Affordable Access to Professional Couples Counselling in the Pretoria Area
For many, the cost of couples counselling in Pretoria and most parts of South Africa can be a problem. The service is a specialised one that requires a great deal of skill and experience on the part of the therapist. As a result, many practices charge rates that are far in excess of those approved by medical aids and that can leave their patients with substantial co-payments to cover.
Although they are rarely the root cause of overt marital distress, financial difficulties can very often provide the trigger that is responsible for its manifestation. Sadly, for those who are short of money, even though a reconciliation may be possible, an uncontested divorce will often prove to be more affordable than attempting to meet the cost of professional couples counselling.
In Pretoria, at least one member of the profession has both recognised this obstacle and, more importantly, has provided those patients whose finances may be limited with the means to overcome it. Dr Tienie Maritz is a highly qualified psychologist with extensive experience in relationship therapy. It is his belief that his brand of specialist healthcare should be accessible to all who may have a need for it and should not be limited to those with sufficient assets. As an individual, he is clearly not able to provide a free service but, instead, he has settled for rates that are well below those charged by his peers and while also making provisions for those who may still face a problem if required to settle an account in full.
When embarking on a course of couples counselling in his Pretoria practice, medical aid members can rest assured that they will only be charged the amounts approved by their fund under the terms of their membership. For those who may be without the benefit of medical insurance, Tienie is happy to provide a payment plan that should make it possible for most of his patients to cover his already highly-competitive, professional fees without any risk that this could result in additional stress on their relationship.
Occasionally, patients are concerned that since two individuals are to be counselled, the fee could be correspondingly higher. In fact, joint consultation is integral to the success of couples counselling and results in a sort of “buy one – get one free” arrangement.
In focussing on affordability, there is always the danger that one may overlook the importance of quality. Dr Tienie Maritz is a psychologist with a deep insight into human behaviour and the skills to apply to it. An equally deep concern for his patients’ wellbeing accounts for his exceptionally successful couples counselling in Pretoria.
