They absolutely should not be charging the same price. It is not a matter of a healthy relationship - there is nothing healthy about a relationship where you pay someone to sit there. They are actors - it is not real. And I never found talking something out with a therapist to be useful and usually it was harmful. Therapists are opportunistic and they get away with charging what clients will pay them. Tele-appointments are not hard. They do not involve overhead. But in a market set up - they can and will charge clients whatever they can get out of them. The client's only recourse is to find a different therapist or a different and more healthy and cheaper activity. I found yoga, qi gong, and meditation all to be more useful and free.