Would you give a therapist a deposit or credit card to hold?

Not anymore. Smaug used my bank card to charge me after dumping me for things she wasn’t owed for.

And after Piaf, no deposit. If I leave a therapist, I don’t want to stay in touch to get my deposit back.

yes cuz i’m forgetful and dealing with money after a session kinda kills the vibe for me. i wouldn’t go to a therapist i felt i couldn’t trust with money.

I don’t like the idea of the therapist keeping a credit card on file for me. My therapist doesn’t require it. I just pay my co-pay each time I go in. I pay in a timely manner and I show up for all of my sessions. I don’t feel like there is a need for a therapist to hold my credit card on file when I am always up to date on my payments.

I would if it was a new therapist and it was their policy then I suppose, but I'd be more comfortable with credit card info than deposit. I would mind a lot more if my current T suddenly changed it for no reason. It wouldn't be about the money or trusting him with credit card info, it would be about why, after over a year with never having any problems, he would suddenly require that.

It's not currently an issue anyway, because my primary and secondary insurance together cover 100%, no copay or deductible. When I had a $10 copay I usually paid in cash just because it was easier than watching him struggle with technology (he'd just moved to private practice so it was new for him)

I suppose there's the canceling on short notice fee, but if he saw me again he'd get paid then, and if I disappeared and never contacted him again then I'd hope it wouldn't be the fee that he was concerned about.

I believe strictly enforcing a cancellation policy that includes adequate reimbursement is better than asking for a credit card or deposit.

Since none of my Ts have taken credit cards, I wonder what would happen of the card was compromised and a new number issued. If the person regularly paid by CC it wouldn't be ab issue. However, when it comes to small businesses, I know the CC fees are quite so I try to pay other ways. Whenever, my card get compromised (sadly once or twi e a year) it takes a while for us to remember who has our card for auto pay. I would probably never remember T...

I would not let any individual practitioner hold my credit card info. A clinic/professionally managed office may be different if I am a recurring consumer. I have never heard Ts requiring a deposit before, that sounds so odd to me. I would not pay a deposit to a T just like I don't to a dentist or a doctor that only performs simple exams or minor procedures. I paid Ts in advance sometimes when I was planning to have phone sessions in subsequent weeks but only when I had an established rapport with them.

24-hour cancellation policy/fee is perfectly fair IMO and I did pay a few times for sessions that I cancelled late. Having the fee made feel easier about last minute cancellations.

Interesting that some find it awkward to hand money to a T, that has never crossed my mind. In fact, I recall that it was my last T who sometimes seemed a bit shy/awkward about getting the money in the end of the sessions and I never understood what that was about, especially given that he has a pretty high fee.

Former T always seemed a bit awkward when I'd hand him a check, too. I think discomfort around $ is more common among Ts than not. Maybe it feels like it takes something away from their helper self-concept?

(Hi!)

I can't find a reason they would need to hold a credit card number as they would only run a credit card after each session, and I would be there with a credit card to pay each time.

As far as cancellations go, maybe I'm out of sorts here, but I wouldn't pay a cancellation fee for cancelling within 24 hours unless the therapist deducted the same amount from my bill when they cancel a session with less than 24 hours' notice. This happened to me before, where the T frequently cancelled (sometimes with just hours' notice and so missed work and income already as taken vacation or sick hours), wasting my time and money, yet when I cancelled one time due to a family death, she charged me. I refused to pay the cancellation fee and wrote her supervisor. It was so unprofessional. (at this point, I had already tolerated her numerous cancellations with no complaint)

My T cancels within 24 hours from time to time, and so do I, so we are pretty even when it comes to inconveniencing one another.

I answered other. This practice seems so foreign to me. Is this a thing? It appears that it is.

I don't think I've ever cancelled an appt, so I'm not a high risk client. I pay my T for the month upfront via etransfer (and admittedly, this does give me a feeling of security; that he's not going to fire me that month since he's already been paid). My T doesn't even accept cards, only cash, cheque, and etransfer, so there's nothing to have on file. And while he has a technical 24 hour cancellation policy, he wouldn't charge it unless it was becoming an issue. He did no show one appt on me, and I made him give me a free one for wasting my time. If I cancelled last minute I would expect to pay, which is probably my incentive on those days I've been on the fence about going.

I'm surprised nobody has said they would give the therapist anything they asked for.

Funny

I was surprised that 2 answered they would pay a deposit but maybe those are therapists defending this practice. Or not. I don't see the rationale by comparing therapy services to project or case type work as an attorney may do 100s of hours of work that could go unpaid if there was no deposit. Construction workers normally have to buy supplies, and if they've already done the work but the customer doesn't pay, then the customer would get it for free. A long term job may also be 1/2 their income for the whole month.

Therapists aren't doing the work when the client cancels. We are talking an hour per week increments, not a one time project where the service is not realized until project completion. It's really a stretch to justify through comparison with other types of services. That's like saying-well you have to put a deposit on a house when you intend to buy it. Uh, ok...

Anyway, this was a well-designed poll as there were no complaints. There was even an option for my lone choice.

I put "maybe" because, to me, it *really* depends on the T and the situation.

I have a good history of not skipping sessions and paying my bills, so I wouldn't expect to need this. I've never seen a T who requires a card on file, but I think one of the Ts at my last Ts practice did... I heard the receptionist explaining it to a new client. I wouldn't like that at all... it would turn me off from a new T, and I don't think I'd want to do that with a T that I didn't know. Too much risk for me.

With a T that I saw previously though, who was very solid, but expensive... I considered asking if I could pay for the month upfront, and get a discount in return. I think that would feel OK to me... because I'd be getting something, and he'd be getting something. It might make sense in that case, although I suspect that he wouldn't actually want to have to deal with the accounting aspect (keeping track of what's been paid, dealing with carrying a balance for legitimate missed sessions, etc.)

It's an interesting idea.

My last T had her payment system online, so I could pay in the morning before my session (or after, it was OK either way). I liked that, because I didn't have to deal with remembering to pay in the session.

T before that was a "checks only" kind of T. It seemed like he expected to be paid at the end of the session, but I found that stressful (I just wanted to get out at the end!) - and once, after a stressful session, I totally forgot. I actually handed him some papers showing my scores on an attachment test, with a graph, instead of the check, before running away... and didn't realize it until several hours later, when I freaked out and contacted him, to see if he wanted me to come back and leave a check under his door or something.

He was fine though, and told me to pay at the next session. After that, I always paid at the beginning of the session for my own sanity!

Ooh! I hadn't even thought about that aspect. I ended up having such a terrible, unexpected ending with the last one. This makes me really glad that I hadn't paid in advance, as I would have had to figure out how to get my money back for the remainder of the month! Thanks.

I wish more Ts had that kind of balance in their policies. I did have one T, my very first one, who had a policy that if he had to cancel with <24 hours notice, he'd give you the next session for free! That felt really fair, since you'd likely have to spend a portion of the next session talking about feeling abandoned anyway

I understand why they charge the cancellation fee. They have the space reserved and if you cancel at the last minute, they can't get someone else in there. But I do think it's more fair if they also have to "pay" for last minute cancellations!

I'd also hope/expect that if you never cancel, and then have an actual emergency, that they'd be a bit lenient. If I wake up with the flu on T-day, and I think T is going to charge me even if I cancel... I may just drag my sad, snotty, germ-infested, kleenex-toting self into their office and let them deal with getting sick too. Because I'm kind of a jerk like that

It worries me that if I gave my therapist my card details to charge me for the sessions I am almost sure that she would not process any payments.

Those therapist with the 24-hour cancellation fee do not usually apply it to themselves? Wow, that is new to me. It never came up in my therapy as none of my Ts ever cancelled within 24 hours. I certainly would not have accepted not getting a substitute session for free, it only sounds logical and the fair game to me. Especially if it was so late that I was already on my way there, or waiting and they did not show.