Transparent Pricing

Breaking down The Cost of A Therapy Hour

I really appreciate companies that are transparent about their pricing. There’s something about it that I associate with honesty and integrity. And so when someone asked me “why do you charge what you do?” I was a little surprised that it hadn’t occurred to me earlier to lay out where my clients’ hard earned therapy dollars go.

So - what goes into pricing?

  1. Cost of practicing - the boring (and not particularly clinically relevant) stuff, but unavoidable none the less. Things like professional licensing and registration fees, office expenses, insurance, etc. Approximately 30% of a client’s payment goes towards these aspects of operating a practice.

  2. Continuing education - the stuff that’s more important to patient outcomes and makes me better at my job. The professional colleges that regulate health care providers require us to complete a certain amount of continuing education each year. The College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario, for example, requires psychotherapists to complete 10 hours of continuing education a year. Since I started my practice, I have averaged 100 hours of continuing education each year. This is reflective of the importance I place on providing the best possible care I can to those who put their faith in me. It’s also probably reflective of me being a bit of a geek, but the result is the same - an ever broadening and deepening skill set to draw on in the service of my clients. Approximately 25% of a client’s payment goes towards continuing education.

  3. Taxes - another unavoidable one. Approximately 13% of a client’s payments goes to the CRA.

  4. Giving back - the ‘make the world better’ part of my ‘When we feel better, we do better. And when we do better, we make the world better’ motto. Approximately 5% of a client’s payment goes to charity.

  5. Making a living - the personal part. The part that allows me to pay my mortgage, buy groceries, go to the dentist and take my dog to the vet. Approximately 28% of a client’s payment goes to keeping me and my loved ones housed, fed and happy. Thank you for that.

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