Underpaying T - how do you deal with paying T a small amount?

I started seeing T at a low-cost clinic, and when our time there was up, she said she would be willing to see me at her private clinic for a low cost.

I don't know what T's usual rate is, but when I started seeing her at her private clinic we discussed payment, and I said ideally I would pay 60 dollars a session. She accepted this, but I often wonder if it is a drain on her to have a low paying client.

On the other hand I think that maybe she has a certain number of clients on the lower end of the payscale, and I am just part of her managed average payments. That I might bring the average down a little, but she has an average payment across all her clients that she is happy with.

How do you rationalise underpaying T?

I do not directly pay my T, but I know the insurance reimbursement is appalling. Remember that the fee does not reflect what T is worth; it reflects what you can pay. If your T accepts the amount, shouldn't you be able to, too?

I agree with the above poster. If your T accepts the amount, I think you can make peace with yourself. You are doing what you can, and your therapist sounds like a great T for working with you to figure out a payment arrangement that will allow you to keep working together.

I'm not sure if your therapist specifically talked about it, but I do know that some therapists offer a sliding scale fee. Which basically means the cost of the session varies depending on the person's ability to pay. It is not unusual for therapists to make adjustments. Yes - they need to make enough money to make a living but most therapists did not enter into the business wanting to make a profit and/or thinking that they were going to get rich.

Your therapist has worked out her finances on her end and has determined that continuing to be your therapist, despite whatever discrepancy there might be between her typical fee and what you are paying, is not going to break her financially. It sounds like you might be feeling a little bit guilty that you may possibly be paying less than some of her other patients (understandable). However, she has decided to continue working with you. She have just cut you off if you couldn't pay her full fee. If I were in your shoes, I would be feeling special. But maybe that's just me.

I also started seeing my long term t at a low cost community clinic, and around the time when myself and a couple of clients were aging out of the clinic T set herself up in private practise. She kept me and two other clients I know of on at the community clinic fees (less than a 1/4 of her private fee),
Here's how I rationalized it: By telling myself t is responsible for her own decisions. She is responsible for her own fees, her own management, her own choices. I took a leap of faith and trusted that if t had a problem with the fee she would address it with me.
Your T accepted the rate of $60. That right there is the only rationalization you need.

I don't really feel special, and therapy seems to be very impersonal, although she is very nice. I have never even shaken her hand.

She is a wealthy T, I know where she lives and her house costs a million dollars. Maybe she doesn't care about money because she makes enough? That would be another rationalisation.

My T charges me half her usual rate because I have an autistic daughter and am her carer (although thanks to T I now have a DX of autism and PTSD, which I didn't have before- she didn't push me but helped me realise that it would be good to know for certain)
I have just been awarded disability benefits and have decided to up the payments myself as I've always felt that my T is worth a lot more than I could previously afford- although it still isn't what she charges as her full rate (which is actually quite cheap as it is)



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My T was also very wealthy, which is another rationalization... you don't have to worry that T will struggle to pay her bills because you are not paying full fee. And it really is quite common for people in some fields to have sliding fees or even take some work on pro bono.
Trust that she will let you know if it isn't okay.

I found it hard in the beginning. But now I'm just use to it.

I believe if the therapist says they will sit there for X amount, even if others pay Y - that it is their decision and go on with my life.

I pay my therapist a lower amount from what she typically charges. Because she is out of network I have to pay upfront then submit her receipt to get reimbursed, which is not the customary 80% but 70% because of her not being a participating provider. I don't mind though because she is a good therapist! As far as how I feel about paying at a reduced rate...I used to feel bad about it but I do the best that I can and my therapist knows that. I recently told her that I wanted to pay her x amount of dollars more because I am able to so we agreed to that.

The therapists finances are the responsibility of the Therapist, period. It is not up to the client to worry about taking care of the T.

I understand the inclination, I've had the same thought about how much my T must get paid in the end. I've even done the math of looking at my bills and calculating how much the Insurance company takes, vs, my copay etc. but in the and I realized this is a classic case of deflection from my own issues and care-taking My T. Care-taking is my co-dependent self, and "my little girl looking after Mom."

T's finances are HER job not mine. She makes her own decisions on sliding scale payments for her own reasons. I care about her but I have to respect the fact that she's a professional and she can handle her own life.

I need to clear that space to worry about my own issues, not hers.

My T is 100$/hr but I pay 25$. I feel bad bc he has to put up with a lot of my ****. It was a little weird to talk abt what my rate would be when he left the program I was in. He said 12.50$ but we bumped it up to 25$ a few weeks later. It's been that for 2 yrs now

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