Posted by jane d on February 16, 2004, at 19:17:34
In reply to Re: cost/benefit analysis of therapy?, posted by pegasus on February 16, 2004, at 1:48:31
I've been thinking about this question myself recently. I'm watching my insurance run out and once it does I will need to decide if there is any way I can pay for therapy myself and then, if I can, is it worth it?
I think theres been some very good advice given here including looking for short term results but most people seem to be pretty strongly pro therapy. I probably should add here that the right therapy for me years ago would have been priceless for who I was at that time. Now I'm less sure.
In my area the cost of therapy is about the same as 2 meals out if that's something you do. Definately worth that. But it's also equal to more than a car payment, over half of the rent on a cheap apartment, much more than my grocery bills, and about equal to the amount all the financial advisors say I absolutely must put away to make sure I have enough money to retire or handle emergencies.
When I started therapy it was an easy decision. Without it I don't think I would have been able to hold a job to retire from. Now I'm trying to cram all the "necessary" stuff in before the insurance runs out and I'm not sure I can. And, this same therapy done a decade ago might mean I wasn't in this lousy financial position at all and I would be balancing therapy against the cost of a couple of meals out. But I also think that for some people it does make more sense to invest your money in a swim membership, a vacation, school, or a savings account. The trick is in figuring out which group you're in.
One thing to consider is will you/can you actually make those other changes on your own? Will you move, go back to school, go to the gym, take a vacation? Or have you been sitting around for years saying - "my life would be better if only I did that" and never knowing why you never manage to do it? Or, have you been doing this for years, moving, taking vacations, and finding out things never get better after all? That one's hard to see for yourself because each time you find your situation making you miserable will be a little different from the time before but it's a good reason to consider therapy.
I wish I could say "Of course. Try therapy. What do you have to lose?" but the cost is high enough that you will be losing something. And the more it's costing the more you need to gain to make it worthwhile.
Jane
poster:jane d
thread:313810
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040211/msgs/314280.html