Paying sessions later vs no therapy? Need advice please..

So I've moved out for work reasons. I had a fund for therapy but this relocation thing came totally out of the blue so I had to rent a small apartment for myself and I was required a huge deposit, omg.

I'm supposed to work part-time. I already know I'll actually work much more, but for the first 2 monts I'll get a part-time pay as the extra hours add the next month. So basically I have to cut my sessions with T, it's the last thing I cut but I had no choice in the end. I left my city, I don't know anyone and am pretty confused and I absolutely want to stay with my t at least. T said no problem for that, we can have a skype session if I'm too tired to go. Now there's a new problem: money. I can see her once a month for the next 2-3 months and I was worried that she would fill my space or that she wouldn't wait for me. So I told her and she said exactly: "actually I'd rather not leave you alone now that you are going through many changes all at once, you are in a delicate phase when you are recovering and suddenly have to go through big changes. I'm not filling your space and I wanted to separate the financial aspect from your well being which is way more important. You can pay me later when you can, even in small amounts at a time".
I really didn't expect that. I told her "we'll see", I thanked her from the heart and said that I like to be punctual and reliable though. and she said that this wouldn't make me less reliable at all to her.

I found it so nice, I saw these things happen but I didn't expect it for me, I've known her for 6 months not some years. I'll pay her of course. I need her and I'm tempted to say yes as I would hate not seeing her. (she had me say yes already..). But I can't help thinking that she won't get her money on time and it would be like I didn't get paid on time at work! I could not do shopping, pay rent etc. Well she can obviously afford it. But it doesn't feel right, no matter if one is wealthy by default or so. She's young too.
Any advice?
What would you do? Resist or accept? Thanks.

I am in the middle of nearly the exact same situation. I would say that you should accept her offer and her kindness. She has other clients who are paying, so it's not like she wouldn't get any money. Just a little less, and then it would be made up at a different time. She believes it's in your best interest to continue therapy, and so value yourself and your mental health enough to take her help.

It's a gift. Take it! She wouldn't offer for you to defer payment if she didn't mean it.

I have been through the same situation. I've been seeing my T for 4.5 years. First two years, someone else payed for my therapy, so I'd pay him his full fee. Later on, though, I couldn't afford him so for the next year he reduced his fee very generously, so that I could continue to see him. During the last year, things have been really hard for me so I only pay him once every four sessions, the already reduced fee. He told me that when I'm better, I'll start paying him back. I was also really skeptical about it (even though I also know he is very well-off etc., but that's not the point), but decided that a) he wouldn't have offered if he didn't mean it and b) continuing therapy is much more important. It's not that he won't get the money, it's just a middle ground so that we can keep up with the work we've been doing. I would certainly advice you not to stop; I know it will be hard and you will feel uncomfortable at times, but you have to keep in mind that you will pay eventually and that it is all for your own good.

Thanks for your advice.
Thank you, it helps, I guess you know the feeling! I see the point, it is true that I'm not her only client (thank God, lol).

I wondered whether she might feel forced to do it because of some sense of duty or ethical code..

Maybe what I really fear is that I will feel less valuable taking her help like this (just my issue, related to my own story, I know it happens all the time). I think I didn't expect such trust from her so I hadn't even considered this possibility.
But the thought that she offered it because she might think I'm worth the "risk" makes me feel better.

My biggest worry is that she might have offered it for sense of duty and that she will end up feeling like I'm taking advantage of her, and I will be embarrassed and sessions will become awkward. I can still pay for next session, I'm afraid I'll need to ask her again.
Do you think I can expose my worries for her feelings and let her know that I really appreciate, or will it be wrong?

If it were me, I might try to strike a balance between my need for therapy and how much I was willing to owe her and long I was willing for the arrangement to go on. Like if I had been going to therapy every week, I might try to cut back to every other week during the low cash flow period, and set a deadline for how long I would do this. For example, after 3 months of going every other week for a deferred payment, I would then start paying the regular fee for each session and paying back a portion of what I owed each month. And I wouldn't let myself go back to a weekly frequency until I was all paid up. That is just an example of how I might do it, your details would vary. But I would definitely set some of my own boundaries for myself on the arrangement.

I had a similar arrangement with my T, when I found myself unemployed. She first reduced her rate for me, and I paid that, However, there came a point where I couldn't even afford that. So she agreed to let me pay her later when I got a job. I did cut back on sessions so that I wouldn't have so much debt, and eventualy stopped seeing her as I was able to qualify for free counselling.

I just started paying her back, 2 months ago, and I'm paying a small amount monthly. When I find full time work, I'll increase the payment.

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Accept this wonderful gift!

you mentioned that you could pay her monthly so one thing you could do is divide up that monthly amount by 4 and pay her the smaller amount weekly. this way you'd still be in the habit of paying her every week and would be mindful of how much you will be owing her. i also think it is a good idea to give yourself a time limit as to how long you'll do this so in case your finances don't improve right away you don't find yourself in too much debt.

I think you should accept your offer. She said she would not fill your slot so she wouldn't be making money during that period if you didn't go...

I would accept.

I considered waiting for a job that wouldn't require relocation but I got a chance in a country that is deeply affected by the crisis so I took it.
I hate making her wait while I settle because I fear that she will end up feeling taken advantage of short after.

Thank you I like the idea, I know T will say something like "just think about taking care of yourself now" but I still like the idea of paying her something each time so I will tell her anyway. And I agree about the size of the debt! I would only accept because it is more a matter of waiting for the first 2 salaries, I will owe her 5-7 sessions in the end.

I think I will accept then, if I set the exact number of "free" sessions with T and express my concern about her feelings on not getting paid for a while. Hoping it's not too silly of me.

Your concern is far from silly and is completely reasonable. She sees you're a caring person who deserves her kindness.

Thank you! I feared that me wanting to talk also about *her* feelings would sound too weird or intrusive even though I really don't mean that. Thanks for your words..

Umm. . . It looks like your job's fault, not yours, to me. T can take care of herself; if she says pay her later when you are able and you know you can/will do that, then pay her later when you are able (and your job starts paying you properly!).