Posted by Dinah on January 12, 2012, at 9:56:48
In reply to Re: What you pay for » Dinah, posted by pegasus on January 12, 2012, at 8:57:53
Yes, I know they do. :(
I think you're selling yourself short. You have more to give him than cold hard cash. If he's any sort of decent therapist, he should find professional interest and satisfaction in working with you.
And... Have you ever read Kottler's "The Client Who Changed Me"? I think any long term therapy results in some sort of change for both parties. My therapist says he's a better therapist because of me. And that's directly related to the fact that I'm a difficult client. I challenge him to find new ways of doing therapy when the old ways aren't really working. I help him think of things in different ways.
You can show him your dirtiest underbelly. Given his job, it's likely not that shocking to him. But even if that's all you ever did, you'd be offering him trust. And a chance to exercise his skills. I think it extremely likely you offer him more than your dirty underbelly. If you offer him what you offer Babble, that seems more valuable than cash to me.
I'm as cynical as they come about money and therapy. I know darn well that my therapist's availability will end when the income stream ends. And even if I frame it generously, his caring will decrease as absence makes the heart grow forgetful. At any rate, I won't experience his caring. But even I don't think that all I have to offer is cash. If I ever did feel that way, I'd tell him to go f*ck himself and walk out.
I know therapy is for our benefit, not theirs. But I hope your therapist occasionally shares with you the ways he is enriched by your therapeutic relationship, aside from the money. Or at least mentions that he gets some sort of satisfaction from conducting therapy more often than he finds spare change in his couch. :)
poster:Dinah
thread:1006988
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20111220/msgs/1007061.html