If you’ve been searching for therapy and come across the term “sliding scale,” you might be wondering what it actually means and whether it applies to you. In this post, we’ll explain what a sliding scale is, how sliding scale therapy works, and why it matters especially in anti-oppressive mental health spaces.
What Is a Sliding Scale?
A sliding scale is a flexible payment structure that adjusts the cost of therapy based on a person’s income, financial access, and lived circumstances.
Instead of charging every client the same fixed fee, therapists who offer a sliding scale recognize that:
- Income is not distributed equally
- Wealth is shaped by systemic oppression
- Access to mental health care is deeply unequal
Sliding scale therapy creates a range of fees, allowing people to pay what is sustainable for them within that range.
In short: a sliding scale is one way to make therapy more financially accessible
Why Sliding Scale Matters in Anti-Oppressive Practice
In Canada, like in many other countries, financial access is shaped by structural inequities rooted in racism, colonialism, ableism, classism, transphobia, and other intersecting systems of harm.
Communities most impacted by trauma including Black communities,Indigenous communities and other people of colour, disabled people, 2SLGBTQIA+ people, migrants, and working-class communities are often the least able to afford private therapy.
An anti-oppressive approach recognizes that:
- “Equal” fees are not the same as equitable fees
- Financial hardship is often systemic, not personal failure
- Mental health support should not be reserved for the privileged
Sliding scale pricing is one way therapists attempt to redistribute access within private practice models.
How Does Sliding Scale Therapy Work?
There isn’t one universal sliding scale model. Therapists may structure it in different ways:
1. Income-Based Ranges
A therapist might offer sessions between for example, $80 to $160, with clients selecting a fee based on income brackets.
2. Tiered Equity Models
Some practices create tiers that consider:
- Generational wealth
- Housing stability
- Access to savings
- Employment security
- Debt and caregiving responsibilities
3. Community Redistribution Models
In some cases, higher-paying clients help subsidize lower-fee spaces, a quiet form of community redistribution.
Healing in Colour offers sliding scale membership for all counsellors listed. We also made it easy to search for therapists who offer this offering for clients who experience systemic marginalization and financial barriers to care. Simply select ”sliding scale” on the therapist directory page.
Is Sliding Scale Therapy “Lower Quality”?
No.
Sliding scale therapy is the same professional service, offered with a different fee structure. The therapist’s training, experience, ethics, and care do not change.
The difference is financial access, not clinical value.
Why Don’t All Therapists Offer a Sliding Scale?
There are structural limitations within independent practice:
- Therapists have their own living costs and student debt
- Many therapists from marginalized communities also face financial precarity
- The mental health system often lacks institutional funding for equity work
Offering a sliding scale requires careful balancing of sustainability and accessibility. It is not always possible but when it is, it reflects a commitment to access.
Who Is Sliding Scale Therapy For?
Sliding scale therapy may be appropriate if:
- You are on a low or unstable income
- You support other members of your community
- You are navigating debt
- You are impacted by systemic barriers to employment
- Paying full private practice fees would create financial strain
You do not need to “prove” your hardship. In anti-oppressive practice, we trust clients to assess their own financial reality.
Sliding Scale vs. “Pay What You Can”
These terms are often confused.
- Sliding scale usually refers to a structured range of fees.
- Pay what you can is often more open-ended.
Both aim to increase access but sliding scale models typically provide clearer guidance and sustainability.
Why Transparency Around Fees Matters
Money can be uncomfortable to talk about, especially across differences in race, class, and privilege.
Transparent sliding scale policies:
- Reduce shame
- Reduce gatekeeping
- Clarify expectations
- Acknowledge structural inequality
Financial clarity is part of trauma-informed and anti-oppressive care.
Final Thoughts: Sliding Scale as Community Care
A sliding scale is not charity , it is not a discount for “deserving” clients and it also not a measure of your worth.
It is a small, practical intervention within a larger inequitable system. In an ideal world, mental health care would be universally funded and freely accessible. Until then, sliding scale therapy is one of the ways practitioners attempt to widen the door.
If you’re exploring therapy and wondering whether sliding scale options are available, you are welcome to ask. Access to support should not depend solely on privilege. Check out our therapist directory to find practitioners who offer sliding scales!
Ready to Find Your Therapist?
Search the Healing in Colour directory now for therapists who offer sliding-scale:
Use the search on our site (magnifying glass) to search for folks who offer sliding-scale or use the “sliding-scale” filter to find therapists who offer this option.
Additional Resources
Related articles:
How to Find a BIPOC Therapist in Canada
About Healing in Colour
Healing in Colour is a directory of BIPOC therapists and allied professionals across Canada who are committed to anti-oppressive values. We envision a world where BIPOC, in all our intersections, have access to therapy that supports our healing and liberation.