[suzzie]

between seeing a counselor or a psychologist.

[pegasus]

Yes.

A Psychologist (clinical or counseling psychologist) has had 6+ years training where as a counselor has had 2+ years training. A psychologist has had training in many methods of psychotherapy where as a counselor may only have 2 or 3 types of therapy that they are experts in. But you know, it is really about who you feel a connection with and some counselors are just as good as a psychologist with the amount of experience they have had. Hope this helps.

[suzzie]

thank you pegasus i was just wondering because my new t said she has two fees. one for counseling. and one for psychologist.

[CantExplain]

Originally Posted by suzzie

thank you pegasus i was just wondering because my new t said she has two fees. one for counseling. and one for psychologist.

That's interesting. How different are the fees?

I speculate that the psychologist rate includes a diagnosis and perhaps a lot more paperwork for T.

[shoez]

I saw a really advanced psychologist in a fancy place with nice lighting and scented lysol thingees on the outlets..and she sucked.

and now I see a counselor in a center thats not as fancy and shes better.
Of course! Im not saying one is better than the other, im just stating my own experience

what I am saying is, that its not always clear cut on degrees and such, and also it depends on what you are seeing them for, if its something a bit more serious, perhaps someone with more experience and specific lisence would help better.

But just in general, I dont feel its something you can clearly base quality off of alone.

Though there are times I think if she was a psychologist she might be able to help me faster, but I dont know that for sure..so thats just my random thought.

[suzzie]

theres a thirty five dollar difference between the two.

just wanted to mention. i didnt know she was a psychologist. i just picked her because i wanted to try someone close to where i live. and there isnt alot of ts to choose from here. she told me she was when she mentioned her fee(s). ive only seen her once so far.

I'm kind of confused by her two fee charges. Therapy is therapy. Someone who has more educational/advanced degrees is perfectly within her right to charge a higher fee than someone with a less advanced degree. But how does she determine what she provides and doesn't provide for the two different fee levels? This sounds really confusing to me. In my area, psychiatrists charge more than a PhD psychologist and the PhD person often charges more than the master level people (LCSW, mental health counselors etc). But I've never heard of anyone charging more for different levels of service with their degrees based on what they provide. If she's talking about charging more for assessment/testing/court report writing etc. I'd get her different fee levels. But if you ask for counseling services as opposed to psychological services, what's the difference . .. with one she does indepth psychological interpretations and analysis and with the other she just supports and makes suggestions???? Sounds very weird to me. I'd suggest asking her specifically what the difference is.

[sconnie892]

I find this two fee thing odd as well. I see a psychologist and she had a higher fee for the assessment appointment than the regular appointments. The ts in the group have varied fees based on their levels of training. I agree with Jaybird - how does she delineate between the two types of therapy?

[suzzie]

i dont understand how she can separate the two either. but know it must be ok. as she works with crime victim assistance claims as well.

because i have coverage for 2 pyschologist sessions a year. and none for counseling. she said i can do the 2 pyschologist ones. and then the rest at the lower cost for the remaining of the year.

Okay, I get that if she does "crime victim assistance claims" she is talking about doing evaluations and written reports. This means that she has to take time out of session to analyze and write a report that can be used in court or in "claim" support cases. I'm guessing that she provides other agencies with support for what the client is asking for in regard to court cases, social security disability or social security insurance payments. These take more time and effort beyond the fifty minute sessions of typical therapy. I'm not sure why she is telling you what she can offer you other than perhaps she is telling you about the higher fee (which it appears your insurance will cover) as opposed to a typical therapy session. Perhaps she is willing to bill your insurance at the higher rate, knowing that your insurance will cover those two sessions as opposed to the typical therapy sessions that your insurance don't cover. I might be misunderstanding, but this might be the reason.. .. if what I'm describing is what she's doing, than I'd say she was being very kind in saying that she is willing to do the higher rate billing, knowing that it will covered by your insurance . .. that said, I don't know many of us who are "fixed" by two sessions. Insurance is the pits!

[suzzie]

thanks jaybird! it makes sense now. i think that you are right that is what she is doing.