There is this man who claims he has no money for therapy. He owns a car and condominium unit, smokes 3 packs of cigarettes a day, and dines out in expensive restaurants. If he sets aside funds even just by stopping smoking, he could afford to pay for his weekly personal therapy.
Doctors always remind trauma victims that therapy costs. But not to be in therapy is way much, much more costly for any one during the years ahead of life - lost relationships, lost opportunities, lost health.
I remember this 60+ woman who skipped personal recovery all her years over her addiction and rage issues. Now, at the end-stage of her life, she remains stuck as she is. What does she have to show for it? Multiple husbands. Expensive divorces. Business bankruptcy. Alienated children. Lost friends. Unnecessary medical costs, deteriorating health.
Commonly, the lack of finances is not really the problem. But it's usually about something else. Rather than deal directly with pain in or around therapy, a person may use the excuse to evade or stop participating. Some ways to handle this block productively is to discuss it directly with your therapist, ask for help and assistance, or reduce/eliminate one's less essential expenses.
Are you worth the money for therapy? Is your happiness, freedom, and health the rest of your life worth it? The answer is YES, of course. It's most helpful in the healing process to give such serious consideration and attention.
Dr. Angelo Subida is a clinical psychotherapist, author, and speaker. He is author of books "Inner Healing," "Secrets Of Your Self," "Chess and Life," among others, blogs, and articles. He has appeared frequently as an expert on psychotherapy/life recovery issues on national television, radio broadcasts, print media, and webcasts, including GMA 7, TV 5, ABS CBN 2, Q-11, 700 Club, Radyo Veritas, Inquirer Radio, Smart Parenting Magazine, Business Mirror, among others, and has served as resident therapist/counselor for parents and kid-artists in the highly popular ABS-CBN 2 Voice Kids TV singing reality show. Dr. Subida is an eclectic, multidisciplinary therapist and originator of his own revolutionary high-tech, high-touch counseling plus model. His areas of specialization include parent-child therapy, clinical infidelity treatment, relationship/marital counseling, separation/divorce therapy, anger management, depression, addictions, psychotherapy-spirituality integration, and innovative chess therapy. For more of Dr. Subida, you can find him at www.drsubida.com.