How do people pay for psychoanalysis?

btw, sorry for going off topic - while I am seeing my therapist 2-3x week, I also have a personal trainer 2x week and work out 2x week on my own. I walk 5 miles a day as my sanctuary. I also do massage therapy as frequently as I can afford. I am on various medications that have an affect on my moods.

I use this forum for support and I read various therapy and self help books. I have even looked into nutritional elements.

I can tell you that all of the pieces put together make a difference for me and when some piece of this full package gets off, I start to struggle in some way. Any one of these by itself does make things some better, all of them together seem to be making more lasting changes for me. This is my experience, what I feel are my needs based on how I define quality of life and my mental health.

I went to therapy once weekly for a year and paid £50 out of pocket per session. That's on the higher end of average in my area.

Aside from about four sessions, therapy was always worth something. But I'd say only the first eight months were worth £50 a session. I'm not sure the last four months were worth the cost.

I've saved about £1000 since I left therapy, which I'm spending on my first home, which I've just purchased with my husband. It's nice to spend money on creating my life rather than analysing it.

I agree with this. Therapy has its place in my life, and overall I found it helpful, but I don't think it's the only way to bring meaning into life.

I generally think that if you have other options to take care of your mental health, take them. Therapy sucks money away from things that can make you happy - - unless you're wealthy or have solid insurance.

Personally I think gyms are a waste of money, I enjoy walking my dog in my neighborhood for free, out in the fresh air and sunshine, greeting the other people and dogs in my neighborhood. In the summer I can buy an outdoor pool pass for $75.

I find self help books a waste of money and time; you can distill any one of them down to just start doing the things you want to do and stop wasting your time and money on things that don't bring you happiness or fulfillment. Walk away from the bad and towards the good.

I have used my money to improve the beauty of my beautiful home but I can still afford therapy because I have good insurance. And of course therapy varies from psychologist to psychologist, that's why I don't hire idiots and instead hire a professional capable of coming along while I improve my self care and my life. Therapy has been worth it for me, even during the brief periods where I was uninsured and paid out of pocket.

I do agree with the principles you've laid out, especially in using one's money for sanctuary and rest. In my world, therapy is a sanctuary because it is free of the judgmental b.s. and other people's ideas about how I should live my life and spend my money. It is a rest from other people's values and intrusiveness, including people who think they know better than anyone else what's right for them, or who have a political perspective on therapy or a mean-spirited drive to take it away from other people.

I'm well aware of my power to leave therapy anytime I deem it is no longer worth the time or the money. Those who don't think it's worth it or who have graduated from it who spend theirs some other way that's good for them, I'm happy they have found what works for them. I'm satisfied with what works for me and in the knowledge that a good employer offers mental health benefits along with medical insurance.

I hate going to the gym. I've always gotten a good amount of exercise outdoors, running/walking/cycling, but I hate getting on the hamster wheel or whatever.

Anyway, back to the OP: I go twice a week and insurance pays for it, except for the copays. I would not be able to afford real psychoanalysis like 5/week, though, unless it was through a school like someone mentioned upthread.

I have insurance through my PhD program (which acts as my secondary insurance) and I'm on my father's insurance (primary)
Secondary insurance won't pay anything until the claim has gone through the primary.
We're actually in the middle of figuring things out with the primary, they might be refusing to continue covering a second session per week. The secondary has no issue with covering two sessions a week, but I don't know how it would work in terms of copay and billing and reimbursement if it still needs to be denied by my primary before my secondary is willing to cover it.
Just my primary = 80% coverage, just my secondary = $10 copay, with both together it's free. I'd have no problem with paying $10 to have a second session every week.

Agreed. In a world where therapy is shoved down everybody's throat, it's a good balance to suggest that "hey maybe this is a waste of money, money that could be spent on other activities that may be far more fulfilling". When I look back on my own therapy where I spent hundreds of euros, I kind of cringe because with that money I could have gone on a cruise in the Greek islands (my dream) which would have been far more satisfying that any of that pointless "talking about my feelings" stuff. I mention travels but yes a sport activity is good too. Anything to get out of your own head is good imo. As for how people pay for psychoanalysis, either they're rich or they're sacrificing a lot of potential enjoyment to pay for it. Whether that sacrifice is worth it, who knows. I tend to think not.

I think people are taking the word gym here a bit too literally

sliding scale, low cost or negotiate. be honest about what you can afford.

Re analysts' analysis - it's still expensive, as is the training. You need to be fairly well off to train (at least in UK). Some places are trying to change that by offering bursaries, to make training accessible to a wider group, and some training analysts might offer analysis for next to nothing because they are training up the next lot of therapists.

Psychoanalysis is different than psychotherapy. Psychoanalysis requires the patient (the person is called a patient because psychoanalysts are almost always doctors - psychiatrists) to be in session 4 to 5 times per week. Psychoanalysts often do not accept insurance; patients pay out of pocket. So you can only imagine the cost! Obviously only extremely wealthy people (the 1%) can afford psychoanalysis. And analysts are fairly hard to find. They usually practice in larger cities and very wealthy communities.

I'm based in Central to Western Europe: a session would cost me about $180, but insurance is required to cover it here. I pay about $70 out of pocket per month.

Edit: That's therapy though. I don't think there's an insurance that covers the 4-5 sessions a week that psychoanalysis entails.