ABSTRACT
Money is transactional, interpersonal, and symbolic. It is a taboo topic in many cultures. Talking about it often evokes powerful feelings and impacts significant relationships. It's symbolic meanings, often unconscious, are shaped by cultural, religious, and familial attitudes and beliefs. In therapy groups, setting and collecting fees may trigger, among other feelings, anger, shame, jealousy, and greed both in the Members and leaders. A clear fee and billing policy has to be presented so that Members know what to expect, and policy violations can be therapeutically explored. Psychodynamic groups in private practice are most suitable for acquiring insight into negative feelings and/or conflicts triggered by fee payments. To explore the money transaction between therapist and patient, members need to be adults who self pay or use third-party payments. The interventions are contraindicated for highly narcissistic and borderline patients who will not be able to tolerate and metabolize the intense feelings evoked.
