Charge therapist for missed appointment?

DarkAsNight · May 18, 2011 at 12:41 AM

2 part question:

1. If one misses an appointment with a therapist cuz they made a mistake about the time/location/or something came up last minute [obviously not talking chronic case of missing appointments which would be very different], why should one be responsible for an honest mistake or circumstance and pay for it? Which leads to...

2. ...if one does have to pay cuz it's the therapist's professional income, time is money, what about the reverse? Why can't a client charge the therapist and get a credit for the next time? Isn't the client's time just as valuable? Isn't this inauthnetic and hypocritical to have different standards? Further, there is already an imbalance in power, why do therapists add to this imbalance like this?

Am I the only one who thinks this?

emilyjeanne · May 20, 2011 at 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkAsNight

2 part question:

1. If one misses an appointment with a therapist cuz they made a mistake about the time/location/or something came up last minute [obviously not talking chronic case of missing appointments which would be very different], why should one be responsible for an honest mistake or circumstance and pay for it? Which leads to...

2. ...if one does have to pay cuz it's the therapist's professional income, time is money, what about the reverse? Why can't a client charge the therapist and get a credit for the next time? Isn't the client's time just as valuable? Isn't this inauthnetic and hypocritical to have different standards? Further, there is already an imbalance in power, why do therapists add to this imbalance like this?

Am I the only one who thinks this?

Most T's have a policy that if you miss an appointment you will be charged. It usually doesn't matter the reason unless you get hit by a bus or something tragic like that. Also, T's see any appointment miss as a possible acting out behavior. I would not look at this like a power imbalance but as a boundary.

Second, I saw your other post about being dumped. So normally I would tell you to talk to your T about how you feel when she is late and doesn't give you the time back. Most T's will talk about this with you and come to some sort of resolution. I had an issue with an old T about this and we talked about it and if she was late she added it to the end of my session.

Perna · May 28, 2011 at 06:50 PM

T's will tell you their policy about paying or not; they're like doctors, you pay to go to them and if you don't go, they can't suddenly fill your place but if they're not there, you don't have to pay so how can you "bill" them? It doesn't work in that direction when you hire someone; you don't ever get paid by them, just service for money or no service for no money. They're running a business, you aren't, you're the consumer; if your T is absent too often, unexpectedly, find another one who isn't.

disguise123 · May 28, 2011 at 07:23 PM

i understand ur frustration.

salukigirl · May 30, 2011 at 11:25 AM

I kinda think this with all medical situations. Like why should I still pay my full copay when I'm in the waiting room for 45 mins and then waiting in the actual room for another 30 mins? It is annoying and frustrating but, unfortunately, there really isn't anything we can do about it

MrsEric · Jun 01, 2011 at 11:33 AM

I have thought about this once or twice. My T drives from about 45 minutes away and there have been times when I was his first schedueld appointment. I was already sitting in the waiting room when the receptionist would tell me he was out sick. It only happened a couple times but it was irritating. I just made it a personal policy to never be the first appointment of the day with him.

thewho · Jun 05, 2011 at 08:39 PM

Usually mine will add a bit of time. It's never been severe but like 10 minutes a few times and the session still ended at the normal time but next time it was an hour instead of 50 minutes.

If he was late 20 minutes or so every time and didn't make up for it I would definitely be going somewhere else though.

mgran · Jun 09, 2011 at 05:45 PM

I would write to him, and say that missed appointments would need to be charged for, since you're going out of your way to see him, you can't be messed about with. I'm sure he'd charge you if it was the other way round.

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disguise123 Grand Magnate Member Since Nov 2010 Posts: 3,362 13	May 28, 2011 at 07:23 PM #4 i understand ur frustration.
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salukigirl Magnate Member Since Oct 2007 Location: Fayetteville, AR Posts: 2,798 16 2 hugs given	May 30, 2011 at 11:25 AM #5 I kinda think this with all medical situations. Like why should I still pay my full copay when I'm in the waiting room for 45 mins and then waiting in the actual room for another 30 mins? It is annoying and frustrating but, unfortunately, there really isn't anything we can do about it
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thewho Member Member Since Jun 2011 Posts: 21 12	Jun 05, 2011 at 08:39 PM #7 Usually mine will add a bit of time. It's never been severe but like 10 minutes a few times and the session still ended at the normal time but next time it was an hour instead of 50 minutes. If he was late 20 minutes or so every time and didn't make up for it I would definitely be going somewhere else though.
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mgran Grand Poohbah Member Since Jul 2009 Posts: 1,987 14 75 hugs given	Jun 09, 2011 at 05:45 PM #8 I would write to him, and say that missed appointments would need to be charged for, since you're going out of your way to see him, you can't be messed about with. I'm sure he'd charge you if it was the other way round. __________________ Here I sit so patiently Waiting to find out what price You have to pay to get out of Going through all these things twice.
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