As a practitioner working in the private sector the question of money is ever present in terms of the balances between charges, costs and income. It is necessary to consider the financial aspects of the therapeutic contract with each new client and also review the charges overall; this process is fraught with difficulties which I will explore by providing a background to some of the psychological thinking around the subject.

The theoretical view point is object relations and attachment based which I use to help gain an understanding of the intra-psychic meaning of the therapeutic fee for the client. I also develop an overarching principle of symbolic reference whereby I view money as a symbol which emerges from time to time richly laden with verbal and non-verbal meaning for the client, the therapeutic relationship and for the therapy. I will draw on experience and clinical examples to demonstrate how the dynamic relationship between payment in the present will bring with it deep and significant transferential material.

Key Words:

Private practice; money; therapeutic contract; symbol; non-verbal; transference; intra-psychic; object relations theory.

© Arthpractice.com 2005: Author: Gary Nash (Nash,G).

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