Asking for Money Can be Hard!

Many healing professionals have trouble asking to be paid for what they offer. They feel like the money has to be something completely separate from themselves, emotions and the body. In my work as a Money Counselor, I have seen so much of this that I am now identifying a few different versions of "Moneyphobias".

Moneyphobia is a term that was developed by Annette Lieberman and Vicki Lindner, authors of "The Money Mirror: How Money Reflects Women's Dreams, Fears and Desires (1996, Allworth Press). They identified several Moneyphobias: Moneyblindness, Moneysqueamishness, Moneyconfusion, Moneyparanoia, Moneyeluding, Moneyfolly, and Moneydenying. I have seen several of these manifesting in practitioners' difficulty in asking for and accepting money.

Perhaps the most common expression of this is Moneyconfusion. Here's how it can work: A massage therapist's fee for an hour of bodywork may be $60. One of the therapist's clients is on disability and having trouble making ends meet, yet she needs the bodywork to heal. The client talks about how miserable her life is and how hard it is for her to afford the alternative healing care that she so clearly needs.

The therapist finds herself thinking: "I couldn't possibly charge this person $60. She can only afford to pay me $20, if that!" Keep in mind that the client has not specifically told the practitioner she can only afford $20!

Moneyconfusion is confusing someone else's concerns with your own and feeling like you have to run your life or your business only in ways that meet the other persons' needs. A practitioner who is experiencing Moneyconfusion will make decisions for their clients about how much the clients can afford to pay. Consider this: I have seen clients who are making the conscious choice to go into debt in order to get the healing support they need. In fact, I believe sometimes that very choice to spend whatever it takes to heal is the act that enlivens their life energy enough to open to true healing. Who are we to interfere with that process?

To overcome Moneyconfusion, the healing practitioner needs to stay very clear about their mission and the fact that they are in business. It is important to establish payment policies in writing and communicate these policies to the clients. If a practitioner feels an obligation to perform some of their services at a "below-market" rate, then I feel it is important to set up a few scholarship slots. For instance, they can decide the cash flow projections for the business would allow them to work with two clients per week at less than full fee. The policy can establish what it would take to qualify for those scholarship slots, how many visits will be allowed for each scholarship client, what actions (non-payment, for instance) would disqualify them, and how to manage a waiting list for those slots. Then, when a client inquires about a reduced-fee arrangement, their options will be clear and unambiguous.

© Lu Bauer, CPA