Therapy Cost Worksheet
Plan your sessions, your coverage, and your monthly budget
From Graceway Wellness | gracewaywellness.com
Money questions keep a lot of people from starting therapy. Not because the answers are bad, but because nobody has actually sat down and worked them out. This worksheet helps you do that in about ten minutes.
You will pencil in how often you plan to attend, what your plan covers, and what is left for you to pay. If you want the full picture of therapy pricing, provider types, and coverage in Ontario, our complete pricing guide walks through all of it.
Before you start, gather three things: your benefits booklet or plan portal login, your calendar, and a pen. Print this page, or work through it on screen with a notepad beside you. Either way works.
1 Plan Your Monthly Session Cost
Most people attend weekly or every two weeks at the start. Pick the session type that fits, write in how many sessions per month feels realistic, and multiply.
| Session type | Fee per session | Sessions / month | Monthly total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual therapy (weekday virtual) (50 minutes) | $170 | ||
| Individual therapy (in-person or evening virtual) (50 minutes) | $185 | ||
| Couples therapy (weekday virtual) (50 minutes) | $200 | ||
| Couples therapy (in-person or evening virtual) (50 minutes) | $225 |
All fees include HST. Current fees are always listed on our fees page.
Not sure what frequency to write in? Weekly sessions build momentum early on, and many people move to every two weeks once things feel steadier. Four sessions per month is a common starting point. Two is a common maintenance rhythm. Write in the number you can sustain, not the number that sounds impressive. Therapy works better when the pace fits your life and your budget.
2 10 Questions to Ask Your Insurer
One phone call to your benefits provider, or ten minutes in your plan portal, answers most of these. Check them off as you go and jot the answers in the margin.
- Does my plan cover Registered Psychotherapists (RPs)?
- Does my plan also cover RP (Qualifying) therapists?
- What is my per-session maximum?
- What is my per-year maximum for mental health services?
- Do I need a doctor’s note or referral before I can claim?
- Does my plan cover couples therapy, or only individual sessions?
- Are virtual sessions covered the same as in-person sessions?
- When does my coverage year reset?
- Can I coordinate benefits with my spouse’s or partner’s plan?
- How do I submit receipts, and how long does reimbursement take?
Our therapists are Registered Psychotherapists with the CRPO. Most extended health plans that list "psychotherapist" as an eligible provider will reimburse our receipts.
3 What Reduces the Real Cost
The sticker price is rarely what you actually pay out of pocket. A few things work in your favour:
Insurance receipts after every session
We provide a receipt you can submit for reimbursement. If your plan covers $1,000 per year, that is five to six sessions largely covered.
HST is already included
The fee you see is the fee you pay. No tax added at checkout.
A free consultation before you commit
Your first conversation with our team costs nothing. You find out whether the fit feels right before a single dollar is spent.
Health spending accounts and a partner's plan
If your workplace offers a health spending account, therapy receipts usually qualify. And if your spouse has benefits too, coordinating both plans can stretch your coverage further than either one alone.
One thing to know: OHIP does not cover psychotherapy in private practice. Coverage almost always comes through workplace benefits, a spouse's plan, or health spending accounts.
Your Bottom Line
Bring your numbers together. This is the part most people never write down, and it is the part that makes the decision feel manageable.
Monthly session total (from step 1):
Expected insurance reimbursement per month:
My real monthly cost:
Seeing the real number changes the conversation. For many people with workplace benefits, the out-of-pocket cost of a month of therapy lands closer to a couple of dinners out than to a second car payment. For others, the math says biweekly is the wiser start. Both are good answers. The worksheet's job is to replace a vague worry with a number you can actually plan around.
If the number still feels heavy, mention it during your free consultation. Session frequency is flexible, and we can talk through what a sustainable pace looks like for you.
The Other Column: What Staying Stuck Costs
A worksheet that only lists prices tells half the story. Therapy is an expense, but so is not going. The costs of staying stuck just arrive in different currencies: sick days, strained relationships, sleep, patience with your kids. Before you decide whether therapy is "worth it," put the other column on paper too.
At work
Days you called in unwell, or showed up but ran on empty. Stress and low mood are among the most common reasons people miss work, and they rarely improve by being ignored.
Days like that in the last few months:
At home
The same argument on repeat. Distance where there used to be ease. Couples often wait years after problems start before reaching for help, and the patterns get more expensive to unwind the longer they run. Separation carries enormous costs, financial and otherwise: legal fees, two households, and the harder-to-count toll on everyone involved. Working on the relationship now is almost always the smaller investment.
What the hardest pattern at home is costing us:
In yourself
Sleep that doesn't restore. Focus that keeps slipping. Saying no to things you used to love. These don't show up on a receipt, but you pay for them every day.
What I want back most:
Therapy can't promise outcomes, and we won't pretend otherwise. What it offers is a structured, evidence-based way to work on exactly the items you just wrote down, with someone trained to help. When you weigh the monthly number from the section above, weigh it against this column too.
Want this as a companion email series?
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Go Deeper
Want the full picture before you fill this in?
This worksheet pairs with our complete guide to therapy pricing in Ontario, which covers provider types, public options, and how coverage works. Current Graceway Wellness session fees are always on our fees page.
Ready to Talk It Through?
Numbers on paper are a good start. A free consultation with our team helps you figure out the rest, what kind of support fits, how often, and with whom. No cost, no pressure.
Book a Free Consultation