides a huge jumpstart for recovery.

 

• A Bethesda healing workshop is significantly more intensive than similar programs that use that description. Most “intensives” provide 6-8 hours of focus each day. A Bethesda workshop consumes at least 12 hours of specific, therapist-led treatment each full day. A Bethesda Workshops intensive provides approximately 40-45 hours of directed help by the leading professionals in the field.

 

• This intensive help is a real bargain. At a fee of $50 per 50-minute session (which is extremely low), 40 counseling sessions would cost $2,000. The most expensive Bethesda Workshops is $2,250, and that fee covers two people for the Healing for Couples weekend, all lodging and all meals. The individual workshops are $1,500, which includes all lodging and meals.

 

• The Bethesda Workshop fee is all-inclusive. One low cost covers all lodging, meals, and materials. The only additional expense is travel, and Nashville is conveniently located within a day’s drive from half of the geographic United States.

 

• Most people who specialize in addiction recovery believe that group counseling is the best approach. The group dynamic, where people learn from each other as well as from the leader, has been shown by research to be more effective than individual counseling both in terms of initial results and long-term recovery. Most people report the healing they find in a Bethesda group workshop is more powerful than anything they have ever experienced. As clinicians, we believe the group process offered at Bethesda is more valuable than individual therapy alone.

 

• Using a fee of $37.50 per hour for group counseling, which again is low, a Bethesda workshop still figures out to be a bargain in terms of fees alone. The cost of an equivalent amount of group therapy would be $1,500 (40 hours X $37.50), which is only a little less than most workshops, which include all lodging and meals.

 

• In effect, Bethesda Workshops combine the most effective treatment approach with the lowest cost.

How to Afford the Cost of a Workshop

Decide that getting help is worth the cost. A slogan from Alcoholics Anonymous is that you have to be willing “to go to any lengths” to get sober. A similar saying is a willingness “to do whatever it takes.” Decide that your healing is worth any price. After all the money you’ve spent acting out (or dealing with a loved one’s addiction), doesn’t it make sense to put financial resources toward healing?

Be willing to sacrifice. Review your budget or planned expenses. Which ones can you postpone? Can the roof last another year? What about your car? Is there a less expensive vacation option? What if you played less golf or exercised at the YMCA instead of an upscale health club? Cut your entertainment expense by eating out less. Many things we take for granted are, indeed, luxuries. Most people find they can get by on much less if they have to – or if they decide they want to because funding something specific like recovery becomes a priority. If necessary, consider taking a second job and earmark all the earnings for treatment. Perhaps you can turn a hobby into a money-making enterprise. Get creative.

Have faith that God will provide. This statement doesn’t necessarily mean that money will magically appear in your account. Our experience, though, is that when someone is truly ready to get well, he or she finds that God opens doors to make that possible.

Treat the expense like a medical emergency. Accept that getting treatment is an unplanned expense like a broken arm or heart attack. If your physical health were at stake, you’d do anything required to get well. While it’s a worthy goal to avoid increasing credit card debt, sometimes putting the cost of treatment on a credit card is a reasonable exception.

Ask for help. If your budget simply won’t stretch, consider other options:

Ask your church for a loan that you can pay back over time. Sadly, not all churches are safe places to be vulnerable about needing help. But some are. If you have a pastor or other church leader you trust, approach him or her about your situation. You don’t have to disclose the details of your problem. If you’re an addict, for example, simply confess that you’re seriously struggling to be the person God calls you to be because of sexual sin in your life and that you’ve found a Christ-centered program that offers help. If you’re a spouse, explain that your marriage is in shambles and that you need help in sorting out your role and how you can best cope with your difficult circumstances.

Ask your recovery friends for a loan. Maybe your support group could establish a revolving fund that helps people with the cost of treatment and is paid back over time, then loaned out again.

Ask family members for a gift or a loan. While some parents or siblings may not be supportive, you may be surprised at others’ willingness to help. Again, you don’t have to be more specific than you choose to be. If you’re not comfortable sharing the whole situation, or if you fear your family may take sides in your marriage problems, explain the bare basics as described in the first example in this section.

Bethesda Workshops will do all we can to help you financially. Half of the workshop fee is due up front, and then you can put the balance on a no-interest payment plan. Contact the Bethesda Workshops Director of Operations to talk about your options.