How Much Do Private Practice Therapists Make? | Session Rates, Salaries, & Income Streams for Therapists
Takeaway: Considering taking the leap into private practice but not sure if it’s financially feasible? Or are you already a solo practitioner struggling to make ends meet without burning out? Either way, I’m here to help shed some light on the financials of private practice. In this post, I’ll cover everything you need to know about the average private practice therapy salary–and what you can do to boost yours.
First, it is absolutely possible to be profitable as a private practice therapist running a solo practice. And though you do take on risk as an entrepreneur, making six figures or more is well within reach. Looking for more freedom in your work? Tired of the burnout culture of nonprofits? Taking the leap into your own business is your next right move. Other therapists (including the one writing this 😉) have gone before and proven it's possible to earn enough money as a private practice owner.
Sure, you have an advanced degree and a license. But you may still worry that a private practice won't provide the security or benefits you need to thrive. In this post, I'll walk you through what to expect as a private practice therapist salary, the factors that determine your private practice income, and how to think outside the therapy box to increase your income.
How much does a private practice therapist make on average?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the national median salary for psychologists is $81,000. For social workers and marriage and family therapists, it's about $50,000.
But this is the median salary, and it's reported by therapists in a variety of settings. Therefore, it's not reflective of what's possible for a savvy private practice therapist. It's safe to assume that an LCSW private practice salary would be higher.
According to Zencare’s report on average session fees, the average private practice therapist’s session fee across the United States is $182/per session. Below is a breakdown of the average session fees at a state level in the fifteen most populated states.
But many private practice therapists end up no better off than they were in nonprofit settings. (You may have even heard colleagues complain about private practice!) But that does not have to be you! And reading this article is a great start to ensuring that won't be the case for you.
By making smart choices about how many clients to see and what fees to charge, crafting burnout-proof policies, creating additional revenue streams (like podcasts), and making smart investments in your private practice (like hiring a business coach for therapists), you can earn well over six figures.
What determines a private practice therapist salary?
There are 3 main factors that determine a private practice therapist salary in a traditional therapy practice: number of clients, fee, and business expenses.
Many therapists choose to expand beyond traditional therapy in hopes to create passive income and increase their professional fulfillment. This often involves starting an additional business and can be a great way to increase your income using some of your skills and training.
We'll spend some time unpacking each of these factors and how they work together to increase your average salary.
Number of clients
When therapists in private practice want to earn more money, the first thing they think of is, "I have to get more clients!" This may be the case but with the right fees and private practice policies, you can earn a great income with a small but mighty practice. For example, most of the therapists I work with find their sweet spot is 12 to 15 clients per week. The right number of clients for you will be one in which you are able to show up to each session serving your client optimally.
You will know you are seeing too many clients if you hate your life. I know that sounds like a joke, but how many therapists have you heard complaining about feeling overworked, even in their own private practices? There are only a certain amount clients you can have on your caseload while maintaining your own well-being. Get clear on that number and do your best to not cross it.
Make sure to create a schedule for yourself and a workday flow that's compatible with your energy, personal needs, and any family needs you may have. Check out this blog for guidance on how many clients to see and check out some sample schedules.
If you decide to start a group practice, your business can serve more clients. By hiring employees, you'll also increase your overhead expenses and the complexity of your business. However, if you are already rocking it in your private practice, want to earn more income, and have the desire and capacity to support other clinicians, launching a group practice makes sense for you.
Session fees
Your fee is by far the biggest thing we can leverage to shift your salary. Most therapists massively undercharge. They can't afford their own bills and see way too many clients to meet their expenses. The thought of increasing fees is one of a therapist's biggest fears. Some of us would rather sell a kidney!
The truth is, in order to make more money, our clients will have to pay higher fees. I'm not here to lie to you or sell you some snake oil that magically allows you to make more money without, ya know, somehow bringing more money into your business. There's no magic loophole around this.
Caring and learning about money doesn't automatically transform you into a heartless monster. It is possible to care about money AND be a good person. You can find creative ways to craft a business that upholds your values while also generating the private practice salary you need to sustain and enjoy your life. This usually leads to you having even more capacity to be of service in ways you never even imagined before
I love talking about fees with private practice therapists because it has the biggest impact on private practice therapist salary. And because I had to grow so much in this area myself. (P.S. Want to hear more? I talk all about this on my podcast for therapists).
If you don't carefully consider your fees, no amount of additional clients will solve your money problems. Check out this blog where I go into even more detail on how to set your private practice fee so you can reach your desired private practice salary. Get my Magic Sheets tool to help you design your private practice.
Business expenses
Therapists are told to keep their business expenses as low as possible in order to be successful and build wealth. I absolutely agree that your business shouldn't be bleeding money. However, making smart investments are super important to your long-term success and profit. With strategic purchases, you can get your time back, work more efficiently, or just enjoy your business more. Be aware of moments when you're spending hours trying to save $30 when you could be spending that time focused on trying to attract a new client that would pay you $275 an hour.
Typical business expenses for private practice therapists include liability and malpractice insurance, office rent, EHR (electronic health record) service, payment processors (like Stripe or Ivypay), a video conferencing platform, a marketing budget, and business coaching.
As part of regular maintenance on your business, check your business bank account at least once a quarter. You'd be surprised to find that there are some bills you've forgotten about and don't need to pay anymore. You can cancel any subscriptions you no longer need.
Your private practice expenses could easily be under $2,000 per month, especially if you forgo an office and meet with your clients online. If you wanted to hire an assistant, marketing specialist, or work with a business coach, your expenses could be closer to $4,000 per month.
Check out the Business Budget tab in the Magic Sheets for a list of typical expenses and to take an inventory of your own business expenses.
Your salary will come out of your business profit. Ensuring you spend wisely and charge appropriately for your services will increase your private practice therapist salary.
If you need to cut costs, shop around for less-costly options that will still provide what you need. You may find an insurance company with lower rates, a social media scheduling tool with a lower subscription price, or an EHR that has a video platform already built into the monthly cost.
Passive income and non-therapy offers
There is a big wide world beyond the traditional therapy practice. More and more therapists are deciding to use their expertise to write books, launch online courses, book speaking events, and lead retreats and workshops. The opportunities outside of the counseling realm are endless.
You can take advantage of the experience you've gathered as a therapist by creating an offer that is an extension of the specialty you've already developed. For example, if you've been working with people experiencing anxiety, you could create a PDF checklist for how to prepare for a big social gathering. You could also pitch yourself to local companies to do wellness workshops, or even develop and lead a program on anxiety management for professionals in a certain age range. You have already worked so hard to develop your skillset as a private practice therapist and there are so many opportunities to use that in other arenas.
Many therapists enjoy the variety that comes from working beyond the private practice model. It's important to note that you will likely need to start a separate business for your non-therapy offers. Though this isn't strictly prohibited in most cases, lawyers familiar with our profession will typically advise against comingling the businesses. When in doubt, contact your local professional organization or a lawyer knowledgeable about the therapy industry. MFTs in California can contact CAMFT.
The promise of future passive income is alluring but that doesn't mean success always happens quickly. Your non-therapy offer will likely require lots of dedicated work including developing your concept, learning how to market it, and having a solid sales strategy. Passive income is possible but you will likely need to spend a sizable amount of time working up to that point.
Most therapists think that location or license type determines the private practice therapist salary. But the factors I described above have a far greater impact. If you are willing to put in the work to craft a thoughtful practice, do your mindset work around fees, and devote yourself to a consistent, simple marketing strategy, six figures (and beyond!) is within your reach.
How a private practice therapist gets paid
In a traditional therapy practice, therapists get paid by seeing individual, couple, family, or child clients, running therapy groups, or providing clinical supervision. Therapists may choose to take insurance, accept cash pay only, or sign up with a sort of middle-man company like BetterHelp (which I don't recommend due to low pay for therapists).
For therapists who expand beyond the traditional therapy model, revenue streams can include speaking engagements, online courses, retreats, workshops, sponsorships, collaborations, and book deals. Remember, you will need to have a separate business entity for your non-therapy offers.
Client sessions
As a private practice therapist, this will typically make up the bulk of the revenue you earn. A moderate caseload of 15 clients can be enough to bring in six figures or more! Check out this post to see some sample private practice schedules.
Couples and group sessions
It's typical for therapists to charge a bit more for couples' sessions even if they're the same length of time. You can also earn more from group sessions even with every participant paying a lower amount. If you've been looking for ways to create accessibility in your therapy practice, this could be a great way to provide lower-cost therapy while allow ensuring you still meet your income goals.
Supervision and consultation sessions
If you're licensed and enjoy mentorship, consider providing supervision to pre-licensed therapists. You could even have the focus of your supervision group be specific to your specialty. Similarly, you can offer clinical consultation as a paid service.
Online courses, speaking engagements, and other non-therapy offers
Online courses range from as little as $30 to many thousands of dollars. Speaker rates can be $2,000 - $5,000 for sought-after therapists, depending on the audience. Book deals can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to a million or more. There really is no limit to what you can earn outside of the therapy realm. Your experience and expertise make you the perfect candidate for these opportunities.
Insurance
Many therapists decide to panel with insurance companies in order to have a steady stream of client inquiries. This can also reduce the time and money they spend on marketing. However, this can also come at a cost. Most insurance company session rates aren't high enough to generate six figures without having a huge caseload. Some therapists decide to panel with one insurance company and accept only a limited number of clients with insurance onto their caseload. This serves as a sliding scale offering and allows therapists to charge a higher cash rate to meet their private practice salary goal.
Cash pay
The most successful, least burnt-out therapists typically have chosen to build cash-pay practices. This reduces the time they spend on billing and paperwork and gives them greater freedom to adjust their rates as they see fit. These therapists also choose to spend more time and effort on their marketing, refining their messaging, and developing their intake call skills.
My tips for maximizing a mental health therapist’s salary
As a therapist in private practice, you have tons of control over your salary. You're allowed to charge whatever you want. That being said, you also need people to say yes to working with you in order to actually make that money. So what factors can give you an edge? Can you expect a certain salary based on things like your specialty, education, or whether or not you're based in a city? Is there anything you can do to stabilize your income?
Here's what actually moves the needle.
Have a limited or no-cancellation policy
If you've experienced the stress of not knowing how you're going to pay your bills, you know what a huge toll that can take on your mental health. Having a healthy private practice salary will help prevent burnout and improve your quality of life which ultimately allows you to serve your clients better.
One of the best ways to stabilize your income is to have a limited or no-cancellation policy. Ever had a month where several clients are sick or decide to take a vacation and now you're not sure if you can make your student loan payment? That sucks. "Little" things like that are what chip away at your stamina. You can protect yourself and your practice by having a thoughtfully crafted cancelation policy. Check out this post to get started.
Have a refined specialty
Your specialty is the guiding light in nearly everything you do. It's the key to impactful messaging and effective marketing. Some therapists are hesitant to create a niche because they worry that it limits the number of clients they can attract. In my experience (and for the therapists I've coached), it actually helps you stand out to potential clients. Plus, by focusing your practice on a limited specialty, you'll be able to use the time you devote to training and continuing education more efficiently. Check out Episode 4 of my podcast to learn all about picking a therapy niche that makes you happy.
Have quality branding and website
Having a professional website is easier than ever and much more cost-effective. You could build it yourself using templates from Squarespace or Wix or get a semi-custom website design. (Make sure to use professional photos for your website and marketing materials!) Your website should be easy to navigate, make a clear case for why you're the best therapist for the job, and lay out clear next steps for potential clients.
Now you know what will give you an edge to boost your private practice therapist salary. Having worked with therapists all over the US, I can say these factors are far more important than your exact license type or whether or not you live in a city.
Yes, you can be a therapist and have financial freedom. Let me show you how.
It's my firm belief that getting intimate with money and healing our own financial wounds makes us better therapists for our clients. When you take the brave step of building a practice that's deeply fulling for you, everyone benefits. Your clients, your family, your community, and most importantly, you.
I know it isn't easy. Every day I encounter therapists who are scared to disappoint their clients, other therapists, and the world at large. They worry about losing clients or not being able to get clients if they were to really build the practice of their dreams.
But every day I also see therapists who are boldly opening their bank accounts, doing math, and having honest, ethical conversations with their clients. These conversations leave the therapist feeling more confident (and less resentful!) than ever.
That's because these therapists are my clients. We work closely to craft the private practice that is just right for them from what to charge, how many clients to see, and how to parlay their experience as a therapist into their next big offer.
Get my signature program Liberated Business, apply to be a one-on-one client, or register for my next retreat or CEO Day. Learn more in the Work With Me section of my website.
