Psychotherapy Without Fee

Abstract

The fee has been a topic of interest to psychodynamically oriented clinical theorists from the inception of psychoanalysis. It is well known by now that the capacity to form a working alliance may be adversely affected in those who are so wealthy that no fee, no matter how large, is necessarily meaningful. A subgroup of patients whose fee is paid by third parties may have similar difficulties participating in the psychotherapeutic process. Since psychotherapists are frequently in private practice, the ethical and practical aspects of setting appropriate fees has also been commented on by many clinicians.