My current t doesn't charge for last-minute cancellations, though I've rarely cancelled unless I was sick or in the hospital.

I had one t charge me her full fee even though I was stuck on the side of the road with car trouble. I was coming from work and it would have taken me 2 hours to get to her office on a good day and yet I showed for every appointment. I had never before cancelled on her... that was the end of that. I never rescheduled.

I get the need for boundaries and cancellation policies, but inflexible ones are excessive. We're all human, life happens. If a client made a habit of canceling at the last minute on a regular basis, it's time to figure out what's going on with the therapy and/or the client that's creating a barrier to treatment. Maybe it's a poor fit, maybe the client is afraid of something, maybe there's transference, maybe child care is an issue, maybe money or time plays a role. It's then the therapist's job to work with the client to ease the barriers (switch times, drop session frequency, address the emotional barriers...). Sure, boundaries are necessary, but so is understanding. I'm pretty sure the same therapists that demand their fee regardless of excuse would never hold themselves to such strict boundaries. Is compensation offered when the therapist needs to cancel?

One of the things I've heard over and over again from good therapists is the importance of "meeting the client where they are" and working from that point. Overtly rigid boundaries prevent that.