Thursday, January 11, 2018

"Why is therapy expensive?" - And Why I Charge Just US$35


Sign of hope
One question pops up fairly often, "Why is therapy expensive?" So here are some thoughts.

#1 We’re slow to start. It takes about seven years of school, Bachelors plus Masters, and apart from the classes, you need to spend roughly 1000 hours on unpaid internships that include some 300 therapy hours. Getting that done takes a year, sometimes more. So getting to the point where we can work costs a bomb.

#2 We do a lot of stuff you don’t see. You talk for an hour, but the second you leave, we’re writing up session notes. Then, before we talk next time, we read through the notes to prepare. While it varies, for every hour we talk, I tend to spend an hour on notes and prep.

#3 We're always studying. Every job involves constant learning but psychology is particularly intensive. I do constant journal sweeps as well as reading new publications, attending lectures and taking short courses. It costs money to stay current.

So there you go. I'm keeping costs down by working online, and I have other revenue streams. Also, living in Malaysia means my cost of living isn't as high as in some other countries. Even so, it's not good ROI on my education investment. Frankly, the second the economy comes up again, so are my prices.  
 
PS, an update in case you're curious why there's a local rate, here is my reasoning