BILLINGS— A Billings mental health group has been working to make therapy more accessible for all since they started meeting in September.
Redefining Love, which meets in small groups every week, provides discussion workshops on topics such as forgiveness, grief, boundaries and trauma.
Watch to see what a workshop looks like:
Billings mental health group aims to make therapy more accessible for all
“It’s just a really great complement to their therapy experience so I really feel like it’s a collaborative experience between myself and the therapist in our community,” said Redefining Love Founder Sara Beth Wald.
The group aims give participants a less intimidating and less costly introduction to traditional talk therapy.
“There’s a lot of area for improvement with our mental health scores here in this area, as it is everywhere, and I wanted to be able to do something that offered some help to support our community through that,” said Wald.
Vanessa Willardson
Sara Beth Wald leading workshop
The group meets in groups of 15 maximum, and the workshops are free through a scholarship funded by the nonprofit Billings Community Foundation, explained before checkout when you sign up for a workshop.
“I’ve done a lot of personal growth over the last many years, but every workshop, I learn something new,” said one participant, Winnette Rak, who has attended five workshops so far.
“I love meeting new people. I love seeing where people are at in their journeys,” added Rak.
Vanessa Willardson
Concern for mental-health access is growing across the state. According to David Eichler, a Montana therapy licensure candidate at Next Stage Therapy and Counseling, Montana is in a mental-health crisis.
“Montana has really an epidemic along with Alaska and Wyoming and the Dakotas and Colorado. Montana has been in the top five (suicide rate) for like 30 years,” said Eichler.
He says the crisis is due to several factors.
“Montana has kind of a toxic brew for suicide and the same with those other states. It has a propensity for guns, so it’s easy to commit the act. Alcoholism and substance use is very high in the state,” said Eichler.
“When you work pretty much alone and don’t talk to anybody or just see your family at night, that can lead to some bad things. There are financial pressures in the rural parts of the states, farming, ranching. These are businesses that are under a lot of pressure now,” he added.
Vanessa Willardson
David Eichler
Multiple studies affirm that depression and suicide rates in the state are higher than average.
A 2022 CEUfast Blog report identifies Billings as the U.S. city with the highest rate of depression, and a 2023 report from the CDC shows Montana as having the highest suicide death rate.
Eichler encourages people to explore options for therapy through insurance, which he says usually brings out-of-pocket costs down to $10 to $35 per session.
“The good news is private insurance, the type that some people get through work, is better with therapy than it used to be, a lot better. Maybe the perception is, ‘Oh, I won’t be able to do it,’ is a little out of date,” said Eichler.
“What I’ve said to clients is, ‘I’m not going to let money be the thing that keeps you from getting help,’” he added.