alcira, it sounds like you've made your decision-- and a good one! I just wanted to chime in since reading about your prospective T's policy really rubbed me the wrong way. Usually, policies are created to protect BOTH parties-- but this policy seems to be for the benefit of the T, at the expense of the client. That just doesn't seem right.

It's completely unreasonable to say that a client has a weekly slot and must pay for that slot NO MATTER WHAT. For instance, if your time slot happens to falls on Christams Day, are you expected to either show up or pay for missing that appointment? If you plan a vacation 6 months in advance, and give T 6 months notice, is that really insufficent? Is 6 months really not enough time to work on filling that slot? Or what if you are in a car accident, are hospitalized for several weeks, and inform your T immediately? Are you really expected to pay for the series of sessions you miss while you are in the hospital?

What if T encounters these same situations? Does she pay YOU when she misses a session? Or give you a free session to make up for her absence? Policies are really only fair if BOTH parties benefit from that policy. And, as others have already pointed out, that kind of rigidity is probably a "red flag" for an overly rigid approach to therapy AND that is probably the reason she has this kind of a policy-- because she can't fill her schedule!

Even a T who has a fairly strict attendance policy should have some caveats for extreme circumstances. For instance, I don't think it would be unreasonable to say that you must pay for your session IF she is unable to book another client in your slot. If you give her days (weeks, months) notice, she should have no problem booking that slot. If you give her 12 hours notice-- you're probably going to have to pay. Alternatively, it would not be unreaonable to say (as us instructors do in our attendance policies) that you get "3 free misses" per semester (or 6 months). That way, if you are sick once, you go on vacation once, and your car breaks down once, you don't have to pay for missing those sessions. However, if you miss more than 3 times, then you have to pay for any additional missed sessions. Those kinds of policies help differentiate a responsible client with a legitimate circumstance from an irresponsible client who simply misses appointments.

In terms of what policies are common/fair, I think my T's policy is both typical and reaonable. I have a set day/time each week (hence, she can depend on my having income from my session). However, I have the right to cancel/reschedule my appointment with appropriate notice. The more notice the better-- for instance, if I know I'm planning a vacation, I tell her as soon as I know. However, if I get sick at the last minute, I will not be charged for my session as long as I give her 24 hours notice. Since my T is *fabulous* and is in high demand, she can almost always fill her cancellations. That way, she doesn't lose income when I'm not there. It also works both ways. There have been times T has been sick-- or one of her kids has been sick-- or she's had a conference to go to--and she has had to cancel/reschedule my appointment. She is understanding when I have to reschedule, so I am understanding when she has to reschedule. I'm also a PhD student/instructor and my class schedule changes every semester. As a result, I sometimes have to change my time slot at the beginning of a new semester. T always accomodates this so, in exchange, I've been willing to move my time on a couple of occassions in order to accomodate another client who would otherwise not be able to get an appointment that week. (For instance, if my slot is usually Tuesday at 1, I've let her push me to Tuesday at 2 that week, so the other client could have Tuesday at 1). As long as I'm going to get seen and I don't have another commitment at that time, it doesn't matter to me whether my slot is at 1pm or 2pm. I think the ability to be "human"-- to be flexible within reason-- is important in a T relationship. As is a little give and take!