# Question



## rahnie440 (Jul 8, 2005)

Hello,

yesterday I had a psychologist appointment with two trained professionals which ran for most of the afternoon and I was charged 1250 when it was over. I was wondering, is this a normal price for a appointment? I thought maybe I might have been conned by them. 

thanks


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## rahnie440 (Jul 8, 2005)

*question*

Hello,

yesterday I had a psychologist appointment with two trained professionals which ran for most of the afternoon and I was charged 1250 when it was over. I was wondering, is this a normal price for a appointment? I thought maybe I might have been conned by them. 

thanks


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## Daniel (Jul 8, 2005)

*question*

At least with therapy, most initial appointments are with one professional, last for an hour or an hour-and-a-half, and cost less than $200.  The followup appointments usually cost less at $80-$150 per hour. (I only pay $40 an hour to see a therapist in my small town.)

If you calculate $200 per hour for each professional you saw, you may (or may not) get an idea of where they may be coming from.  

If you paid by credit card, you can always dispute the charge with your credit card company.  However, I don't know what grounds you have for disputing the charge except that you were not told in advance what the charge would be and that when you approved the charge, you were exhausted from all the psychological questioning.

If you paid by check, your bank may still be able to stop the check.  

Of course, the psychologist's office may then have a collection agency try to collect the money from you.  Most collection agencies will not sue you but may try to hurt your credit rating.


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## Daniel (Jul 8, 2005)

*question*

At least with therapy, most initial appointments are with one professional, last for an hour or an hour-and-a-half, and cost less than $200.  The followup appointments usually cost less at $80-$150 per hour. (I only pay $40 an hour to see a therapist in my small town.)

If you calculate $200 per hour for each professional you saw, you may (or may not) get an idea of where they may be coming from.  

If you paid by credit card, you can always dispute the charge with your credit card company.  However, I don't know what grounds you have for disputing the charge except that you were not told in advance what the charge would be and that when you approved the charge, you were exhausted from all the psychological questioning.

If you paid by check, your bank may still be able to stop the check.  

Of course, the psychologist's office may then have a collection agency try to collect the money from you.  Most collection agencies will not sue you but may try to hurt your credit rating.


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## David Baxter PhD (Jul 9, 2005)

*question*

What sort of a consultation was this, rahnie440?

The only thing I cn imagine which would take a whole afternoon and involve two psychologists would be some sort of assessment. In that case, the time involved would exceed the number of hours of face to face contact because any tests administered would need to be scored and interpreted and in most cases a report would need to be generated.


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## David Baxter PhD (Jul 9, 2005)

*question*

What sort of a consultation was this, rahnie440?

The only thing I cn imagine which would take a whole afternoon and involve two psychologists would be some sort of assessment. In that case, the time involved would exceed the number of hours of face to face contact because any tests administered would need to be scored and interpreted and in most cases a report would need to be generated.


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## Daniel (Jul 9, 2005)

*question*

This seems to put things in perspective as well:



> ...Our evaluation is comprehensive and many community practitioners would charge $1500.00 for these same services.
> 
> PSYCHOLOGY ASSESSMENT CENTER, University of California, Santa Barbara


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## Daniel (Jul 9, 2005)

*question*

This seems to put things in perspective as well:



> ...Our evaluation is comprehensive and many community practitioners would charge $1500.00 for these same services.
> 
> PSYCHOLOGY ASSESSMENT CENTER, University of California, Santa Barbara


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