Posted by Tom on June 1, 1999, at 11:49:43
In reply to Am I paying too much for therapy?, posted by mila on May 29, 1999, at 2:15:12
> I recently started therapy. As i have no insurance, I am forced to borrow money from my parents to pay for it. We are paying $175.00 per 45 min session. I have decided to go with this expensive psychdoctor/psychotherapist because he was recommended to me as being very good and necessary for myself given my history of 5 years of bad treatment. The person who made the recommendation is a highly regarded high profile psychiatrist so I trusted his judgement.
>
> So far I have had two sessions which were both rather uneventful and seemingly unhelpful. I feel terrible for paying someone that kind of money after simply talking about whatever comes to mind at the time, and getting little feedback. Are the first few sessions of therapy supposed to be like this? Am I just wasting my money? Or is this an investment that will pay off in the longterm?
Everything everyone said in the thread responding to your initial posting is entirely correct, but there is one thing I would like to add. ALL THINGS IN LIFE ARE NEGOTIABLE!! I went to a highly regarded M.D. to handle both my meds and psychotherapy, and really felt his $150 per 45 minute cost to be a little too pricey. What I said to him was that I really liked him but I absolutely couldn't afford
his price. I then offered him $110 per hour. He gladly accepted. It seemed to me that the doctor would rather avoid a negotiation of his fee and gladly accept a reasonable amount for his services. I might add that I submit this fee to my health insurance and get a partial reimbursement (60%) for the session. Now it doesn't freak me out about the amount of money I spend on "mental health". Wouldn't
it be great to just walk away from all this care and just feel better on our own....!!!!
Good luck
poster:Tom
thread:6789
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990601/msgs/6908.html