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Pre-Paid Sessions FAQ
Pre-Paid Sessions FAQ
Most therapists charge after session - why are you different?
Most therapists charge after session - why are you different?
Starting in mid to late 2027-2028, A New Chapter Therapy will be doing pre-paid sessions for all new private pay clients. What this means is you will talk to your therapist and estimate how many sessions you will have in a year (We do this anyway with the Good Faith Estimate here in Texas!), we calculate how much that will cost, and we figure out a payment plan that works for you, whether that be monthly or bi-weekly (it can be depending on pay periods, if that's a consideration!).
We do pre-paid sessions because it is difficult to run a private practice when you don't know how much is coming in every month - this helps us better anticipate how much is coming in and makes it easier for therapists to anticipate how much money they have to live on every month. As a client, the only thing that really changes for you is when you pay. This also means that we have more overt financial discussions - which we know can sometimes be hard depending on our feelings and beliefs around money!
What if I have to cancel?
What if I have to cancel?
This policy makes cancellations easier too! You already paid for the session, and you can work with your therapist to re-schedule and "make up" your session. You won't be charged a cancellation fee either - again, you already paid for the session! This also means if you happen to no-show, the therapist still gets paid and you can reach out to reschedule.
If you have "extra sessions" left at the end of the year that you've paid for (up to 5 sessions), then they will roll over into the beginning of the year, and you will get that number of sessions taken off of next year's payments!
If you happen to have a lot of sessions at the end of the year (more than 5) and you're worried that you won't be able to use them, chat with your therapist and we'll work with you to make sure you a) can use them or b) your payments are adjusted to accommodate the change.
I don't want to pre-pay for a bunch of sessions before I know if I feel comfortable with you. What do you do then?
I don't want to pre-pay for a bunch of sessions before I know if I feel comfortable with you. What do you do then?
We understand that you need to trust your therapist, so we offer the first session for free as a consultation session. For further sessions after that, your therapist will work with you to figure out an estimate for the rest of the year.
You say you're an inclusive business - why don't you accept insurance or do sliding fee scale?
You say you're an inclusive business - why don't you accept insurance or do sliding fee scale?
Great question! We understand that therapy is expensive - and there are a couple of reasons we don't take insurance or do sliding fee scale.
Insurance: We don't take insurance because the companies are honestly a pain - for you and for us as therapists. Historically, therapists have gotten severely delayed payments, are lowballed by insurance, and sometimes, the insurance will take the money back. At A New Chapter Therapy, one of our values is community, which includes our therapists. We want them to get paid what they are worth and be able to make a living from doing their job. Insurance, because of how the companies treat therapists and the time it takes to get paid, lowers the quality of life for our therapists, and indirectly, you. If our therapists can't be at their best because they're worried about their next meal or rent payment, then we're going to choose the option that makes sure they are taken care of.
Sliding fee scale: This is a very common practice where clinicians will charge lower or much lower than their regular fee to make therapy accessible for many clients. Being able to do this requires a lot of financial privilege on behalf of the therapist, OR requires the therapist to undercharge themselves. Therapists who are able to do this may work another job that provides stable income - great for them! But for those who it is their primary job, this is not sustainable - and can sometimes be inequitable! Many therapists with marginalized identities may do sliding fee scale because they know what it's like to be unable to afford quality support - and in many cases, this means that they are taking a hit to their own pay and inadvertently reducing the quality of care they can provide.
At the end of the day, we do this our way because we believe in paying therapists what they are worth and keeping them in top shape so they can give you the highest quality care possible. In an effort to provide lower cost services at a later point, we are developing a pay it forward system (still in progress!) that will allow for lower cost services while ensuring that therapists are paid what they are worth!
Our Structure
Our Structure
Here at A New Chapter Therapy, we work from a collaborative business model. This means:
All employees (who are all clinicians!) will get equal say in business decisions for the company.
We will only hire as many as we have room for - we won't overhire to "maximize profit." We will aim for low turnover and having longevity with the practice.
All employees will be paid equitably for their work. This means that everyone here will receive a salary based on living wage + a little extra where available (distributed equally), including our founder! This means that the founder will not be paid more just because of their title.
Shared decision-making = shared responsibility for the business. All clinicians will have additional roles based on their strengths and phases of life!
Clinicians will have control over how many hours they work and when they are available to work - this helps to accommodate different phases of life and disabilities that may require schedules to look different!
Employees will decide together on the benefits they want - and then they're implemented!
Does this really work?
Yes! Other businesses have run off of similar models with great success. Our founder believes a business should be sustainable and beneficial to everyone - clinicians and clients. Our goal is for the business to be sustainable - not to maximize profit.
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