How to Create Financial Freedom in Private Practice

Professional Experience Article

Many therapists and counselors think they need a 9-5 agency job to provide them with financial stability. While an agency job may provide you with a steady paycheck and some vacation time, it can be limiting in terms of how much money you make and how much time you work. If you are craving freedom in your time and money, private practice might be right for you.

Don’t listen to the naysayers out there. You can make money in private practice. You will need to strategically plan to make that money and put in some time and effort but you can do it. Here are five common ways therapists can create financial freedom in private practice.

Create a specialty that commands private pay

There are certain niches out there where people will pay cold hard cash to see you. Some of the most popular ones are psychological testing, play therapy, and couple’s counseling. Do some research about your location and what the needs of the community are. If you need training for those services, take the training and start to advertise yourself as a specialist. You are a specialist compared to the general population. And if you have the training, you are a specialist among your peers. Once you are seen as a specialist, as opposed to a generalist, you can command higher pricing, thus making more money in the long run.

Take insurance and focus on volume

Again, don’t listen to those people out there that say you can’t make money taking insurance. Taking insurance is about changing your perspective about your private practice. When you accept insurance, it’s going to be more about volume. This does not mean you have to burn yourself out and see 45 clients a week. If you decide to take insurance and you get half full, bring on another clinician under your practice. Taking insurance is an excellent way to start a group practice.

Offer other services related to counseling

Multiple streams of income can help stabilize income in private practice. Workshops are a popular income generator that you can host. Pick a topic and link up with another local business and host the event. It can be a wonderful way to get your name out and create some revenue. Another popular example of workshops is marriage counseling workshops and boot camps. A lot of couples are in distress and need help. Offer 3 hour marriage boot camps to jumpstart therapy. If you are trained in EFT or Gottman, there are workshops you can be trained to provide to couples.

Start consulting in your area of expertise

If you are a whiz at social media or SEO or systems, start consulting other therapists. There are thousands of private practice owners out there that are amazing at therapy but need support in other areas of practice building. You can consult by offering mental health services to local business owners. You can go in and do training on how to implement mental health initiatives in the workplace. Consulting is a great way to move from getting paid by the hour to getting paid by the project.

Create online courses to reach more people

The future is online. People are connecting online. People are finding therapists online. People are learning online. Create an online course and put it out for the world to see. The course can be related to your niche or it can be related to your consulting. Once the course is developed, this can be a passive stream of income for you.

Being in private practice does not mean you have to struggle financially. It means you have a greater opportunity to create a schedule and income source that works for you. If you are looking for support in building your private practice, join us on Facebook in the “My Private Practice Collective” group.

Written By: Amanda Landry, LMHC, CAP, NCC

Amanda Landry is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Certified Addictions Professional, National Certified Counselor, and private practice consultant. She’s the owner of a group practice, Caring Therapists with several locations in Florida. She is a private practice consultant at My Private Practice Collective. She is currently Secretary of FMHCA.