How Do I Get Mental Health Help If I Can't Afford It? A Guide for Tennesseans

If cost is the reason you’ve been putting off mental health care, here’s the good news: Tennessee has more free and low-cost options than most people realize, and reaching out today can spare you both hardship and money down the road.

You’re also far from alone. Mental Health America’s 2025 report found that roughly 1.44 million Tennessee adults experienced a mental illness in the past year, yet an estimated 166,000 residents reported unmet treatment needs. Cost shouldn’t be what keeps you from getting the care that you need.

Here are concrete, budget-friendly ways to get quality care in the Volunteer State.

Employee Assistance Programs

Athena Care’s Dr. Faith Roby, Ed.D, LMFT-S, SAP shares that if you are employed, you can reach out to your company’s human resources to inquiry about EAP (employee assistant program) benefits. “Many employers have free EAP benefits that may provide you with a set amount of counseling sessions with a counselor either through your insurance or through their EAP provider (e.g., individual therapy, marital, therapy, etc.) on a short-term basis.” EAPs typically include several free, confidential counseling sessions plus referrals, and many employees don’t realize they have access to this benefit.

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If you’re in crisis, help is free right now

You never have to pay to reach a trained counselor in a crisis. Call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, any time of day — it’s free, confidential, and staffed 24/7. Nashville’s Metro Public Health Department also directs residents to statewide Mobile Crisis services for urgent mental health needs. If a situation is life-threatening, call 911.

Tap Tennessee’s Behavioral Health Safety Net

This is the state’s flagship program for people without coverage. The Behavioral Health Safety Net (BHSN), run by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, provides free outpatient mental health care to uninsured Tennesseans across all 95 counties through a statewide network of community providers.

Covered services include assessments, individual and group therapy, psychiatric medication management, and help getting medications at reduced or no cost through CoverRx. Adults generally qualify with a household income at or below 138% of the federal poverty level; for children ages 3–17, there’s no income limit. To enroll, find a participating provider and ask to apply — they’ll walk you through it.

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Use community centers and sliding-scale fees

Nonprofit community providers such as Mental Health Cooperative offer whole-person care — therapy, psychiatry, and help with basic needs — and serve people with TennCare, private insurance, or no coverage at all. Many private therapists and clinics also offer sliding-scale fees that set your cost based on income, so it’s always worth asking a provider directly whether that’s an option.

Dr. Roby shares another option: “Psychology Today is a great resource to search for mental health professionals or mental health agencies that may have providers that offer pro bono mental health services.” You can search for therapists in Tennessee and one of the search filters is to look for low cost or sliding scale options.

Look close to home — and to campus

University training clinics at schools like Vanderbilt and Tennessee State often provide low-cost counseling from supervised graduate students. Federally qualified health centers and free support groups round out the low- or no-cost landscape.

Make the most of any insurance you do have

Coverage often stretches further than people expect. Under federal parity laws, most plans must cover mental health comparably to physical health. If you have Medicare, TRICARE, or an employer plan, your out-of-pocket cost may be a modest copay rather than the full $100–$200 per session that self-pay clients often face.

This is where Athena Care can help Tennesseans stretch a budget. Athena Care is in-network with most major plans — including Aetna, BlueCross BlueShield, Cigna, United Healthcare, and more. We also accept TRICARE for group therapy (IOP).

Our care coordinators will contact your insurer for you, verify your benefits and explain exactly what you’ll owe before your first visit. That clarity helps you avoid surprise bills and use your coverage fully. Athena Care offers therapy, medication management, psychological testing, advanced solutions for treatment-resistant depression (like Spravato, ketamine and TMS), and intensive outpatient services, with both in-person and telehealth appointments at clinics in Nashville, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Hendersonville, Clarksville, Memphis, and Knoxville.

Call or text us at +1 (877) 641-1155 to get started.

(Note: Athena Care does not accept TennCare — if you have TennCare, a community mental health center or the BHSN network is your best route. And, as mentioned above, Mental Health Cooperative can help.)

Start with one call

The most expensive option is doing nothing. Untreated mental health conditions tend to worsen and drive up crisis and hospital costs later, so getting help early is both healthier and cheaper.

Pick one step from this list and take it this week: dial 988 if you’re struggling now, look up a BHSN provider if you’re uninsured, or call Athena Care to get started. Quality mental health care in Tennessee is more within reach than it may feel right now — and you deserve it.

Contact us today

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Dr. Faith Roby, Ed.D, LMFT-S, SAP

Therapist
Dr. Roby specializes in treating trauma, complex PTSD, PTSD, mood disorders, emotion dysregulation, borderline personality disorder, anger issues, lack of assertiveness, family dysfunction, anxiety, Christian faith-based issues, faith-based substance use/addictions, sex abuse, stress, domestic violence, etc. Dr. Roby has trained in and utilizes DBT (dialectical behavioral therapy), CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), Prolonged Exposure, CPT (cognitive processing therapy), Phase 1 & 2 in Brainspotting, Bowen Family therapy, Gottman Level 1-2 & Treating Affairs & Trauma, Christian Integrative Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing.

Learn more about Dr. Roby

Mindfulness guide Meg Stein seated smiling at the camera .

Meg Stein, CFP

Editor
Meg is a certified mindfulness instructor and works at Alive and Aware Practice in Durham, NC. She has over ten years of experience as a content creator and marketing consultant, working in mental healthcare and social justice.

Sources:

Athena Care, Mental & Behavioral Health Services in Tennessee (2024–2025): https://www.athenacare.health/

Mental Health America, 2025 State of Mental Health in America — Tennessee data, reported by WKRN (Oct. 2025): https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-news/the-2025-state-of-mental-health-in-america-report-is-out-what-does-it-say-about-tn/

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Mental Health by the Numbers (updated 2025): https://www.nami.org/mental-health-by-the-numbers/

Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Behavioral Health Safety Net (2025): https://www.tn.gov/behavioral-health/bhsn.html

Metro Public Health Department, Behavioral Health Services, Nashville.gov (2026): https://www.nashville.gov/departments/health/clinical-health-services/behavioral-health-services

Mental Health Cooperative, Mental Health Services in Tennessee (2026): https://mhc-tn.com/