Some Big Chain Pharmacies Now Offering Therapy Inside Their Stores

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – It's been a stressful couple of years for many Americans and that has people thinking more about their mental health and looking for help.  Now, some big chain pharmacies are offering therapy inside their stores.

Newlywed Shakira Teagle felt real stress from the pandemic and decided she needed help.

"It's not always easy to, you know, just talk to the ones around you because we're all kind of like going through the same thing," the 29-year-old said. She started researching therapy options, but never expected to find it inside her local pharmacy.

CVS has hired licensed therapists like Luz Gomez-Casseres in dozens of stores.  She said in a retail setting she's able to reach patients who might not feel comfortable in a traditional office.

"It's the same service that you would get, the difference is that it feels very casual because you come in through the store," Gomez-Casseres said.

Four in 10 Americans report symptoms of anxiety or depression, up 30% from before the pandemic, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Now more than ever, therapy is in demand. Online therapy has boomed, and like CVS, Walmart, Rite Aid and Walgreens are all piloting mental health services in stores.

CVS is now offering therapy in 30 locations near Houston, Philadelphia, and Tampa.  The clinics offer mental health assessments and regular counseling.  Patients can just walk in and wait for an appointment, and stores have expanded hours to nights and weekends.

Teagle said she had trouble making an appointment elsewhere which is one reason she went to CVS. She's kept coming back for follow up therapy sessions because she's found it helpful.

"Coming here, I've learned ways to kind of, you know, talk myself through situations and talk things out," Teagle said.

Surveys show people often have trouble finding a therapist who accepts insurance, but CVS and those other big chains work with many insurance plans.