the Price of Couples Therapy

I recieved my first ever therapy session on March 17, 2008. It was one hour, based in a private office. It was for couple's counseling. Insurance paid for the majority of it, but I have a $25 co-pay for mental health services, so the total out of my pocket will be $25 per hour session. With no insurance, the average going rate is around $85-110 per hour in the Pittsburgh area. I did, however, find one woman who does not take insurance that charges only $45 per hour. She does not have a doctorate and is a "counselor," not an actual psychologist.

The sessions was just "ok". My boyfriend and I went to sort out some issues we've been having for about a year. I did not realize before going that there were several types of therapy. And I wish that I knew that before, because we basically sat there and spilled our guts and she offered no way to resolve or work on the issues. She just kept asking "and WHY do you think that....Why do you do that", ect. I have now found out that there are different types of therapy and the one we will try next is called cognitive behavioral. From reading about it, it sounds that you go in with certain goals and problems that you want to work on and within a designated number of sessions (8-16), the problems should be resolved. There will be home assignments involved. The therapist that we saw didn't have a "game plan" and didn't tell us what to do to improve the situation. At that rate, we'd be going once a week for years. I do not know what type of therapist she is, but hopefully the other type of therapy will be better.

Figure out BEFORE you go what you need help with and literally make a list on paper. It may sound silly, but I froze up as soon as I got into the room! And I an NEVER at a loss for words!

When deciding on who to go to, first ask around. If you are like us, we knew nobody to ask for this, so we had to pick someone out of the phonebook. Knowing what I now know, I would ask for specifics on how they help people, expected number of visits to see results, and what is expected outside of the sessions (any homework, etc).

If I were you, I would first do some online research. Some websites have a quiz that determines the type of therapy that would be most beneficial. And once you figure out what type of therapy would help, ask for a therapist who does that specifically.

Hope this helped!