Posted by pegasus on April 12, 2011, at 10:23:06
In reply to ethics of therapy and payment, posted by pegasus on April 11, 2011, at 10:23:16
Thanks everyone. Yikes, it's good to hear about some things to avoid, although I'm hoping I'm sensitive enough to avoid some of the things you all have had to deal with. And Daisy, thanks for the advice about things to do. I'll have to consciously build that into my plan.
I still hate that I have to charge a full fee to most of my clients. But, it's good to be reminded of the role of non-profits and grants. That's where I've been up until now. And I see how huge the need is, so I want to be able to help. One things that's nice about working in the non-profit world is that the payment and the therapy really *are* separated, at least from my point of view (I don't get paid by my clients, and the fees they pay have little relationship to my compensation). I am struggling with losing that separation.
Come to think of it, I went through this transition in my first career as well, when I moved from academia (a lot like non-profit) to the commercial world. Suddenly everything was about revenue, which was hard to get used to, and went against a lot of my values. Funny how I've never felt guilty, though, in that career, about asking for a decent salary. But, then, the company never seemed so vulnerable as my clients do now. But the work wasn't as important, or influential either (from my perspective, at least).
I'm trying to remind myself, also, that there are some good things that come from paying for therapy. In my own work, I know that I need to be more clear about how valuable it is to me. I can't be flippant about doing the work or not. It keeps me working hard every session, and helps me feel better about asking for what I need.
- Peg
poster:pegasus
thread:982468
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20110324/msgs/982555.html