When and who do you pay?

I pay my T at the end of session. I prefer paying by cash or check because I think it's bullsh*t that the credit card company takes a cut of her fee if I use a card. Obviously this is how it works everywhere you use a credit or debit card, but I try to avoid using cards at small businesses when I can. I put the payment on her desk when she's looking at her computer for scheduling, but I don't know that I have the panache required to toss it a la Stopdog.

I wiisshhhh my T took cards, but she does not, so I pay at the end with a check.

C's policy is payment before session, so I pay him immediately upon entering his office. I don't think he'd be super strict about that anymore, but it was one of the first 'boundaries' he stated on day 1, so I've always been super strict about it.

Once a month I wire her money, We live in different countries.

I pay him by card at the beginning of the session. I like it at the beginning because it's like a ritual to ease into the session. We usually don't speak until this part is done.

My group t took payment at the end of group. There were a few times I wanted to run away during group, but can't because you haven't paid yet. I also just wanted to leave at the end, not have to stick around while everyone pays.

Someone files my insurances and T gets paid by them directly.

These days --

At the beginning. In cash. Always the exact change.

Right when she steps out to get me.

She's suggested that how I go about it -- specifically, my refusal to take any change from her -- smacks of my "issues".

Earlier on -- I'd pay her in advance for a set of sessions (say, 4 or 8 for a round figure) but then once when I'd gotten angry with her and told her I was going on an indefinite break, I actually had money left over with her. So, when I went back to see her, she said she'd remembered that I had money left over and was considering sending me a cashier's check for it.

The whole thing made me realize that I didn't want to have any loose ends remaining if I were to suddenly decide to quit -- so, exact amount for each session it's been ever since.

Wow, this is fascinating to me how many different payment methods and timing there are. With ex-T and MC, we pay a receptionist before session. It's out of network, so we are charged the full amount, then they submit the claim to our insurance, which reimburses us for 60%. With current T, he doesn't have a receptionist, so I pay him at the end of session with a credit card, then he e-mails me an invoice, which I have to submit to insurance.

I was asking about this, because it came up in another thread, and I realized that I feel kind of weird paying T directly at the end. Especially when it's been a difficult session and/or I'm kinda upset/angry with him. Plus, at a recent extra session, at the 10-minute mark, I starting feeling like it was pointless, like I was talking to a brick wall. But then it was like, "Well, I guess I can't just leave, I still have to pay..." Though I suppose he could have just billed me...

So I'm wondering if I can ask to pay at the beginning instead--I don't really see why that would bother him. Then at the end, we can just do scheduling, and I can leave. Or, if for some reason, I wanted to leave before it was over, I could.

And also, this probably seems so trivial, but he moves from his regular chair to his desk chair when I pay, then remains sitting for the handshake and when I leave. I'm used to T's standing up and opening the door when I leave (and standing for handshake, in the case of MC). But I feel silly being like, "Could you maybe stand?" Because I assume he just stays sitting at his computer and types session notes (and/or checks e-mail or whatever) after I leave. But I figure if I paid at the beginning, since he does scheduling in his regular chair on his phone, then maybe he'd stand when I left? So paying at the beginning would solve two issues, in that case...

I actually once had a funny talk with my T about how being a psychologist ruins all the nice manners they learned as kids. Heck, yes he should stand- it is called being polite. We had a funny great moment laughing bc his struggle between helping me put on my coat ala good manners was at war with his T three foot rule, and you could see the inner conflict written on his face- which he graciously admitted. LC I would not like the feeling of shaking hands with someone sitting down either- awkward and kind of rude.

Neither of my T's have a reseptionist nor take credits cards. I give them both a check at the end of my appointment.

Neither seems to care when I pay them. There have been times that I go to pay T and have been out of checks or had an intense session and totally forgot to pay her. She always says she is not e en remotely worried about it. I can pay next time. She had frequently said of she could afford to do her work for free she would in a heartbeat.

Former therapist took care of the insurance and didn't charge me the copay (There's 'special" for you. Or just openly poverty stricken.) Steve I paid cash at the end of the session, though he said most of his clients kept credit cards of file. I don't know how I felt about that idea. It was with Sherri that I was most bothered. We would spend 45 minutes talking about, once, her health insurance in all it's dry and boring details. I always felt ridiculous handing her my money for her session. That made it easier to quit.

When I go back and forth about my new therapist I remind myself that they take my secondary insurance which covers my copay and they bill it all so I'm just out of there.

I pay my t at the end of every session. She does not have a receptionist and it works well for us.

Other. I get billed monthly afterwards and then I pay with bank transfer.

My insurance covers everything, no copay either.

I pay (co-pay) receptionist before session on the first appt of the month, for the entire month, so I don't have to deal with it. With one t I had no insurance and had to pay entire amount so felt like, well that minute of silence just cost me $2. It helps me to keep pay separate from interaction with t.
With my son's t, she has the cc on file and charges co-pay each week to that card which is super easy!

I write a check to him at the start of session, but I may be unusual here in that it's not on any specific schedule. I don't let the total get too large, but it's kind of up to me. He doesn't have a receptionist but he does have an account who sends out monthly billing statements, and I presume they'd notify him if a balance built up, but I stay on top of it.

I have a card on file that they bill sometime after the session.

I always preferred paying him before sessions, so that money didn't enter into it. I have his account details so would just send a transfer 2-3 days before. Sometimes I'd pay a month in advance. It just meant I had to go and couldn't skip like the gym because I'd already paid.

I liked making the therapist deal with money. I don't want to make it easy for them to believe they are altruistic do gooders who just want to help. They sit there for the money. And ignoring that or separating from it is not good for either side in my opinion.

I tossed one large bill down on the woman's table as I walked out. The large bill was to make it inconvenient. She mocked my handwriting/signature on my check -so I gave her cash.

Well, this is interesting. Out of curiosity, I looked again at the intake form I signed with T, and it actually says payment is supposed to be at the beginning of session. So, I suppose he'd be OK with switching to that!

At the end of each month.

I try to pay at the beginning because I have walked out with a month's payment still in my pocket, then the next week I have to make another trip to the bank. My therapist have never cared. I only pay in cash because with first payments with former therapist I bounced two checks in two weeks. She was okay with it and said I only needed to pay bank fees if she incurred them, she didn't or at least did not tell me about them. I would only give cash from then on, but she insisted my check was fine. Therapist says to many of her clients have issues with money. Money was a big family issue but not anymore. Her relaxed attitude about those bounce checks helped me to relax. I try to pay all my bills with bank transfers or cash. Standby therapist has gotten one check in 18 months. That was in January. I don't even know if she deposited it. I have chosen at the moment not to grow up when it comes to my finances but I am contemplating change.

I find it truly extraordinary to read that so many people pay at the start of a session. I would never agree to this, the same way I would never pay a hairdresser, plumber or electrician in advance. I pay once the service has been completed, not before. Therapists in my country only accept cash (checks no longer exist here anyway). Never heard of a therapist who takes credit or debit cards. From everything I have read, therapists put a lot of importance on the symbolism of cash being exchanged after the therapy session: if it was a check or a card it would not be concrete or "real" enough (not saying I agree but it is their reasoning). There is no insurance where I live so there is no bill and no receptionist or any of that: I just hand money to the therapist and I leave. I like that: it's another reminder that this is a business relationship and that I am paying for a service. As for people who pay at the end of the month, I wonder how it works since so many people quit therapy after two or three sessions. Then what would happen if the therapist wants to get paid? Bare in mind that therapists don't necessarily know the last name of their clients which means any client can give them a random last name or no last name at all. I think therapists in my country ask for money at the end of each session as a way (among other things) to make sure they'll get paid.

I have seen my T for almost 5 years 4 times every week. I think in those circumstances it makes very much sense to pay monthly. No checks here either and I don't usually carry cash with me and thus it would be extra burden for me to make sure that I have that cash every day.

Also, I'm pretty sure that the analytic patients even in your country quite systematically pay at the end of every month. You can call it a stupid tradition or whatever but it is a common feature in psychoanalysis/psychoanalytic therapy.

I pay at the start because the money is owed regardless of the session work, unless there is a 24 hour cancellation; at least, it is in my case. I don't understand likening it to plumbers and electrician's who don't even know what the total bill is until they are done. Although, even in those cases, credit card information is collected when the appointment is made, to prevent people from not paying at all.