therapy is expensive… am I paying my therapist to care?

It’s no secret that therapy - especially private-pay only therapy - is an investment! So what’s the deal with that? What exactly are you paying for, and what makes it worthwhile to pay between $150-$250 per session? 

Mental health care has historically been stigmatized, or at the very least, dismissed in it’s importance, by the larger cultural context and thus, by the insurance companies and institutions that fund and shape our national healthcare system. 

Though the cultural context - especially here in Denver - has been shifting towards awareness and even an embrace of holistic mental healthcare in recent years, the institutional forces that decide who gets paid for what are still miles behind - leaving therapists who work with insurance companies bound to excessive paperwork, oversight, and some of the lowest reimbursement rates of any medical professional, despite their years long (and typically hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollars worth) post-graduate education and licensing process. 

This reality makes it truly unsustainable for many therapists to work with insurance companies.

As a somatic therapist who values integrity and embodiment - I know that if my nervous system is chronically dysregulated - if I am burnt out and unable to tend to my own physical and emotional needs - I will be of little help to clients who are looking for embodied safety and healing.

See, our nervous systems (and I’d also argue, our energy, but let’s stick with NS because there are real studies that prove this) are like receivers. We naturally tune to the “channel” of the person that we’re sitting with…. So regardless of the therapeutic tools or interventions being used, when I am grounded, attuned, and regulated, naturally my clients systems will become more regulated.

This in many ways is my most important role as a therapist - to truly be resourced, so that I can then show up for my clients with embodied integrity: Living what I’m offering to clients.

And let’s be real - if I can’t pay my mortgage, my student loans, or save for retirement, I am not resourced! Yet, many therapists feel unable to charge the session rates that they need to meet these basic financial benchmarks due to the social pressure and ongoing stigma around charging “premium” fees as a mental health professional.

Am I paying my therapist to care?

Sometimes clients have joked that they are “paying me to care,” and while I understand why someone might say this, I believe it must be decisively addressed. 

Simply: No. You are not paying your therapist to care. As a therapist, I am a human being - an especially empathic one at that - I just care. 

You are paying for my expertise.

 My session fee is based on my level of experience and education, and what I need to adequately take care of myself outside of our work together. That is what you are paying for.

Many therapists have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars and years or decades of their lives into their training and education, with the hopes that they can show up in service to your growth and make a living doing it.

Different therapists have different personal needs, different experience levels, and thus different session rates.

My individual session rate is what I need from a client in order to tend to my own needs, so that I can show up fully and in integrity for them. I have invested a lot in my education and training, I supervise other therapists, run a business, and also have a whole life outside of my work… I value my time, and thus my session rate might be higher than someone else’s, and that is totally okay! It’s up to my clients whether they choose to work with me and pay my fees or not. 

Do I wish that high quality, holistic therapy was more accessible?

Absolutely yes. However, I am not willing to compromise my integrity, glorify burnout/martyrdom, and ascribe to the unfair and outdated payment & oversight practices of insurance companies who still do not value our work.

Personally, it is my view that the system cannot be changed from the inside out, which is why I, and many other therapists have opted out of working with insurance companies. 

My therapy practice is not my advocacy work, and it needn’t be. It is what sustains my personal and professional life, so that I have the resources to advocate for accesible mental healthcare in other ways.

Running a private-pay private practice enables me to show up in integrity in my professional work, and provide the type of client care that I can stand behind… the type of care that I myself would seek from my own healthcare professionals.

Clients truly can feel the difference - and find that $150-$250 per session is a worthy and value-aligned investment towards their long term wellness. 

I know all too well that your health is really all you have. Without a baseline level of balance and well-being, all the accessories of life: family, career, finances, hobbies, etc. can be totally lost to you, and at the very least, can’t truly be appreciated or enjoyed. That’s why for me personally, paying private-pay rates for therapists, holistic doctors, and healthcare professionals that I truly trust and feel connected with is absolutely worth it. 

Have you experienced the difference between private-pay and insurance-based care? 

Book a no-pressure, free consultation with our embodied therapists… and see how it feels to sit with a resourced professional and invest in your wellness!