I think I would be willing to pay one session ahead, if I liked the T and so on, given the history. A month ahead seems excessive, especially when she wants to see you more than twice a month! Whatever you do, make sure you get a receipt!

That all said, I will not allow a T to keep a credit card on file and bill me as they wish. I did that with one I saw 4 times while my regular T was gone for 6 weeks. The substitute T charged me for 5 sessions and charged more than my copay ($40/session instead of $20). Since I wasn’t authorizing each charge and she never provided a receipt/invoice/statement I didn’t catch it until much later.

I pay my current T by check every week. I don’t need a receipt because I get the check image when she deposits them. I have paid her by credit card when I was on short-term disability (so cash flow was an issue), but I always got a receipt right away (emailed - and didn’t leave until it showed up on my phone). I pay by check so she doesn’t have to pay the transaction fee for running a card, though we haven’t discussed that.