We are both fine with the idea of talking to someone. We are not fine with committing to an open-ended weekly bill when nobody will tell us how many sessions this normally takes. Every practice website says contact us for rates, which is not reassuring. If you have done it: what did a session cost you, how many did you end up doing, and did anything cheaper actually work?
We waited two years because of the price. By the time we booked, it was not couples counselling any more, it was two people negotiating an ending with a referee, which took longer and cost more than the thing we avoided. My honest read is that the cheapest version of this is the early version of it.
This matches ours. Six sessions at the point where we still liked each other did more than the twelve we would have needed later.
We tried an app-based service first because it was cheaper per month, then moved to an in-person therapist. The app was fine for structured exercises and useless for the actual argument, because the sessions were short and we got a different feel every time we had to re-explain our history. The in-person work cost more per hour and needed fewer hours. If money is the constraint I would do fewer sessions with one good person rather than more sessions with a rota.
Ring three practices and ask two questions: what is a session, and do you offer a reduced rate. They will tell you on the phone. A licensed therapist can also tell you in that same call what a typical course of work looks like for the thing you are describing, which is the number you actually want.
You may be pricing the wrong thing. Check whether either employer has an assistance programme - ours covered a set number of sessions including couples work, and neither of us knew until I read the benefits page properly. University training clinics are the other route: supervised trainees, much lower fee, longer waiting list. Neither of those is advice about whether you need counselling, just about not paying full private rates by default.
@why_wren · 2mo ago · 2 replies
We did eleven sessions over about five months, weekly at first and then fortnightly once things were calmer, and it was the single biggest discretionary line in our budget while it lasted. Two things brought the number down: asking directly whether the practice had a sliding scale (it did, based on household income, and it was never advertised), and moving to fortnightly earlier than the therapist suggested. Prices vary enormously by country and city, so ask three practices for their rate before you assume the first quote is the market.
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@film_fridge · last mo.
Seconding the sliding scale question. I felt awkward asking and the receptionist answered it like it was the most normal question in the world, which it presumably is.
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