Paying T

So this was mentioned on another thread and made me curious. Does if feel awkward when you pay your T?

For the most part it has been an issue for me but once in a while it does. At the very end of the appointment I hand her. Heck; she says thank you and then we say our goodbyes.

Very soon my insurance we will be changing. I will have a pretty high deductable. Plus I will need receipt every time because of the spending account set up with it. Seems like it will make things more "businessy".

I have a low deductible, but I pay it with a credit card on file. This has the advantage of the business transaction occurring outside of the session itself. I pay for almost everything with a credit card for the ability to track my receipts and for the travel points that accrue. Right now my co-pays add up to a free hotel night every 2-3 months, so, as they say, credit cards work for me.

I really don't think about the business part of therapy. My former therapists both sent bills to my house and I paid with a check sent to their office once/month, so that was similarly detached from a personal exchange. I am more comfortable with a system that disconnects the session itself from payment.

Not for me. The idea of paying someone without a buffer of a third party did not bother me and I greatly dislike the idea of dealing with office staff of any sort at a therapist's office. I like the idea they have to handle that themselves as I believe it helps keep it in the realm of a business transaction.
Paying only bothered me because of tossing money to someone who had done nothing to earn it except sit there.
Both of the women would have billed me, but I preferred to keep it on an appointment by appointment basis. That way I would not have to deal with them again after I quit.

Same here.

I personally find it really awkward, which is why I make a bank transfer the morning of each session. For this reason, after our first initial session, we have never had to even speak about payment/the business side of therapy at all. I just go in, we chat and then leave with see ya later!

I always had a therapist who had office people to handle the financial end of things. MUCH prefer it that way.

Neither of my Ts have ever taken credit card. Having one on file would be awesome. Or if I didnt need a receipt. Oh well I am sure it will be fine.

I just made a comment on this in the "Would you give a therapist a deposit or credit card to hold?" thread. Have never seen the business transaction part of therapy weird, awkward, or in any form undesirable as I think it is a professional relationship, a business arrangement where I pay for someone to listen to and discuss my personal issues. Just said on the other thread that it was odd for me when I felt the T awkward around the money transfer at the end of sessions, even though we never had sessions that ended badly. I liked that T a lot but never felt the payment interfered with anything. I only saw solo practitioners without any office staff but would be fine with receptionists and whatever way to manage payment as long as it is done appropriately.

The fact that I prefer not to have a T hold my credit card on file is simply because I am not all that convinced about their work ethic and reliability. But paying with a credit card at the end of each session would be my preference if they did that. Mine only wanted either check or cash. The first one actually sent me an email once complaining that I issued the check with the wrong amount, which was his error, not mine, and he did not even apologize. Would not want my credit card info to be kept by someone like that.

We don’t talk about payment. We book one month at a time and as soon as the appointments for the next month are booked I send him an etransfer for the entire month. I do not want to be thinking about payment during my session.

With my former T, I paid her directly at the beginning of session unless I saw her at her office that was further away from me. She had a receptionist at that office but not the smaller office that I usually saw her at. It was a little uncomfortable giving the money to her (I pay cash) but after that part was done then I didn't have to think about it. Current T has a receptionist. It's a larger group of therapists and PDOC's who share office space and receptionist staff. So all appointments and scheduling and payment are dealt with by the receptionist staff. I kind of like that better. HUGS Kit

With ex-T and ex-MC, they had a receptionist who handled payment before the session. All of my p-docs have been the same way (though after the session). So that's what I was used to. My T is in solo practice without office staff, so I have to pay him directly at the end of session. I use a credit card (partly so I can get a little cash back), so I have to stand there while he runs it, then gives me the slip to sign. It made me feel uncomfortable at first. Now I generally sort of chat with him (usually about light stuff) during it to make it feel less like a financial transaction. I am glad we shake hands after though, because that brings it back to more personal (even though I know some people see hand-shaking as more business-like). Still, it can be a bit jarring if it's been a really emotional session or if he said something that hurt me. I've contemplated asking if I could pay at the beginning instead, but not sure if that would be even more awkward. I am wondering if he could just keep a credit card on file, and he could bill me later, or, since I see him twice a week, I could just pay him at the second session or something. Or perhaps I could just start going the check route (though I have to submit claims to get partial reimbursement from insurance, and that can take up to 2 months--at least lately--so the credit card at least pushes the actual payment back to closer to when we're reimbursed).

My T sends his bill directly to my insurance. They deduct the amount that they pay for me and send me an invoice that states how much I still have to pay them. I usually get that invoice a few months after the sessions on the invoice were. I sometimes wonder whether it's not annoying for my T to not be paid for months, but payment doesn't really play a role in our relationship directly, we never talk about it, there's no real need to.

The therapeutic relationship in and of itself is rather strange. From revealing *so much* to a stranger, such intimacy developed.. and at the end you hand them money and 'thank you, bye' and you stop existing for a week (or however long) in their minds.

The paying aspect of it serves as a good reality check. It's a professional service I am using. So, they are paid accordingly. And as such, there is no awkwardness.

I have a much easier time trusting anyone with a credit card than with personal information and secrets. I can log onto my credit card account on my phone and open a dispute to a charge with a few clicks, and they reverse the charge immediately. Plus criminal forgery charges can be brought against anyone who misuses a credit card, which I think is a powerful disincentive for anyone, much less a licensed professional, to engage in any kind of unauthorized use. Credit card fraud is so easy to catch, especially with email alerts, that I am not afraid to use it. It is probably my weakest fear when seeing a therapist.

The secretary person at my T's office once charged me double for a co-pay, and she not only refunded me, but gave me a credit for a free copay for my "trouble."

It used to but it's routine at this point. I write a check and hand it over once a week, for both my appointments that week, at the beginning of session.

@nottrustin, have you talked to your T about this? She must deal with this stuff routinely, maybe there's a way she can streamline the process or have the receipt ready or something.

No-i just hand her a check at the end of the session.

For me it was only a bit awkward when I paid in cash once, as I almost forgot and nearly walked out .

I normally stick with a bank transfer.

I have not. I am going to wait and see how it works out.

Depending how the spending account works, maybe I can pay her weekly and get a reception monthly.

The spending account comes with a credit card and checks. The checks are for when the person doesnt accept cards. I pay with my personal check and then write myself a check from the spending account. I need a receipt but maybe I can pay weekly but get the receipt monthy.

My credit card is on file, so I don't have to hand payment over. Sometimes, if the receptionist hasn't run the payment, the therapist will ask me if it's ok to run it, which annoys me. I know she's just being considerate, but if there were an issue with the payment method I had on file, I would have taken care of it. The receptionist doesn't ask me. She would, I think, except I don't really check in for my appointments, nor does C. It feels silly. We come in 2x/week and it is not a mystery whom we are there to see and what our name is. And it would be pretty hard for the receptionist to miss seeing us as we plop down right in front of her. We might say hi, but that's it.