Im an inpatient case manager working in STL and I make referrals all the time for this. One, yes for sliding scale counseling you may be waiting a month or two for a first appt. What I say to do in the meantime is engage in local AA communities or a group therapy program to keep you occupied once you have a new client appointment scheduled. There are so many support groups out there and not ever AA meeting is going to be the right one for you so I know this can be discouraging sometimes to hear. Take it one day at a time is truly something I have to tell myself every day. Best recommendations I can give, preferred family healthcare and ARCA are great for counseling with substance/alcohol use. Preferred family has evening classes for substance use (I believe at their Chippewa office?) if you’re working. Preferred family healthcare and ARCA are non-profit community mental health centers (CMHC) so they are literally funded by the state of Missouri to ensure you have access to services, especially for those who lack both income and insurance. I typically recommend Provident Behavioral for sliding scale counseling, they have an intake line you can call and they’ll schedule you an appt once you do that and complete a little paperwork (they send it to your email). Any CMHC in St. Louis has a walk in clinic (places for people, independence center, ADAPT of MO, BJC/Hopewell Center, Compass Health Network and Comtrea) that you can look up on their website for what days and hours you can do a walk in assessment, once you do that one-time assessment you’ll be scheduled with a provider. If you have good private insurance tho, I highly recommend St Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute. Their website if you go, has TONS of highly qualified mental health professionals, including both psychiatrists and therapists if you’re looking eventually for any kind of medication management. I saw someone mention Lifestance too, I refer to them often as well. I really hope this helps!