[Melbadaze]

I was just standing at the sink washing up, and suddenly this thought popped into my mind, I wonder if T came into a very large sum of money would she continue to do therapy? I must ask her this on Friday, Im sure she will twist this around and say its about me trying to have a value put on the relationship, perhaps it is a form of that, but still, I'm still interested in what would happen if she did come into large sum of money.

That IS an interesting thought. I have a friend who's going into psychology, and sometimes I wonder "Are they going into psychology because they want to help people, or is it just for the money?" So it sort of raises the question: What's more important to the therapist, helping others or cash?

I'm hoping to be a psychologist someday, and if I came into a large sum of money I'd either want to keep working, or perhaps open my own practice that gives counselling to others more easily by charging people according to their family's income. So if someone had a very low income, I'd charge them a very low amount.

[Melbadaze]

I think I know in my heart she does enjoy her work, because her motto in life is "To be helpful". She already does low cost for those that can't afford it, but I was thinking, STILL if she come into a load of money what would she do? I'd ask her to build an extension on to home and allow me my own bedroom there LOL!

[deliquesce]

austin-t told me if he won the lotto he'd stop practising. but he said because i'm the only client of his who's ever asked him not to leave, that we could continue therapy but maybe on his yatch.

i dont think the large sum of money question is fair: it sets up therapy as an either/or dichotomy of helpful or money grubbing. i think that part of the privilege of being a therapist is that you get paid for it, and given that people need to work for an income it's a great job to have. but certainly i can think of other jobs which require less years of study which pay triple the amount a therapist earns, easily. pdoc doesn't charge me at all (but he does get a minimal sum under medicare), austin-t charges me $20 where the 'standard' wage for a psychologist is $206/hr. he has told me he will see me pro bono should i ever lose my job or find it difficult to pay.

Mine would retire in a heartbeat. He's close enough to retirement that I can imagine he'd buy himself a cabin on a river somewhere and spend his time fly-fishying. He'd play with his grandbabies and his dogs and just sit back and enjoy.

[Melbadaze]

Originally Posted by deliquesce

i dont think the large sum of money question is fair: it sets up therapy as an either/or dichotomy of helpful or money grubbing. i think that part of the privilege of being a therapist is that you get paid for it, and given that people need to work for an income it's a great job to have. but certainly i can think of other jobs which require less years of study which pay triple the amount a therapist earns, easily. pdoc doesn't charge me at all (but he does get a minimal sum under medicare), austin-t charges me $20 where the 'standard' wage for a psychologist is $206/hr. he has told me he will see me pro bono should i ever lose my job or find it difficult to pay.

Oh I Have no issue with therapist earning a wage. I am one of those that pays out of pocket and wishes I could pay T a lot more, I think she deserves. But still the thought popped into my mind, I dont think its about fairness, it was just more random thinking and I doubt I'll ask her really. This was more of a light hearted post, nothing to get to political about.

[MissCharlotte]

I am most certain she would semi-retire and keep you as her only client; free of course, for the rest of your life. She would let you pick out all the new luxurious furniture in her office as well. And when you came for session a butler would answer the door and bring in a tray of little finger sandwiches and sweets with tea.

Originally Posted by deliquesce

where the 'standard' wage for a psychologist is $206/hr. .

OMG. how does anyone pay for that??????

....... that is more than 60% of my weekly salary..

woa

Originally Posted by Melbadaze

I was just standing at the sink washing up, and suddenly this thought popped into my mind, I wonder if T came into a very large sum of money would she continue to do therapy? I must ask her this on Friday, Im sure she will twist this around and say its about me trying to have a value put on the relationship, perhaps it is a form of that, but still, I'm still interested in what would happen if she did come into large sum of money.

this is a very good question. because i see that it could go a couple ways:

1) T quits -- bye bye everyone!
2) T works completely pro-bono on T's own time with a few clients that T deeply cares about helping "heal" ---- (then it becomes, are you one of them?)
3) T continues working as regular and doesnt let the money affect her

it is interesting that you thought T would address this as a value put on the relationship.....I think my T would address it as an "abandonment" question...

i dont think my T would quit. she loves what she does and even already helps people for so little money, that money is not "T's thing"....
(trust me, i know, i pay very little to see her)



good question!

[Chronic]

Originally Posted by Melbadaze

I was just standing at the sink washing up, and suddenly this thought popped into my mind, I wonder if T came into a very large sum of money would she continue to do therapy? I must ask her this on Friday, Im sure she will twist this around and say its about me trying to have a value put on the relationship, perhaps it is a form of that, but still, I'm still interested in what would happen if she did come into large sum of money.

i was thinking the same thing the other day. i think that t would still work but might move somewhere more exotic and probably charge less. i think ts do their job coz they naturally want to help people, and they to get paid well too. my t says the reason he does his job is because he gets so much pleasure and satisfaction from seeing people heal and get the happiness they want. no amount of money can buy that. i agree with deli-if they were just in it for the money there are easier ways to get rich.

[possum220]

My P'doc says he does his job because he loves it. I don't think its a job that you would choose just for the money.

There are a lot of well paying job around for smart people.

Talking to people would be something you would have to like doing.

Just my $202:60 dollars worth lols.

[peaches100]

I think my t would retire if she came upon a large sum of money. I say this because she told me 2 or 3 years ago, when i was worried about when she'd retire, "Oh, I don't have the money to retire right now." At this point, she told me she is beginning to think about retirement. I know she is concerned for her patients who aren't through their healing journey yet though, because she told me she would want to keep working with me, saying that "we've come a long way, but we still have a ways to go, and i don't want to stop now." She said something about possibly starting her own practice up again if she retires.

True. I didn't go into teaching for the money either. But given loads of money to do whatever I wanted to, I'd probably move on. I can imagine giving lots of money to charities perhaps to further the education of people who can't afford it (college I'm thinking). I'd give a good portion to the church. I'd take care of all of my family. And I'd PLAY with the rest. I'd imagine a t would go about in the same direction. Contribute in some way to his own profession as a start and play with the rest.

Oh, that $206 doesn't go very far (mine doesn't make that much to start with). Ask your t to break it down for you. It's amazing how little is left after insurance takes a cut, office expenses, etc. They aren't in it for the money because they really don't make that much to start with.

[Luce]

When I first started seeing my old T she was a typical middle class T working in a community centre for youth (up to age 25). During the course of my therapy her husband's business took off exponentially and they became super-exremely billion- dollar business kind of wealthy. It enabled her to open a beautiful private practice in one of the wealthiest areas in town, where myself and several others from the community centre were able to continue therapy with her as pro bono clients for many more years.
About ten years after I left therapy with her (I moved to another city) I had the opportunity to return to the city for about a month. I asked if I could have an appointment with her, and told her I would be able to pay her $170ph fee. She 'insisted' that I came in once a week for the duration of my visit, and when I replied that I could only afford to see her the one time she said she wanted me to pay $170 in total for four visits. She wrote something like "I don't want something as unimportant as money to prevent us from seeing each other."
My old T was in the very fortunate position of not having to worry about money at all. I *know* she did her job purely because that was what she loved to do.

Edited to add: My T is nearing retirement age now, but she could have retired years ago. She only works two days a week now. The other three week days she looks after her young grandchildren.
Oh, and she lives in a multimillion dollar mansion on one of the best beachfronts in the country, and goes on at least several first class vacations to exotic locations every year.

[brickbat]

I'm nearly positive my T wouldn't retire. He's heavily involved in a lot of T stuff outside of his private practice and from everything he has ever said to me about why he went into this field it seems clear that it's really his 'calling'. I do think that he might take on fewer patients or something like that, though, because he's probably a little overworked right now.

[Perna]

I'm retired but know that I still have to "work" on something that interests me. I think people who have jobs they enjoy are those who are less likely to be as affected by suddenly getting lots of money. I think it's more often the lottery winners who quit their jobs and don't really have experience with money and jobs or hobbies that they enjoy who have the troubles and go broke:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...rMillions.aspx

[sunrise]

I am sure my T would keep practicing. I think he may even have addressed this possibility. "Even if I had all the money in the world...." My T loves what he does and is very passionate about it. He has moved partly into a new area in the last 5 years so that probably helps it stay fresh, but he still loves the pre-existing area too.

Originally Posted by ohseedee

sometimes I wonder "Are they going into psychology because they want to help people, or is it just for the money?"

I doubt people become therapists because of the money, because they don't make that much money! I think there is a glut of therapists out there, and many can not find enough clients to support themselves. When you are a therapist, you have to run your own business, somehow get clients (market yourself without using the straightforward marketing techniques that businesses use), pay for office rental and overhead and your own health insurance, fund your retirement without the help of an employer's "match" or plan, fund your own vacation time and sick leave, etc. All these things add up to it being hard to break even for many therapists. The $208/hr that was quoted (for my T, it's not that high) is only for the times when you are seeing clients, and you get reimbursed the full amount either by insurance or the client. If a client cancels on short notice and you can't fill the slot, you don't get paid for that hour. When you spend money doing your billing, on the phone with insurance advocating for clients, or talking with clients on the phone, you don't get paid for that. When insurance is involved, they often don't pay the therapist's full fee, but just the fee they have decided therapists should be getting, which is almost always an underbid.

All that applies to therapists in private practice, and that seems to be the bulk of them in my area, except for those in Community Mental Health or who work at a hospital and do inpatient. If you work in Community Mental Health, the salaries are very low, so again, you are not going to be making much money.

[purple_fins]

Originally Posted by Melbadaze

I was just standing at the sink washing up, and suddenly this thought popped into my mind, I wonder if T came into a very large sum of money would she continue to do therapy? I must ask her this on Friday, Im sure she will twist this around and say its about me trying to have a value put on the relationship, perhaps it is a form of that, but still, I'm still interested in what would happen if she did come into large sum of money.

I don't care to think of such things.
could cause needless distress/abondonment feelings.

I'm not sure I understand if this post is meant to be a funny thing to think about or a serious deep fear...

[deliquesce]

Originally Posted by Melbadaze

But still the thought popped into my mind, I dont think its about fairness, it was just more random thinking and I doubt I'll ask her really. This was more of a light hearted post, nothing to get to political about.

i dont see anyone getting political, but silly me for reading your first post where you said you "must" ask your T on friday (and not second guessing you) and responding with a serious answer.

Originally Posted by Solarwind

OMG. how does anyone pay for that??????

....... that is more than 60% of my weekly salary..

woa

i know, right? i remember when i first started with pdoc he would charge me $180, which was exactly what i would earn over the week (so i made sure to space my sessions out). finally he cottoned on and has been bulk billing me ever since, god bless.
i think most Ts in australia don't actually charge the full $206 (most go around $160?) but there are some therapists who charge even more. therapy here is for the rich, as it seems to be everywhere. but we do get 12 subsidised sessions by medicare, so that helps a lot for people who don't have chronic conditions.