Posted by Daisym on April 11, 2011, at 22:37:23
In reply to Re: ethics of therapy and payment, posted by emmanuel98 on April 11, 2011, at 20:41:56
I think most folks doing Human Service work agree that the one thing they hate talking about is money. It is unfortunate that somehow we've come to think about caring flowing "for free" and if you get paid, "it isn't real." I remind people oftent that we have to feed our own children too.
I think you need to remember that not-for-profits exist to serve those without resources and those entitites usually use interns as sort of "slave-labor" and are often government subsidized. Plus, agencies like mine can fund-raise. Try not to set yourself up to think you are doing a disservice to your community by charging - you aren't. And people who can pay often need as much help as those who can't.
The best advice I can give you is to create a policy document that outlines all the pay issues - amount, expected pay schedule, what happens if insurance refuses, who bills insurance, missed sessions, vacations - theirs & yours - phone calls, emails, etc. And then have them sign a copy. You keep one and they keep one. That way there are much fewer billing surprises. I won't say there won't be any but at least it is all out in the open. And then, if there are issues - bring them up. If they are yours, I recommend asking for a few minutes after the session ends. If they are the clients (like a bounced check) it should come up during the session in as brief a way as possible. I try to think of it as modeling open and honest behavior of everyday transactions.
I agree with establishing a couple of slots for sliding scale after you get a healthy client load. Start up can be expensive and difficult.
But how exciting! Good for you.
poster:Daisym
thread:982468
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20110324/msgs/982517.html