She has informed me that she works helping people work through their emotional issues and that she does this because she believes in the greater good. She has informed me of this because she thinks I "must not know what a therapist is."

HA HA HA HA.

Thanks again, y'all!

Hiya Corwood. Welcome to the Triangle! Maybe we can have a mini-f2f with the other Trianglistas.

Excellent idea!

Here's the whole paragraph, because summing it up doesn't do it justice:

I re-read my email and it was open and asking advice about what is standard and expected. I think perhaps you don't understand what a therapist is. We have no contract that works in extras. No contracts at all. We provide our time in an office in one hour increments to help people work through their emotional difficulties. If we can't be there, or a patient can't be there, we are simply not paid. I do this work out of great caring. However it is not a lucrative field. Just an FYI the next time you or your family has need of a therapist!!

So there. She told me. I feel terrible shame for suggesting that she might have negotiated her working conditions and that the nanny had a right to negotiate hers and not have changes made unilaterally.

Oh good lord.

t crosses Sparky's neighbor off potential therapist list

That is amazing.

We provide our time in an office in one hour increments to help people work through their emotional difficulties. If we can't be there, or a patient can't be there, we are simply not paid.

Really? Because most health professionals I've visited will charge you for the visit if you don't cancel in time.

When my sister had an au pair she knew people who would constantly break their contracts and not get why they couldn't ask their au pair to work more than 40 hours a weeks, or stay overnight with the kids, etc.

I bet if a patient doesn't show up without giving sufficient notice that the patient gets billed. If she thinks that her billable hours as a therapist are equivalent to a nanny's hour of time, she needs a new profession.

She has no contract with her patients? Like "if you don't cancel more than 24 hours in advance you are billed $x"?!? That's not terribly well thought out of her. But kind, I suppose. Unlike most doctors and dentists and such, though.

I'm thinking this parent/therapist has a Jackass Clause.

If we can't be there, or a patient can't be there, we are simply not paid.

I was gonna call bullshit, but I see other people beat me to it. I also want to know where she got her degree. My soon-to-be therapist friend expects to make quite a bit. She needs to if only to make the degree worth it.