Paying for Emails to T

I have a question - not that T has offered this - yet.
But what would you think/feel if your T changed email to allow unlimited emails at a cost? Say $100 (US) for 20 emails?

I don't think I would like that at all. For me, it would make the situation feel 'cold'. I send 3-4 emails per week. That would probably cost me $100 month! I don't think that would work for me. Since I am the only client she has that emails, there has been no problem at all. She assures me that she is fine with it, but to understand that sometimes it may take her a couple of days to respond. If I put urgent in the subject line, I will hear back from her that day.

$100 for 20 emails? That would be different for me. I wouldn't feel that my emails would be as personal and emotional if I were paying to have them read.

I don't know of any t who would be able to tolerate unlimited emails. Yikes! I would think even 20 would be pretty unmanageable, even if he was getting paid to read them. It would be awfully indulgent.

My T doesn't do emails so that's not even something to contemplate. I'm glad she doesn't because I would have a terrible time resisting the temptation to overwhelm her. Having to wait until my session is probably the best for me, although very uncomfortable sometimes

I'm not sure I could to pay my rent if T charged per email! Even though I do email a lot it still doesnt replace the face to face relationship we have. Do you feel that you are emailing T too much between sessions?

I think it would discourage clients from using that form of communication for reaching out. The thing with emails is, T's can choose to respond or not, and how much they want to respond. If they find they are getting overwhelmed with emails, they could easily just reply back with "I've read your email and we can talk about it in session." That sentance took me all of 10 seconds to type.

My T allows me to email as much as I want, but I don't abuse it either...during a particularly tough week, I might send 2 or 3 emails, but there have been months where I didn't send any. One time, she didn't respond to a very long email I sent and I told her that it really bothered me that she didn't respond. So, she agreed that if she can't take the time to really respond, she would just give me a quick - got it, we'll talk later - reply.

However, my T does charge for phone calls longer than 10 minutes. I can't recall what she charges, but I can understand that, since once you pass that 10 minute mark, you're starting to eat in to her time, and really having a phone session rather than a quick coaching call.

Don't send emails much, but would rather book an extra session. Emails feel like a placeholder until the real session.

WePow, I wonder why you are asking?

By unlimited emails, do you mean he would then be obliged to read and respond to every email he gets?

I agree with indulgent. And few indulgent patients would make the therapist burn out in few months.

I'm thinking that would get awfully time-consuming, awfully fast for that therapist. Just using the example provided, that's $5 per email, and you figure it's at least 10 minutes to figure out, type and send a BRIEF coherent response...that's $.50 per minute, or $30/hour at most. Not that Ts do this solely for the money, but they do have bills to pay, and I don't see that working well for too many of them. Never mind the boundary problems--my T would flip at the idea of substantive emails between sessions! He really emphasizes learning how to cope using a range of supports outside T. But I know, everyone's different, clients and Ts alike. Just my $.02.

It is just a question I was curious about. I was reading an article about email and Ts. NOT a personal question in this situation :-)

In theory there are t's that already do this (email therapy). I have emailed but don't find the idea of paying for email that comforting, just because half the charm of it is being able to reach out. And as someone who does freelance writing, I can imagine that would be HARD to price. Do you charge by the page? By the hour? By how helpful the response is?

My T does do email therapy and charges the same as he does for a face to face session. Not sure how many emails a week that would equate to but if I was paying the same I would want lots of access to him via email. Im not keen on that idea though

Part of this whole email thing may be due to the size of practice a therapist has. Some may have 100 clients (or more) they see very month!! Yikes, that could turn into a lot of emails during the week if he/she did not have some kind of boundary on it.

If I were a therapist, this would be a hard decision for me. Some clients really need this and others would abuse it and send an email every time they got the impulse to do so. The boundary (IMO) should be set between the client and therapist. Not every client receives the exact same treatment and I think emails should faulter in there somewhere.

Like I have mentioned before, I am the only client that emails my therapist for things other than appointments or general questions. I didn't know this for a long time, so when I found out, I was quite embarrassed.

She basically explained that I do not hide behind my emails (I did at first), but they are ways for me to process during the week, get a quick feedback from her, and help our sessions to be more productive when we meet. I definitley spent months just sitting on her couch with nothing to say and was getting so frustrated that I wanted to end therapy altogether. She knew I was pretty close to leaving. Her comment was "What do you need to feel safe? What can we do to build trust? Is there something that you can do to make it more comfortable for you to talk about your feelings?"

This was the week that I sent her my first email. At the next session she was blown away and said, "Now I understand. You are a writer. Your emotions flow well onto paper. This is a gift. Keep writing and we will work through this together. Just let me know when you need feedback and I will respond to you. If not, we will discuss them in our next session."

We went from her just briefly skimmimg through the email and highlighting some points, to having her read the entire email out loud to me, and now I bring my journal notes and read them out loud to her. When it is a particually tough topic, I do go back to having her read it to me. There are times when I have parts I want her to read, and then parts I want to read.

This works very well for us. I have a feeling that a 'cold turkey' is coming soon. That would be a session where I do not want to go because I don't think I have anything to say. I don't have any journal notes to bring. This session will more than likely be the one where a meltdown/breakthrough comes. I may not even talk much, but the emotions will poor out. That will be very healing for me.

I still ask her periodically if I am getting on her nerves with emails. Every time she tells me, "No you are not bothering me, you are not driving me nuts, you are not crossing any boundary line, you are not boring me to tears, and any other thing that you may be telling yourself!"

I don't email my therapists, but my first T charged $80 an email, if it was personal in nature (ie: not just verifying the time of the appointment, etc) . She considered it the same as getting in an extra session.

Thank you all VERY much for this input!!!

My agency frowns on us using email. However, they list it on our business card so I have a few that email me to update me before session. If it asks a question or needs a response, I will usually call and then bill for calling through their medicaid.

I couldn't imagine being charged for email because I use it so frequently. It'd cost me more then the actual face to face therapy.

Same! I know I'm the first client T has used e-mail with...I don't know if I'm still the only one or not. I e-mail him when I need to, and when I need a reply I ask for one. Sometimes he sends a one liner (I'm still here), sometimes he writes a paragraph.

We probably have contact about every other day on average. Maybe more in a hard time. I like knowing he's out there, and I so appreciate that he's willing to do this for me.

i know a few Ts who do this. $20 per email if they are going to respond with a paragraph, or it waits until the next session if it is too substantive.

i wonder why people find it indulgent?

my therapist does not use email so that is not an option, however I can send as many hand written letters I need to between sessions which she does read before my next sessions. She says that it's OK to write my thoughts and feelings out and not hold it all in between our face to face contacts. She has written letters for me to hang onto between sessions to focus on when I am really struggling and that helps alot.

I don't think I'd be prepared to pay for emails, but I do understand your reasons. I send T one mail between sessions usually. she doesn't reply, as she doesn't want me to hide behind emails and not talk in session.

Thats the way my therapist agency works anyway. one flat rate of $150.00 per hour they spend on each case, it doesnt matter if its 50 minutes of my being in the office with her, or 50 minutes on the phone, 50 minutes it takes her to read through things I give her.. for every 50 minutes she spends on my issues she has to charge.

I can email her a hundred times (believe me with DID you can send out 100 emails in an hour LMAO, been there done that) or write unlimited number of letters to her and she would still have to keep track of how much time she spent on them and for each hour she spends on them she has to charge per hour for it.

I prefer to do my therapy time with my therapist as an in person session not by emails and letters. saves sitting here wondering .. did she get my email yet.. wonder if she read it yet... why doesnt she write me back... why doesnt she call me back... all kinds of things like that. in person therapy works better for me.

Wow, charging for emails...just seems a little extreme to me. I say either allow emails (for free) or just don't allow them. If my T charged me for every text that I sent her I think I would have filed for bankruptcy about 5 times now. Lol.

Interesting point WePow. I usually email T once a week with session topics. I really limit it to that, and I KNOW he might not respond, and I am fine with that.

I did need some support this past week. I was in a really bad state, it was either call T or jump in the sub zero northern ocean. (when I get bad I think I can do things that are super human). Anyhow...he spent over a half hour on the phone with me, speaking like I was the only client he had, and the only person that mattered. I think he should be paid for that, and I really hope he bills me, in fact, the first thing I will do next session is insist on paying for that extra time.

I am wondering... is it even possible to be a therapist and work the regular hours, or do most therapist work for less (if not counting answering e-mails and phonecalls).