I work both online and offline, the latter being in south Delhi. 

I can be contacted on (0091) 9810932253. Please leave a message if the call is not answered. You can also write in at kaifmahmood@gmail.com . 

Psychotherapy fee, logistics and related matters

The fee for psychotherapy can be difficult to pay for many persons, particularly young people who form the larger portion of those who are drawn to the therapy process. When I moved from working in a public-funded university clinic to private practice, like for many other therapists, this fact put to question the purpose of having chosen a helping profession.

At the same time, I was aware that the therapist needs to be careful to not see too many clients in a day, as this work requires a sense of rest and inner harmony if one is to provide that to others. To cultivate a balance between one’s commitment to making a meaningful contribution to others’ lives, and one’s own material and psychological needs is an ongoing journey that every therapist works with in their own way.

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From January 2024, the fee for one session of 90 minutes is Rs 4500.

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If the fee is unaffordable, I could refer you to a therapist with an approach similar to mine. You can also consider attending a listening circle or meditation session with me, which are affordable for most people. 

There is one low-fee slot for any amount that the client is able to pay. At the moment, this is occupied. 

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Sessions are once a week, unless, occasionally, the client feels a need for an urgent session or more frequent sessions. 

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For those outside India, the fee is Rs 9000. If one is not able to afford this fee, particularly if one is not in a high income country, we can have a discussion and come to an amount that is suitable for both of us. 

 

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There is a cancellation policy. If the client cancels a session, and we are unable to find a substitute time that suits both of us, the client pays 50 per cent of the fee.

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The fee is on the higher side of average, and the reason for that is that the sessions are longer than the conventional therapy session which is 50 minutes long.

A therapy session usually involves the client sharing with the therapist what they are experiencing in the moment and have experienced in the preceding days, the therapist listening deeply and with care, and offering some responses that help a deeper layer of emotions to emerge in the client. There is a slow emergence of a space where difficult emotions and life questions can be held in all their fullness, rather than avoided, so that emotional change and insight come to life.

Over the years, I have increasingly come to feel that for the way in which my work has evolved, 50 minutes – particularly if it is once a week – is far too constricted for such a space to be created, and leads to a more mechanical pattern of communication on my part and a hurried and unloading one on the part of the client, rather than a true, restful dialogue.

 

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According to what the client is looking for, therapy can be both short-term or long-term.

Short-term therapy involves helping the client see that there can be different ways of responding to difficult emotions, particularly anxiety, and offering them tools and perspectives through which they can see these emotions when they next emerge, so that they can preserve a sense of calmness and self-understanding.

Although clients usually benefit even from a few sessions and are free to stop therapy when they wish, I suggest that they try therapy for 25 sessions for its effect to be relatively stable and not dissipate between sessions. 25 sessions, at one session a week, usually take about six months. 

While all clients benefit from short-term work, most prefer to stay for longer, to engage in a deeper opening up of the personality and a slow rebuilding of the self, in dialogue with the therapist. The longer the client stays in therapy, the more the contemplative aspects of the work become intensely palpable and viscerally felt.

If therapy continues for over a year, we increase the fee by 10 percent every year. If the client is unable to afford this increase, we can delay it till they are in a position to do so. 

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Occasionally, I am approached by persons who are not yet interested in regular therapy, or former clients, who want only one session, in order to get a therapist’s view on what they are experiencing. Single sessions do not bring deep emotional change which is the goal of regular therapy, but they do help the person understand what they are experiencing, its causes, and what they could do in the short and long term to walk further on their journey of growth.

Having stated this framework of understanding, I offer a single or occasional session for those who wish to do them. Since this is only one session, the fee for it is whatever the client feels is a meaningful contribution on their part.

I can suggest Rs 3000 as fee for such a session, but am happy to work with what is possible for the other person.