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Family Therapist Starts Asking For $20 Tips, Leaves A Bad Taste In Her Client’s Mouth
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Family Therapist Starts Asking For $20 Tips, Leaves A Bad Taste In Her Client’s Mouth

Therapist Asks For Tips After Person Shares How Much They MakeTherapist Tries To Take Advantage Of Client, Demands $20 Tip, But Is Left Clientless InsteadFamily Therapist Starts Asking For $20 Tips, Leaves A Bad Taste In Her Client's MouthPerson Fires Therapist After She Has The Audacity To Ask For A Tip“I Was At A Loss For Words”: Parent Surprised By Therapist's Demand For A $20 TipParent Shocked After Therapist Asks For $20 TipsTherapist Thinks She Deserves A “Raise” After Client Discloses Financial Situation To HerTherapist Learns About Client's Increased Income During Session, Thinks They Deserve A $20 Tip
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Depending on where you are from, every time you look at a restaurant menu, you might be doing some mental back-of-the-napkin math to calculate the tip at the end. For others, what you see is what you get, unless the service is above and beyond. But what happens when you get a request for a tip from someone like a therapist?

This is the situation one netizen found themselves in when their kid’s therapist asked them to give a little extra at the end of every session. They turned to the internet for advice after deciding to fire their therapist, and people debated the expansion and ethics of tipping culture in the comments.

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In some places, a tip is almost universally expected

Image credits: Antoni Shkraba (not the actual photo)

But one parent was shocked when a family therapist asked them to give $20 on top of their regular payments

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Image credits: Karolina Grabowska (not the actual photo)

Image credits: ConfidentSession7848

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Tipping culture is greatly varied

One issue that complicates the question of tipping is the fact that opinions on it can greatly differ depending on where you are. Americans, for better or worse, tend to expect 10-20% every single time, while in Japan, giving a tip is seen as insulting to the server. However, it’s worth noting that in Japan, one can actually give a tip, but there is a whole rigmarole around how it’s presented.

So if you are eating out in Japan, which you should, it’s a food culture without parallel, it’s good to include the cash in a specially marked envelope first, which is a non-verbal way to let the staff know that it’s a tip. It’s also more discreet than waving around cash, which is generally considered a plus in Japan. Of course, if this all seems too complicated, you will be absolutely fine if you don’t tip at all.

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Image credits: Sam Dan Truong (not the actual photo)

But in the US, it’s actually becoming more common

Of course, the common factor here is that one only expects tipping in a food or beverage service environment, so even if one lives in a country where tips are socially mandatory, you tend to not expect it from every single transaction. In a few countries, you might also tip other workers, like hotel staff, hairdressers, guides, or drivers, but it’s shockingly rare to hear about anyone even thinking about tipping a doctor, for example, or a therapist.

Image credits: Allef Vinicius (not the actual photo)

However, a therapist asking for a tip is still not acceptable

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On the other hand, service workers have reported that tips, even if they aren’t a major part of their salary, do actually help them mentally, as service jobs can feel demeaning, even before one factor in the worst customers taking out their anger issues on you. Of course, there are just as many service staff who have mastered the long pauses and smiles necessary to pressure people pleasers into handing over their money.

However, a therapist is a licensed, specialist job that is often covered by insurance, such as in OP’s case. While getting a tip, as a therapist is in a sort of gray area, directly asking for it, particularly after a client talked about money is an ethical breach. While a waiter using social pressure to get a tip is annoying, a therapist doing it is a bridge too far.

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Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)

Most readers thought OP was absolutely in the right

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Others thought they should still look for another one

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Justin Sandberg

Justin Sandberg

Writer, BoredPanda staff

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I am a writer at Bored Panda. Despite being born in the US, I ended up spending most of my life in Europe, from Latvia, Austria, and Georgia to finally settling in Lithuania. At Bored Panda, you’ll find me covering topics ranging from the cat meme of the day to red flags in the workplace and really anything else. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, beating other people at board games, cooking, good books, and bad films.

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Justin Sandberg

Justin Sandberg

Writer, BoredPanda staff

I am a writer at Bored Panda. Despite being born in the US, I ended up spending most of my life in Europe, from Latvia, Austria, and Georgia to finally settling in Lithuania. At Bored Panda, you’ll find me covering topics ranging from the cat meme of the day to red flags in the workplace and really anything else. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, beating other people at board games, cooking, good books, and bad films.

Viktorija Ošikaitė

Viktorija Ošikaitė

Author, BoredPanda staff

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I'm a visual editor here at Bored Panda and I enjoy a good laugh. My work ranges from serious topics related to toxic work environments and relationship difficulties to humorous articles about online shopping fails and introvert memes. When I'm not at my work desk, checking if every single pixel is in the right place, I usually spend my free time playing board games, taking pictures, and watching documentaries

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Viktorija Ošikaitė

Viktorija Ošikaitė

Author, BoredPanda staff

I'm a visual editor here at Bored Panda and I enjoy a good laugh. My work ranges from serious topics related to toxic work environments and relationship difficulties to humorous articles about online shopping fails and introvert memes. When I'm not at my work desk, checking if every single pixel is in the right place, I usually spend my free time playing board games, taking pictures, and watching documentaries

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neytjie
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What's next? Tipping the nurses on your hospital stay. Therapists are alrdy crazy expensive anyway. What bs is this about not making enough

Powerful Katrinka
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What the heck? Sounds like she's a self-proclaimed "therapist" with absolutely no credentials. What this person was asking for violates the ethics code of just about every professional mental health organization I can think of. OP should not only run, but report this person to their state's licensing board.

Tamra
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Highly, highly unprofessional, not to mention unethical! If the therapist isn't happy with the insurance payments, then she needs to not contract with them and just charge the patient the full amount. And good f*****g luck with that.

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neytjie
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What's next? Tipping the nurses on your hospital stay. Therapists are alrdy crazy expensive anyway. What bs is this about not making enough

Powerful Katrinka
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What the heck? Sounds like she's a self-proclaimed "therapist" with absolutely no credentials. What this person was asking for violates the ethics code of just about every professional mental health organization I can think of. OP should not only run, but report this person to their state's licensing board.

Tamra
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Highly, highly unprofessional, not to mention unethical! If the therapist isn't happy with the insurance payments, then she needs to not contract with them and just charge the patient the full amount. And good f*****g luck with that.

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