Why is Therapy So Expensive?
Most people don’t realize it, but when you pay for a therapy session, you’re paying for much more than the 50–60 minutes you spend in the room or on the screen. Therapy is a professional service that requires years of training, ongoing regulation, and a significant amount of behind-the-scenes work that clients never see. I spend hundreds a month on supervision for instance and a lot more on continuing education courses, insurance, licencing fees and software. BUT I get it, it can feel prohibitive for a lot of people, especially those who don’t have insurance coverage. I am going to cover low-cost therapy options in a follow up blog post.
Here’s what your therapy fee actually supports:
1. A Highly Trained Professional
Registered therapists spend years investing in education, internships, supervision, and licensing. Most continue to pursue advanced training every year to stay current and deliver the best support possible. (Raising hand here!) Therapy is both a science and an art, and your therapist has spent thousands of hours learning how to guide you through the hardest parts of life safely and effectively.
2. Preparation and Follow-Up You Never Get Billed For
A 50-minute session rarely takes 50 minutes of work. Plus, I always go the full hour. Therapists prepare notes, review past sessions, plan interventions, track progress, consult with supervisors, and research resources, all outside the paid hour. You’re only charged for the time together, not the invisible work that makes that hour meaningful.
3. Professional Ethics and Liability
Therapists operate under strict professional standards. Fees help cover licensing, continuing education, insurance, secure documentation systems, and compliance with privacy laws. These aren’t optional, they’re required for us to practice safely and legally. I am apart of the CRPO and NSCCT, both of which have extensive and expensive requirements ($600 bucks just to write a test for the CRPO!)
4. A Private, Confidential Space
Whether sessions are online or in-person, clients receive a space that is quiet, confidential, emotionally safe, and fully dedicated to their healing. That means office rent, secure technology, encrypted platforms, and administrative systems that keep your information protected.
5. Emotional Capacity and Care
Therapy isn’t volume-based work. Therapists limit the number of clients they see so they can be fully present, emotionally steady, and attuned. Your fee helps sustain a pace of work that ensures you receive someone grounded, focused, and capable of holding your story…not someone burnt out and distracted. I am only taking three people a day max for this (and parenting) reasons.
The Bottom Line
Therapy costs what it does because it’s a deeply specialized, relational service supported by years of training, high ethical standards, and substantial behind-the-scenes work.
And while therapy isn’t inexpensive, a lot of clients describe it as one of the most valuable investments they’ve ever made, in their relationships, their coping, and their future.
