Am I Supposed to Get My Therapist A Holiday Gift?

In a word, no.

This question comes up every now and then. My first thought is you ever feel like you have to get your therapist a gift, you should probably look for a new therapist. No good therapist would want you to feel pressured or worried about giving them a gift. With that said, if you don’t feel pressured but you’d just like to show your therapist some appreciation, that is allowed. Our code of ethics generally state that we cannot accept anything from clients that is of great value; but some states and some associations vary in their language around that. Unfortunately that means we cannot accept beach houses or Maseratis as gifts. As a child therapist I have accepted stickers from children before even though stickers are very valuable to kids!

Most folks in the field agree that small tokens are acceptable- a $5 gift card to the local coffee shop, a nice ink pen, funny mug, or just a handwritten note are always appreciated. The biggest points to remember is that it cannot be pricey and it is never expected.