The therapeutic value of fees: what do practitioners believe?

Theorists have proposed that out-of-pocket fee payment helps clients benefit from psychotherapy. 159 staff members of a public mental health agency completed a fee attitude survey. Aggregate results indicated neutral beliefs. Significant differences appeared by gender, population served, and organizational role. Women were less likely than men to endorse TVF beliefs. Addiction services staff held strongest TVF beliefs, child and adult mental health staffs were neutral, and victim services staff rejected TVF beliefs. Clinical service providers were less likely to endorse TVF concepts than were clinicians in management roles, and non-clinical support staff held the strongest TVF beliefs. By understanding the relationships between fee attitudes, organizational role, and populations served, mental health administrators may be better able to manage changes in fee procedures.