Psychological consultation fee charging standards

At present, there is no official unified pricing standard for psychological counseling in China. The current regular charging range in the psychological counseling service market is 200-2,000 yuan per time (the standard length of a single individual consultation is 50 minutes, and family/group consultation is usually 90-120 minutes). Among them, mature counselors who have been systematically trained and have more than 3 years of stable case experience charge mostly in the 400-800 yuan range.

Many people who are looking for a consultant for the first time will be confused when they see this huge price list: Why do some people charge ten times more than others for the same 50-minute conversation? Is the more expensive the better? I once met a visitor who just entered college. He squatted at the door of the consulting room with his wallet and struggled for ten minutes. He said that the consultants he searched for had a public price of 199 and an expert account of 1800. He was afraid that he would make the wrong choice and spend money unjustly.

Let’s first calculate the most realistic cost account. Many people think that consultants can earn hundreds just by chatting for 50 minutes. This does not include the hidden costs behind it. I know a counselor with a psychoanalytic orientation who has been practicing for 4 years. Last year, he spent 117,000 on two-year systematic training, individual supervision once a week, and personal experience twice a week. When evenly divided, the monthly fixed expenses are almost 10,000. This does not include the cost of renting a consulting room, the commission for settling on the platform, the money for buying professional books and participating in workshops. How about another counselor who does short-range focused solution? There is no need for long-term personal experience, the frequency of supervision is also lower, the cost will naturally come down, and the pricing will be more friendly to the people. This is also one of the core reasons why the fees of consultants with different technical orientations vary greatly.

If you go to the psychology department of a public tertiary hospital to register, you will find that the price is much lower than the average market price. A regular number may only cost 30-80 yuan, and a specialist number is mostly less than 200 yuan. However, most single consultations only last 20-30 minutes, and registration is extremely difficult. Many popular departments have to grab a number one or two weeks in advance. Psychological counseling centers within universities are basically free for current students, and public welfare counseling projects for the community are mostly in the 100-200 yuan range. However, most of the counselors for such services are interns in training and have senior supervision. They are suitable for visits with limited budgets and not particularly serious problems.

The controversy over pricing has been raging in the industry for almost ten years, and there is no conclusion yet. One group believes that psychological counseling should be affordable, and charging thousands of dollars to keep out ordinary people in need is an "elite disease" in the industry.” ； The other group believes that sufficient fees are a sign of respect for the professional investment of consultants. If the price is lowered to less than 200 yuan, no one will be willing to spend several years and hundreds of thousands of dollars for training. In the end, it will only create a bunch of "charlatans" who only get a certificate and get jobs, and the victims will still be the visitors. When I participated in industry salons before, I saw the two sides quarreling red-faced, but in the end there was no result. Essentially, everyone's positioning of psychological counseling is different - is it a universal public service or a personalized professional service? At present, it seems that the two are running in parallel, with public welfare channels and market-oriented options.

In fact, for ordinary visitors, there is really no need to choose a consultant based on price. I've seen people spend 1,500 yuan to find an expert but can't even talk to each other during the whole process. I've also seen people find a novice counselor who paid 300 yuan to work for half a year and solve the emotional problems that have been bothering them for many years. The core thing is to look at the suitability. As long as the other party can produce complete training certificates, have stable supervision, case experience that matches your problem, and the price is within your affordability, you can give it a try. Oh, by the way, many people don’t know that most consultants will reserve 1-2 low-cost public welfare places for low-income groups. If you really have needs but don’t have enough budget, you can take the initiative to communicate with consultants. Don’t be embarrassed. This is a very common thing in the industry and you will not be treated differently.

To put it bluntly, until now, the entire industry has not introduced a unified charging standard that everyone agrees with. After all, each consultant has a different growth path and the needs of each visit are also very different. To put it bluntly, finding a consultant is similar to finding shoes. Only you know whether they fit your feet. Expensive ones may not be suitable for you, and cheap ones may not be bad. The ones that can really help you are the most cost-effective.