[shamon86]

I've been seeing my T for over 5 years. I just found out my insurance changed and instead of charging me a $30 copay, I now have a 75% co-insurance (roughly $120) per visit (I have sessions once a week) because she is out of network. There's no way I can afford that, I was barely able to afford seeing her before my insurance changed. Even cutting back on sessions to every other week wouldn't be affordable. After talking with the insurance biller at the office, she suggested possibly going as a self pay patient rather than stopping therapy all together. I have to talk to my T about it, and I left her a message this morning, but she hasn't called back. Now I have all weekend to stress out over this

For those of you who may be self pay, would you be comfortable in sharing how much your typically pay per session?

On the other hand, maybe it is time to just stop going to therapy. I can't keep seeing a therapist for the rest of my life, it's got to stop at some point right? I've made some progress in the years I've been going, but I've still got things I'm working on (but I'm sure everyone can say that). I'm never going to be "happy" and will probably never make it to just being content with my life so why keep trying?

So when does therapy stop?

I pay out of pocket. My t's rate is currently $120 but she still charges me $100 since I'm paying out of pocket.

When does therapy stop? I think there's probably as many answers for that as there are people in therapy. For me, since t and I have gone to an as-needed basis recently, I don't think I will ever stop. I've been seeing her for 6+ years and done some really amazing work.

[LonesomeTonight]

Sorry you're dealing with the sudden insurance change. Maybe ask T if she'd be willing to take $60 per session and go every other week? Worth a shot... Even if it's just to work toward termination, so for a shorter-term.

Not sure how to answer the "when does therapy stop" part, but I think it's better to find a way to do that on your own terms rather than having your insurance dictate it for you...

[CharlieStarDust]

My T charges $200 an hour - I pay out of pocket, but get a discount due to job change/finances. I've been seeing her for 6 years. I don't know that therapy has to end. I also don't think I'll ever be happy and get out the rut I'm in - and having someone who isn't a friend to talk to about my dire and dramatic situation is helpful. So as long as I find it useful, and it's not running my life, I have no plans on leaving therapy.

[stopdog]

When it no longer serves a purpose or when the money could be better spent on other things

[maybeblue]

I usually quit therapy when I feel like I'm not making any progress anymore. I tapered off with my last therapist to once every 6 weeks or so.

Are there any therapists who are in network that would be less expensive? I don't know how attached you are to your therapist, but I have found that switching therapists sometimes really helps boost my progress. Anyway, if it were a possibility it might be worth thinking about.

[Lemoncake]

I pay £40 per session instead of his usual £60, which is approximately $55 dollars per session. I usually see him twice a week though.

I pay £20 each session. Twice wkly. Normal rate is £50 per session

I was 100% self pay for a few years before being forced to stop because of a lot of unexpected expenses.

Turns out it is one of the best things that happened to me to change my recent circumstances. I have CPTSD but was depressed or dysthymic during the majority of the past few years spent in therapy. Since I quit about 2 months ago, I joined a personal fitness program I found for only $30 a week. My trainer is positive and inspiring, and there is no focus on negative aspects of me unlike therapy which sucked me into to self loathing or feelings of low self worth. It's not just fitness training, it's a form of self-improvement and self growth too.

I also noticed how stepping out of the transference/childhood attachment world and away from the childhood trauma feelings has changed my mood and sense of hopelessness. It's empowered me to accomplish my goals to improve me life, such as integrating rigorous cardio strength training routine that has already made a significant impact on the clinical symptoms of my depression. I feel better than I have in a few years. OTOH, my T and I had a protracted rupture going on before I quit, and I still have some anger about it although I've been able to contain it to this forum and not led it bleed outside here. That made quitting more difficult for me.

Stopping can be a positive thing. I will be in a position for self pay therapy again soon, but I decided to not go back. I've gained a whole new perspective after distancing myself from therapy and wonder if others in psychodynamic therapy could benefit from quitting--those who are unhappy or not living their life the way they want.

Hope you are able to make the best of it.

Going to sessions in formal therapy ended for me when I either concluded that (1) it was not worth for me to pay for or (2) it became counterproductive to my goals, or both. Ending sessions did not end my interest in it though, as evident in my posting on this forum >1 year after formal therapy. It also did not completely end the interactions with my Ts, especially my last one, as we still email occasionally here and there.

[feileacan]

I pay out of pocket 30€ per session, four sessions per week, which makes approximately 150$ per week.

I suppose my therapy will end either when 1) I can't go anymore for whatever reason, 2) my T retires, 3) we decide that I don't need it anymore.

[fille_folle]

I paid out of pocket with my longtime T for maybe half the 12 years I saw her. The amount varied from US $30 to US $50 per session. I saw her weekly during this time, except for near the end. I think her usual rate is $120 per hour. She was very good to me.

[ruh roh]

I pay $150 out of pocket. No discount for me, although she offers other clients a discount. The benefit of it is that when I cut back or take a break, I save a ton of money, so it feels good in that way.

I think therapy can be over, or maybe even suspended, for a lot of reasons. I don't think it's an easy decision to make, but it's easier when it's the person's own decision and not a result of outside forces--therapist moving, terminating, lack of money.

[seoultous]

I have seen my t for about 10 years. Until recently I did not have to pay anything. Now I pay $140/session. It is worth every penny. I will continue to see t until I run out of things to say or develop a sufficient support system so I won't need therapy anymore.

[junkDNA]

I pay 25$ a session self pay. My t works with me on a sliding scale and does not take my insurance

I don't know when therapy ends . I've been going on 8 years now and my t has never even once mentioned it and of course neither have i.

[Moment]

I've been with my therapist more than four years.

Two years ago, I would have said I couldn't imagine ending. Every week was intense. I was gripped by the therapy process and working hard on changes in my relationships.

Two years later, I still go to therapy, but it is far less intense. I feel I have done all the work I can do in my relationships for now and my energy has moved to different things that do not require so much support. If something happened and I couldn't go anymore, I'd be OK. I would miss my therapist, but it would not gut me like it would have two years ago.

I wouldn't let insurance dictate things, but if you were already iffy on it anyway, you could just see how you feel about going much less.

I think therapy ends when the patient decides the patient wants to end. When the patient starts resenting the money and time spent on therapy and daydreams about how it could be better spent. When the patient feels no more personal progress is being made and it doesn't make sense to keep going when it's not producing much change. Stopping for awhile doesn't mean you're leaving therapy for ever and can never go back. Or that your process of growth and change has ended--it never will, hopefully.

I can imagine periods of time in the future when I'll really feel a *need* for therapy but now, at this point, I feel like if I wanted to "end" it I could. So I guess the question is, why am I not? That would be a very good question and is one I ponder.

[marcoleap]

I've been in mostly weekly therapy for 20 years for anxiety and depression. I pay $170/session. Sometimes I've had an insurance plan that pays for part of it, sometimes I've had an insurance plan that doesn't reimburse me at all. I also have been on an antidepressant for most of that time. During the 20 years, there have been periods of acute distress and periods of great peace and happiness. Two years ago, I would have thought that I might discontinue the psychotherapy because I had been doing so well for so long. In fact, I tapered off Zoloft and started seeing my therapist only once a month. Unfortunately, my depression and anxiety returned with a vengeance, in part because of discontinuing the meds and tapering the therapy and in part because of a number of stressors (brother diagnosed with stomach cancer, a failed IVF, doing the work of two people at my job for more than a year, etc). So now I'm back in weekly therapy and back on meds. Sometimes I feel embarrassed about being in therapy this long (and on meds), but I still find therapy very helpful, and if people can be on antidepressants indefinitely, what's wrong with being in therapy indefinitely if you can afford it and it helps?

The problem, of course, is that it can be very expensive and often isn't covered by insurance. I'm sorry that you have to make a choice between staying with a good therapist and falling into debt. It shouldn't be that way. I would discuss the dilemma with the therapist, if I were you. Maybe your therapist can work with you or refer you to someone less expensive.

[1stepatatime]

Originally Posted by Rayne_

I was 100% self pay for a few years before being forced to stop because of a lot of unexpected expenses.

Turns out it is one of the best things that happened to me to change my recent circumstances. I have CPTSD but was depressed or dysthymic during the majority of the past few years spent in therapy. Since I quit about 2 months ago, I joined a personal fitness program I found for only $30 a week. My trainer is positive and inspiring, and there is no focus on negative aspects of me unlike therapy which sucked me into to self loathing or feelings of low self worth. It's not just fitness training, it's a form of self-improvement and self growth too.

I also noticed how stepping out of the transference/childhood attachment world and away from the childhood trauma feelings has changed my mood and sense of hopelessness. It's empowered me to accomplish my goals to improve me life, such as integrating rigorous cardio strength training routine that has already made a significant impact on the clinical symptoms of my depression. I feel better than I have in a few years. OTOH, my T and I had a protracted rupture going on before I quit, and I still have some anger about it although I've been able to contain it to this forum and not led it bleed outside here. That made quitting more difficult for me.

Stopping can be a positive thing. I will be in a position for self pay therapy again soon, but I decided to not go back. I've gained a whole new perspective after distancing myself from therapy and wonder if others in psychodynamic therapy could benefit from quitting--those who are unhappy or not living their life the way they want.

Hope you are able to make the best of it.

Good for you!! I think it’s wonderful that you’re making great progress through fitness programs. Ive been seeing the same therapist for five years now and I’m at a point where I question if I am benefiting from therapy anymore.My therapist is a good person , I’m not going to say bad things about her but I am wondering if we’ve come as far as we will go...Time for some soul searching..

A therapist once told me that you just know when it is time to end. In my case she was right and I knew it was time to close up shop. I have four months before I can see my standby therapist, but we both realize that the end is near. We really only do coffee chit-chat which is what I needed last year, but not so much now.

[annielovesbacon]

I am very lucky, I see T in a clinic for $10/session, and it is covered by insurance. But if I were in a similar situation as you, I would have to weigh the cost of therapy to the benefits. If you feel like you are making a lot of progress with this T and that it would be very beneficial to stay, maybe you can talk to your T about a special rate. I know many T's do this. If you feel maybe stagnant in therapy, or that the high rate is not worth the quality of therapy you are getting, maybe it is time to move on to a new therapist who is cheaper/covered by your insurance.
It's always rough when finances get in the way of health. It shouldn't be that way.

In terms of therapy ending... I don't know. I see my therapist in my university clinic, so I suppose it will have to end when I graduate. But if it needs to end before then, how will I know? I've never discussed it with my therapist before. All I know is that I'm definitely not ready to leave therapy right now.