[LonesomeTonight]

Do you pay at the start or end of session? Do you pay a receptionist, T directly, or some other setup (like, you have a credit card on file that is billed). Do you like how it's handled?

T doesn't seem to care how I pay so I choose to pay the receptionist before the session....that way I can make a quick getaway afterward.

[junkDNA]

T emails me a bulk amount of invoices every couple months. I send a trust payment request form to my trust with the bills. My trust mails a check to T

[UnderRugSwept]

Start or end of the appt., just depends on when I think of it.

I pay each of them at the end of every month by check.

I don't think about the $ part of it much at all (except when I balance my checkbook), so it doesn't matter to me how it occurs.

[starfishing]

Originally Posted by LonesomeTonight

Do you pay at the start or end of session? Do you pay a receptionist, T directly, or some other setup (like, you have a credit card on file that is billed). Do you like how it's handled?

My therapist hands me a bill at the end of the last session of the month, and I hand him a check at the beginning of the following session. It works well enough--not as convenient as paying with a card would be, and sometimes feels a little awkward logistically, but at least it's less cumbersome than directly paying the therapist at every session like I've had to do in the past at times.

The whole thing feels both weirdly personal (exchanging hand-written pieces of paper) and impersonal (ending an intense or meaningful session by being handed a bill has felt a little odd at times). Plus super old-fashioned since I rarely use checks anymore for other things and my therapist's bills are just a list of dates and the total amount, scrawled in pen on stationery, rather than something typed or generated by billing software.

[ChickenNoodleSoup]

He sends the bill directly to my health insurance. They reimburse a certain amount, while I have to pay a small share. That's the way it works with all health services in my country.

Pay T directly at the end. I pay cash. I keep the time so me getting cash out says "I'm done". I like it as an ending.

[DP_2017]

I pay start or end directly but i forgot a few times. Had to pay double next time

[Anne2.0]

I have previously had T's who sent monthly bills to the house, and that was fine.

I now have a credit card on file, which the office assistant charges for my co-pay only, then they bill my insurance for the balance.

I've had my credit cards hacked recently, and my insurance will change for the third time within a year, which is a major hassle for everyone, but my T's partner (the owner of the practice) always corresponds with me about it. I like dealing with her. The office assistant is new and taking over for the practice owner who is out on maternity leave, and she's one of those "I called 3 hours ago and you haven't responded, so I'm calling again" types.

[Glittering]

I pay cash at the end, as I'm leaving. It's mostly ok, but if I've been dissociating a lot I find it hard to physically do it...or if it's a particularly heavy session it seems awkward to me somehow. I've been meaning to set up a standing order bank transfer thing since I started 14 months ago...but it always feels like too much of a commitment. If it's cash it seems like I can leave anytime.

[InnerPeace111]

I pay my T directly at the start of each session as there is no office manager. It’s a co-pay. I always pay cash. She bills my insurance for the rest.

[Amyjay]

I pay nothing. In my country all necessary therapy to address the sequelae of childhood sexual abuse is paid for. My T gets her payment from somewhere.

[SalingerEsme]

My credit card is on file.

[Elio]

My T has a billing service, they sent through insurance and then send me a monthly bill.

[zoiecat]

My credit card is on file which he uses until I meet my out of pocket max for the year. He also bills insurance directly.

[MobiusPsyche]

I pay once at the start of the month for that month's sessions. Saves me having to write too many checks, because T and my massage therapist are the only people who take checks anymore.

Since I met my out of pocket deductible in October, I haven't had to pay anything. Gawd I love my health insurance. (year starts in July)

I pay my copay at the end of each session. With previous Ts I paid at the beginning. I think I prefer the end.

[ScarletPimpernel]

My T has a card on file. She charges me after I leave.

[Jessica Hazlitt]

I usually just give T my wallet at the end while I pack my bag and get my shoes on. Again it's about making a swift exit.

[ruh roh]

I put a check on her desk as I walk in. She says thank you very much.

I like doing this at the start.

[seoultous]

I check in with the receptionist. If I owe anything I pay it then. I don't have a copay but I do have to meet a deductible.

[fille_folle]

I have a card on file that the office person runs for the copay whenever I come. Seems (from my bank statement) like maybe she doesn't always do it each time, frequently it's once per week (I see my T 2x/week). She also bills my insurance for me. I like it this way, as I don't have to think about money stuff when I'm preparing myself mentally for T, or preparing myself mentally to leave. My previous T I wrote a check at the last session of the month.

I paid both Ts at the end of the sessions, one of then with check and the other in cash. Both were solo practitioners in private so no one else involved except that I submitted insurance claims for partial reimbursement. Sometimes I paid a few sessions together, mostly when I did not go in person and we did it via phone or I was just fed up writing a check weekly. I would not care whether the payment is before or after sessions, to the T or a receptionist, as soon as everything is processed correctly, although I slightly prefer after (it makes more sense after the service is completed). I do prefer not using cash if possible simply because it saves me trips to the ATM machine but my 2nd T asked for cash and I complied.

[stopdog]

I paid them at the end of the appointment. I used either cash for the first woman or a check made out ahead of time to the second. I would not pay one before they performed their service, not even the tiny amount of service I ever received from one of those people. I only hire solo practitioners without staff. I would never let a therapist have my credit card.

[healinginprogress]

I pay her directly at the end of a session.