Why Investing in Therapy Matters (and Why Paying a Premium Fee Is a Radical Form of Self-Respect)
AKA: Why You Deserve More Than a $25 Copay Therapist Who Doesn’t Get You
Let’s talk about something no one tells you (and people don’t like to talk about) when you’re looking for a therapist: you get what you pay for.
I know this both as a therapist AND as a client.
As a therapist I have worked with folks on insurance (tho I don’t do this anymore) at the same time as having full-fee out of pocket clients, and while it was not always the case- the full fee clients showed up to sessions differently. They SHOWED UP TO WORK. It’s a subtle energy shift (and again not true of every insurance client, because some were fully committed badasses also). But there is an inherent value and commitment being made when you are paying real money.
As a client in my own therapy, I have had $25 copay therapists who were fine. Literally, they were FINE. And I have also had a $300 for 45 minute therapist who was FUCKING AMAZING AND LIFECHANGING. The feelings on my end, as the client, were quite different going into sessions with these different therapists. $300 a week had a true impact on my budget, and in turn had a true impact on my life. $25 a week did not.
You get what you pay for.
You already know this everywhere else in your life — the haircut, the car mechanic, the skincare, the vacation rental, the gym coach.
But when it comes to therapy… for some reason people automatically devalue the worth of their mental health.
And for anxious, childfree women who’ve been high-responsibility, over-functioning adults for decades?
Therapy isn’t a luxury.
It’s the foundation of your rebuilding process.
So over the next couple of week’s I’ll be talking about why investing in high-quality therapy is not only worth it — it's life-changing.
For today, let’s start with the first 3 reasons you should invest in therapy in 2026.
1. A Premium Therapist Isn't Just a Therapist — They’re a Partner in Your Rebuilding
A therapist charging a premium fee isn’t charging for a warm body on the other side of a laptop.
They’re charging for:
many years of training & graduate degrees (& student loans they’re still paying off)
specialized expertise (like trauma recovery, parts work, nervous system healing)
hours of weekly consultation
ongoing advanced education
the emotional labor required to hold space for people in crisis
business training and development
many years of experience & skill in rebuilding the lives of the people they work with
This isn’t basic talk therapy.
This is inner foundation work — the kind that actually changes who you become.
A $25 copay therapist through insurance might be wonderful, but they’re often:
overworked
underpaid
overwhelmed with caseloads
stressed about covering their basic bills
limited in how deeply they can go
forced to document your symptoms for insurance
restricted in session limits
pressured by productivity quotas
You’re not rebuilding your life in 6 sessions.
You’re rebuilding your relationship with yourself.
You need depth.
You need time.
You need someone who can actually hold the weight of what you’ve survived.
And that takes someone who has the freedom to work deeply with you — not someone billing your insurance company for trauma codes.
2. Insurance Doesn’t Pay for Growth — Only for Illness
Here’s the truth insurance companies don’t want you to know:
Insurance doesn’t cover:
growth
rebuilding your identity
healing from emotional burnout
figuring out your childfree life
learning to regulate your anxiety
creating a life that feels like it fits you
exploring who you are after trauma
building confidence, purpose, and clarity
Insurance only pays for pathology.
A diagnosis.
A symptom cluster.
A “medically necessary” session.
Which is wild, because what you actually want is not “symptom reduction,” but transformation.
You’re not looking for a therapist to say, “Looks like your anxiety score went down three points. See you next week.”
You want someone who looks at your life and says:
“Let’s rebuild something that feels like yours.”
And insurance doesn’t cover that.
It never has.
3. Paying a Premium Creates Commitment — and Commitment Creates Change
Premium-fee therapy isn’t about suffering financially.
It’s about being invested in your own healing.
When you pay a premium fee, you’re telling your system:
I matter
My healing matters
My time matters
My emotional health is not optional
My future is not something I’ll keep putting off
I’m not waiting until I fall apart to take myself seriously
Copay therapy often becomes:
“I’ll try it, I guess.”
“It’s only $25, so whatever.”
“I don’t know if this is helping but I’ll stick with it because it’s cheap.”
Premium therapy becomes:
“I’m here to change my life. And I’m invested in it.”
That energy alone shifts outcomes.
Because therapy only works if you’re in it.
And I mean, really in it.
Willing to look at the patterns, the parts, the trauma, the identity shifts.
The fee isn’t about money.
It’s about commitment, accountability, and showing up for yourself differently than you ever have.
Stay tuned for 3 more reasons to invest in therapy and in yourself next week!
