To read a detailed description of how we arrived at these numbers, read our article about Making Money in Private Practice.
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If you are billing insurance company, it takes a lot of time to chase them for payments. and seeing 35 clients per week that means you will have 140 client on your caseload. That is so not realistic. Maybe 60 clients and some support groups and outreach would be more realistic. I used to be a billing person, office manager and intake person at an outpatient mental health clinic. maybe charging with a higher rate like $100 and above. In San Francisco, I have seen $120 for MFTs and MSWs, $130 or $150 for phd, or even higher if you have good reputations and knowledgeable. Run groups and charge per person is good too. I think seeing 25 clients per week every week, that’s 100 clients on your caseload might work. Do some consultations, charge above $100 per hour, open to work odd hours or on the weekends, then you might make 6 digits.
I like the encouragement to therapist to think like entrepreneurs. It’s an aspect of our training that seems to come on the back end. However, this infogrpahic may be discouraging to therapist who do not see this return. A client session does not equal 45 minutes. It’s actually 1 hour + if you’re charting. 35 sessions a week is harsh. That’s 7 a day if you work a 5 day week. If you actually are one of those people who still eat lunch that’s a 8 hour day of clients alone = 40 hour week with no mention of doing the 7% marketing, 6% billing or getting and using the $10,000 dollars in office supplies. $106k is arbitrary. Follow Doute’s 3 D’s= Define how much you really want and need to make, Decide what you want to commit to to get it. Then finally Do It! If you say you want to make 106k and only make $85k that sounds like failure. But, if you say you want and need $85k and make 106K that sounds like success +
Jemal, thank you for the realistic perspective. This is a tough and complicated thought process for many new (and not so new) outpatient therapists. I am undecided and like to be reminded of all that is involved.
Well said! I too am looking to go full-time with this and when I saw 35 hours I was like where’s the time for the administrative time let alone marketing. We need time to get CEU time so doing all this in the extra 5 hours is not realistic. UNLESS we are looking to work like managers in fast food because they never get off.