Should Ts be flexible?

My therapist doesn't do evening or weekend appointments. Is this bad practice or just her prerogative? It's very inflexible. If you work 9-5 it means you can't get an appointment which I don't think is fair. Any thoughts?

Personally, I think it is their prerogative. They have the right to decide how to run their business, what hours to keep, etc. Some therapists only work two days a week. Also their prerogative.

I think it is their prerogative too. Most GPs I know also work 9-5, it's their decision

Part of being in private practice is setting their own hours. If your T can get enough clients during the workday then she's got the right to choose what works for her.

Thanks guys. I felt this way too but a friend recently pointed out that it's unfair which got me thinking. I've started a 9-5 job recently which means I won't be able to see her unless she can do evening appointments which she won't

Could you go on your lunch break? Or do you have flexible work hours at all that you could go in later and leave later (or go early and leave early) one day a week?

There was a thread about this a while ago with lots of good input, maybe you can find it.

I definitely think it's their choice how they run their practice... part of the reason why people become self employed. Don't think one can fairly say it's unfair for an independent professional to set their hours. I think there are many Ts in private practice who work unconventional hours (early mornings, evenings, weekends) though. Mine did. We also did a lot of phone sessions when I was traveling or otherwise unable to go in person.

i think it's their business and their choice to have whatever work hours.

my T seems to try to accommodate people with 9-5 jobs. he works on sundays and works til 7 sometimes 8 pm

Don't forget - they have the right to lead their own lives. It is entirely up to them then when the hours they choose to operate their clinic. Would you expect a regular family doctor to be available after regular business hours? Would you expect everyday offices to conduct their business after regular office hours? "After hours' availability is not a right, it is a privilege.

I don't see it as a should in terms of hours they set. I also in no way see it as a privilege of any sort if a therapist sets flexible hours and the client avails themselves of it. I do know some mds/lawyers/accountants etc who work on saturdays/flexible weekdays. If a therapist can work 9-5 m-f to the extent they are getting what they want/need from those hours, I would not see an obligation on their part to not do so. I have never used a therapist who only worked 9-5 m-f. The ones I have hired have all had different schedules than that and included some evenings/weekends etc.
Therapists are not doing clients a favor when they work non-usual 9-5 schedules - I think they are doing it because it fits their business needs.

In my experience, it often reflects a lack of professionalism. I think they should try to be flexible. Are you going to find another therapist?

My therapist helps accommodate me with end of day appointments and has met with me on Saturdays at times. My last therapist also gave me the end of the day appt. and made a special trip to meet me on Saturdays when needed. Before that, none of the other therapists worked after hours, and it was a huge struggle for me.

I don't think it's always a business decision. My last therapist was a psychiatrist in an area were there were long wait times/shortages. His office was packed, and he didn't need the business. (Actually, I've never known any psychiatrist to not work outside business hours at times. I think it's expected when you enter the field because of known factor of psychiatric emergencies.) Both of my therapists were/are advocates for social equality/causes.

Both of these therapists are/were the most professional and highest quality therapists I've ever had. The one's before them weren't so good, as I've mentioned here from time to time.

Here's the thread that X mentioned. There might be some straw man arguments in there, but there are a variety of perspectives in the thread:

https://forums.psychcentral.com/psyc...ide-9-5-a.html

I personally would not see a therapist who didn't see the bigger picture outside of themselves, as I know many enter the field for the wrong reasons. I wouldn't feel safe with one who didn't have a good sense of ethics or social responsibility. Just not interested in getting close to someone who doesn't have those qualities.

I see both sides. Yes of course they have a right to the hours they want to work. But at the same time, t's are not like a primary care dr that you see once or twice a year. We see them weekly or twice a week or fortnightly whatever, a lot more often and it would be very hard for me to see t on a regular basis if she didn't have outside of 9-5 hrs since my job dictates my schedule and i would not be able to use vacation time that regularly.... I'm glad my t is flexible, she doesn't work weekends anymore but sees me after work. And last month when i had ridiculous overtime, she opened up saturdays so i could still come. We're back to a weekday eve now, tho.

However, not having evening hours doesn't correlate necessarily to not seeing "the bigger picture outside of themselves" or that they "entered the field for the wrong reasons," nor does it mean they don't have a "good sense of ethics or social responsibility." That seems a bit of a false correlation.

I goto a county clinic so i have to abide by their hours. Not fun getting up real early. But seems to work out for me either way.

Lola, no, I'm not that narrow minded, but here and on the other thread I linked, people have said "as long as the therapist gets enough clients..." That does not reflect thinking outside yourself.

But generally I do think a person's choices and activities reflects your values and who you are. I've had jobs that impact other people's lives, and I shudder at thoughts of things I've seen coworkers do without caring or even thinking of ethics, how it impacts people's lives.

But I live in a free country, and people have the right to make choices whether it reflects the "as long as I have enough clients" attitude or not.

People also have the right to walk by people dying and do nothing. If someone is drowning, you have no obligation to try to save them-you may simply walk by and do nothing. Some countries have good samaritan laws. I am not that into regulating this sort of things.

But I also don't want to live in a place where it's "everyone for themselves". It really makes me sad.

I'm definitely of the school of thought that when you own or run a business, you get to decide the hours you work. Sure it's nice to find a therapist who is willing to offer evening or weekend hours, but I don't buy into the thought that if she doesn't have hours outside of the traditional 9 to 5 hours, she isn't a caring therapist. Personally, I tend to think that if a therapist has hours outside the "norm" it's because she wants to increase her potential earnings by giving hours that are welcoming to clients who can't get time away from their jobs during the 9 to 5 time. It doesn't mean the therapist is being more sensitive to potential clients or greedy about getting more clients, to me, it simply means she is thinking in regard to her own personal business needs and earning potential. For me personally, when I was in therapy, I had a job that was a traditional 9 to 5 job, Monday through Friday. There was NO leaving the premise because we only had a half hour lunch and there was no "personal time" unless it was taken in 1/2 day increments--wasteful of my personal time when I only had five days a year! It meant I had to find a therapist who offered non traditional session times. There were some!

I think emergencies are different.
But I don't think one knows why a therapist might set a schedule that is different from 9-5.
It might have nothing to do with clients at all - if a therapist has something in the mornings or is not an early riser or whatever - they might work from 12-8pm. If they regularly deal with children - they might want their schedule to match their kids soccer games or to be there when they get home from school or whatever. Some teach or consult and so their hours are scheduled around the other activity.

I don't care about a therapist's outside life. If they are all concerned about social justice or whatever, then I want them to keep it to themselves. It has nothing to do with me.
Around my area - there are a lot of different ones to choose from -and quite a few, if not most, have some nights, weekend and early morning appointments - so it seems possible, in my area, to choose one who has hours that work for you. If the client's hours change, some of those guys are willing to be flexible and some are not. Perhaps better screening at the beginning would help find one who is on the flexible side.

I think it is their prerogative. Some will only work 9-5 just as others will only schedule evening and weekend appointments.

My psychiatrist is strictly MWF mornings only. My family doctor works only half time. And when I had a psychiatrist conducting my CBT she had pretty strange hours revolving around her being a forensic psychiatrist too. My phronologist's (kidney specialist) appointments have all been at 730am. It's entirely up to them and their own needs for operating their businesses.

Sure it's "unfair", but it's one of those unfair things of life. If she only took cash and charged you too much to afford her that would be "unfair" too. You just have to rule her out and find someone who can work out for you. Her motive don't really matter to you as a practical matter.

my husband is a therapist and is flexible, but with limits. two nights a week he works til six, to fit in people who cant talk earlier.

my t is very flexible. we have sessions all hours of the day and night, whenever we can fit it in both our very busy schedules.

Why would anyone expect a therapist to have hours to suit their needs? If a therapist doesn't suit your hours, find one that does. Its the ultimate in self-centered-ness to believe that the world should alter itself to accommodate one person.

I speak as someone who has indeed decided to work for myself (similar to the therapeutic profession) for the perk of choosing my own hours. Choosing your own hours doesn't mean that you don't care-----selfishness of the client is supposed to be catered to by selflessness of the therapist? No, just no.

Clients in therapy need structure and boundaries, not wishy-washy therapists who will drop everything and rearrange their schedules because you chose to work a 9-5.

With tonnes of therapy options out there, I think it is indeed the ultimate in self-centered-ness to believe that our therapists should cater to our every need.

I mean why should I have the "right" to choose to work a m-f 9-5 job but then criticize therapists who do the same? That's hypocrisy.

And please remember, that at the end of the day, therapists are people with their own lives. They have a right to structure their practice however they see fit, within professional guidelines.

And some therapists/psychiatrists are so in demand that if they chose to only work from 1am-5am on Tuesdays and Thursdays, they'd still be booked months in advance. (My doc is like this, and yes, I'd go see him in the middle of the night if that's when he chose to hold office hours.)

I also just do not agree nor do I believe therapists are in the profession of caring. What would be the point of that? They may or may not care as the mood strikes them, but that is most certainly not their profession, in my opinion.