The impact of fee setting procedures in a mental health center setting.

The impact of fee setting procedures on psychotherapy has received little research attention. Furthermore, there is a shortage of information about this area which is useful for both mental health management and clinicians. Procedures for establishing fees were examined from several perspectives: fees, cash, no shows, number of sessions, cancellations, months of service, ratings by the therapists of treatment outcome, satisfaction of the clients, and the ratings by the clients of treatment outcome. Overall, the results suggest that the procedures used to set fees may have no adverse effects upon the welfare of the clients or the operations of a center, although some client perceptions may be altered. Hence, rigorous future research with stronger manipulations becomes more ethically feasible.