Resources

We encourage our clients to use mental health specific intervention sources when they or a loved one needs immediate help to keep themselves safe. If you live in Chicago and are going to call 911 during a crisis, please request a crisis intervention-trained (C.I.T.) officer. Below are other options to help you or a loved one navigate a moment of crisis.

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)

• Trans Lifeline’s Peer Support Hotline: 1-877-565-8860

• Illinois CARES line for children and adolescents in crisis: 1-800-345-9049

Your Blackness is an important part of your lived experience. Many Black clients find that Black therapists are equipped with empathetic, socially conscious, and culturally informed lenses that can help the clients feel safe, seen, and understood enough to engage deeply in their root work.

• If you are looking for other Black therapists in the Chicagoland area, please visit Chicago Black Therapists - https://www.chicagoblacktherapists.com/

• If you are a Black woman- or girl-identified person looking for a similarly identified therapist, please try Therapy for Black Girls - https://therapyforblackgirls.com/

Therapy can be expensive. We know cost stops many people from experiencing this transformative way of caring for themselves. Below are resources that may help you afford quality care:

• The National Queer & Trans Therapists of Color Network’s (NQTTCN) Mental Health Fund - https://nqttcn.com/en/mental-health-fund/

• Open Path Collective (an organization that connects individuals to lower fee therapy) - https://openpathcollective.org/

Before you see a therapist at Rootwork or elsewhere, here are questions you can ask a representative from your insurance provider (look at the back of your insurance card for contact information) to ensure your therapy sessions will not come with unanticipated costs and your plan meets your healthcare needs:

• Can you explain my mental health benefits for individual psychotherapy on an outpatient basis (provided in an office or a telehealth setting)?

• Do I need to preauthorize services before I make an appointment?

• What is my deductible? How much have I met this year already? Do I have to meet this deductible each and every year?

• Does my benefit year match the calendar year with new benefits starting each January, or does my plan use a different system?

• Do I have a copay or coinsurance amount I am responsible for? How much is that?

• Is there a per year session limit?

• What is your coverage for in-network, as well as out-of-network, therapists?

• Is the therapist I am considering in-network? How much of their fee will insurance cover?

• At what rate will you reimburse for out-of-network benefits? How do I submit my receipts for paid sessions to you for reimbursement?

• Is there anything else I should know before I make my first appointment?