Do you pay your T if you go on vacation?

I went on vacation in September for a week, I told my T several months before that I was going to be away, but I was billed for my session.

If you didn't schedule an appointment then hell no you don't pay!! Just my humble opinion

I understand it is not unusual in some countries or even with some practitioners in the U.S.
I would not deal with a therapist who charged me for missed appointments if I gave notice, but I have heard of it. The thing I would find strange is if the client was not told that was how the therapist set up their business at the very beginning.

No. I generally see my gastroenterologist once a month, but if I'm doing well, I don't schedule an appointment, so I don't pay for it. I don't see why it should be any different with a therapist. They're not aa subscription service.

I don't have a problem with them charging for a session that's canceled without notice so that they can't give that time to someone else, but that's not what you're talking about. You're being charged for services that aren't being rendered, and in my opinion, that's wrong, bordering on unethical.

I think this is classically how it's done in (old skool) psychoanalysis. Something about not avoiding therapy or something. It comes from a time when the idea was that Herr Doctor's time was important and the client's was not. I wouldn't agree to it especially if it hadn't been clearly outlined at the start. I think it's extremely disrespectful of clients.

Just ask and bring it to your therapist's attention. It may have been an oversight. People make mistakes, so try not to make yourself crazy by trying to figure out, on your own, why you were billed when you can simply ask what the deal is and get it settled, sooner rather than later.

I had been a little unsure if my T was going to bill me or not. She had said at the start that I had to pay regardless of whether I went to my appointment or not, but in some way I felt there was some vagueness as I had expressed uncertainty about this due to other commitments in my life which might mean I can't make it. My interpretation was that if you decide not to go because you are pissed off, or can't face it, she still expects you to pay, but I thought if there was a planned break she would probably not charge.

As someone mentioned, this is more common with "old school" therapists, especially someone who is an analyst. It's still fairly common in England with private therapists according to one of my friend's who lives there. When she cancels for one day or a two week or month vacation, she pays her usual fees. But she knew this up front when she signed up with this therapist. In a sense, she recognized that she was signing this therapist up to be "her" professional therapist for the duration of their work together. That meant he gets paid regardless of whether she's there sitting across from him or off on vacation. She even pays him when HE goes on vacation! Until she terminates her relationship with him, she pays her usual fee on a weekly basis.

Personally, I'm not a fan of this kind of payment schedule and I wouldn't be open to it. I have no problem paying a therapist if I fail to cancel 24 or 48 hours before my session as I know that it is sometimes difficult to schedule another client in that time on such short notice. I'd talk to your therapist. It's possible that it was simply a billing error because you are such a regular and consistent client and somehow the fact that you cancelled with plenty of notice might not have been made clear to the billing person.

No. If I'm not in and give advanced notice he can fill the slot.

No service, no payment. Easy as that. I could never work with a t who wanted to charge me for appointments I never even attended. It's like the dentist charging for fillings he never put in.

My t is super super special. He does not charge me for sessions that I don't book or attend. Does you t offer you a session during the Christmas holidays, or does your t expect a break? If he expects a break, then using your t's analagy, your t should pay you, as they missed a session!!!!

No, my T has a two week break in the Christmas holidays. I don't pay.

Does your T pay you every time she calls out or is on vacation?

Screw old school therapists.

If I give more than a 24 hour notice, no frickin' way am I going to pay that bill. If I found out I had a T that did that, I'd first have a conversation to make sure it wasn't an oversight and then I'd tell them that this bill was the last I was paying, thank you very much (time to find a new T).

I would not pay for services I did not receive unless I was paying say, monthly installments for a set number of sessions. I mean, people do it with trainers and some other professionals, but I would hesitate to enter into any contract of the sort that did not have a caveat allowing for make-up sessions. If I pay for 30 sessions, I want 30 sessions even if I'm unavailable one week. I think the only exception I would tolerate would be for a group class (if I skipped a class in college, I wasn't prorated for the number I actually attended)...
definitely check out if that's a misunderstanding or error in billing, and potentially have a conversation with your t...

Nope. I don't pay for sessions that I don't schedule, or if I cancel with enough notice. My T does require 3 business days notice to cancel, which is the longest I've ever seen and almost scared me away initially. That means if I need to cancel a Wednesday noon session, I need to cancel by noon on Friday. That's a lot of notice!!!

I did ask him about January, and what would happen if we got iced/snowed in, and didn't have enough notice (this has happened where I live for the last couple of years, usually there's a week in January where I just don't leave the house).

He said if I can't come because of ice, it's fine, he's not going to charge me. If I can't come because "it's really cold!" - he'll charge me LOL. I assured him that I have warm clothes and understand how to dress in layers!

Oh - and a previous T I had actually *would* give you a free session if he had to cancel with less notice than what he requires from his clients. I can't remember if it was 24 or 48 hours, but if cancelled your session at the last minute, next one was free! I thought that was awesome (though it never happened) - because it felt very considerate that he was willing to voluntarily live by the same rules he expected his clients to follow!

If I'm on vacation, I either reschedule or cancel, so I don't have a "missed" session that I would have to pay for. T can fill my regular spot or not, but knows that I will not be there. My T has a 24 cancellation policy, but it's never been an issue. And, if we have to cancel due to weather, she doesn't charge. My T is also willing to do phone sessions if for some reason either of us can't make it in to her office.

God, no. I know some therapists do that - mostly psyuchoanalysts. I would not find it fair at all for a therapist to charge for sessions that never happened.

I'd put a dead fish in their therapy room.

Good lord. Deal-breaker for me, no question.

Billing if no notice is given is reasonable. This kind of crap is not.

She doesn't want me to pay for anything that I don't attend. She has told me repeatedly if I was with my family having a great time but had appointment with her. She wanted me to skip the appointment with her. I have never done this. As far as illness...there were a couple times I have been at the tail end of something. I would email her telling her what was going on. She has told me to come in if I felt like it as she was fine with whatever I had going on. If I miss an appointment due to illness she doesn't want payment..

Ha and does it work both ways? Like if the T takes vacation she/he paying you for the session missed?

so what did you end up doing? paying or telling her you would not pay?

I only pay for sessions that I schedule. I agree with the poster who said that you should ask about it, it might have been an oversight. I would also discuss with your T upcoming issues. If no appointment was scheduled...

My T can't bill my insurance if I don't see her. But she wouldn't anyways. She won't even charge me a cancelation fee even if I don't show up to a session w/o notifying her. She actually never heard of a cancelation fee until I asked her about it.