Pet Bereavement Counselling – How to charge when people are upset

The grieving process that follows losing a pet can be compared to the same situation when a human loved one is lost. Sometimes, the experience can be more traumatic than the death of a human loved one, especially if the pet who has passed on was a close companion of the person involved. There is likely to be guilt associated with the way a person feels compared with the death of a human being previously, for instance, when they lost a parent or sibling.

As a pet bereavement counsellor, you are likely to be dealing with an extremely emotional and highly-strung individual. You will need to apply special skills in a professional way to comfort your client, and to show them ways of coping and coming to terms with their loss.

Now comes the difficult part – how to charge when people are upset. As pet bereavement counselling is your profession, you will need to charge the client, in order to support your practice and sustain it, because that money is essential for your survival.

Here are a few tips to help you charge a bereaved client:

A Watertight Contract

Have a well-written contract drawn up, preferably by a legal professional, clearly stating your charges. Your client will sign this contract, and you will be assured of payment at a later date.

Do not insist on Deadlines

In this kind of work, you cannot expect to be paid by a particular date. Your client is under a lot of stress, and is likely to be open to paying you when they are considerably recovered.

Be Patient and Tactful

If your client is upset, you cannot bring up the topic of charges. If you want to discuss your charges and your client is emotional, you need to discuss something else, until your client is in a better frame of mind.

Be Specific about Charges

Ensure that the way you charge your clients is very clear in the contract. This way, even if your client is upset, they will probably be open to paying you when they are able to read about it.

If you follow these simple steps, you will be in a better position to charge people when they are upset.