Fees
Money is often a worthwhile object of psychological inquiry. It is also countable. It is also a common location for people to displace anxiety. It is also in limited supply for many people and having a limited supply of something often creates feelings of anxiety. Money almost always means something to the person other than just what they can purchase with it. Then again, many people do define value by what they can purchase and even value themselves based on what they can purchase to some degree. Cognitive dissonance studies show us that people often value products and even experiences based partly on how much it cost them monetarily, and somewhat paradoxically to most minds, this valuing goes up as the price goes up, even though the value relative to production and distribution costs obviously go down as the retail price rises. We humans aren't very logical some of the time. Sometimes we just feel that the sixty dollar bottle of wine really does taste better that the fifteen dollar bottle, even when we know that blinded expert raters picked the fifteen dollar bottle.
In the spirit of honesty and genuine communication I always tell people that I am negotiating with that I am paid anywhere from about $90/session to $140/session (all values are in U.S. dollars) by insurance companies for in state clients (I cannot bill your insurance if you are out of state). I have no influence on or power to change insurance reimbursements, they are set by your insurance company. Please consult your plan for likely deductible or co-pay expenses. For out of state clients or those not wishing to involve insurance for whatever reason, I ask $160/55 minute session as a consultation fee. This fee is not scientifically derived. I do not have a PhD. in Economics, which is what I would probably need in order to derive the true market value of my service in some mathematically sound way. Rather, the price comes from a general scanning of the psychology and coaching market out in internet-landia.
My fee is negotiable, especially on a needs basis and I do have some pro-bono clients, but basically I think that if you live in an urban area you should be used to paying anywhere from $100 to $400 (places like the Bay Area...apparently). However, not everyplace is Manhattan or Atlanta or San Francisco, or even in North America, so depending on your economy of scale and your personal economy, I'm open to negotiating a fee of any amount. However, for starters, $160/session for out of pocket work appears to be a reasonable middle compared to what others are asking. If you happen to be wealthy I am willing to take more, and to apply the excess to those clients who cannot pay.
Your Likely Expense
Some people elect to work with me on a very ad hoc basis, but if you are trying to delve into something complex or long standing, then we are probably meeting once per week. Your estimated costs per annum would be whatever your insurance plan does not allow, or $160 multiplied by the likely number of sessions in the year. Between the unexpected and vacations weekly clients usually manage 40 sessions a year.
For appointments:
Contact
Phone: 802-735-7138
Address: 67 Fairfield St., Ste. 101
Saint Albans, VT, 05478
Email: ezramaurer@gmail.com