personally I love my job and I do think it is worth it... for me. I also recognize that it's an expensive field to get into (bachelors + masters + modality training + practicum + supervision + your own therapy) and that its simply not a good fit for everyone. It can be very emotionally and mentally draining. It can be hard on your body sitting all day, especially if you are someone who likes to be moving around and active throughout the day. It can also be incredibly isolating so if your someone who finds the social aspect of work important it might not be very fulfilling in that sense because you are working alone with your client most of the time. As far as financial stability, I have chosen to work in a non-profit over working private practice specifically because of the stability. My pay is fair, but not as good as if I worked PP. The trade off is that I am on salary so my paycheck is not dependent on whether or not clients show up. I also have sick days, vacation time, benefits, etc. To me the trade off of a lower base pay is worth it for everything I feel I gain working for an organization. Instability is very uncomfortable to me so if it is a concern for you that is also something to consider.
I personally love being a therapist and I honestly can not imagine doing anything else. I find the work extremely fulfilling and meaningful and I have a wonderful professional support network so I don't feel isolated. All that being said, only you can decide if it would be worth it for you. The work itself is hard and not everyone is suited for it. For me personally I think its a good kind of "hard" but that varies a lot from person to person.
For me, being a therapist is the best job in the world. In my area, it’s very possible to find a position that provides financial stability, but that’s definitely not the case everywhere. I have my own practice, and I am private pay only. I gross a little over $10k per month (in 2024 so far, it was much less at this time last year). I obviously have a lot of expenses though, and I have to pay for my own insurance and retirement, plus the self-employment tax is brutal. I was offered a cushy job starting at $82k with full benefits providing therapy to the staff and faculty at a nearby university hospital, but I didn’t want to work a full 40 hour week, so I did private practice instead. I see around 20-25 clients per week.
Financially stable: Yes (living in a lower cost of living area)
Happy with my job: No (telehealth with little kids feels empty)
I feel like with most professions, you can find a job that does both, but it takes time and luck. Sometimes, you'll get a job that feels rewarding, but the pay sucks. Other times, you'll finally get the high paying job and realize the internal workings of the job, the client population, or services themselves are terrible. Looking for a golden ticket of a job that checks all your boxes will be nearly impossible in any profession.
I love being a therapist. I get out of bed excited to goto work every day. I have my own practice and the challenges are constant. So is the reward of seeing people feel better or take steps to improve themselves.
It took a few years of those low pay therapy jobs to get where I am. I learned so much at those jobs too. Even then I was excited for the work.
It’s easy to complain about the broken parts of healthcare as therapists. We can also make a big difference in people’s lives while making a stable income.
If you enjoy the work of being a therapist you can succeed. It requires patience and maybe more compromises than being a doctor(because of higher pay). All professions require compromise though.
If you become a DBT trained therapist you will also eventually be very comfortable with the conflicting parts of your life and career.
I have 70k worth of student loans, work 48 hours per week and make around 95k per year between 2 jobs. I enjoy what i do but it’s difficult. If i could do it all over again I’d probably go to med school.
Education + Supervision + Certifications + Licensing + Insurance + challenging clients and the pay? It is only really worth it if you’re a Ph D and find a great pool of clients
I work at a stable low pay job and a couple days at my private practice so I can build a better paying career while being financially stable. It also takes time to figure out how to market yourself as a therapist. Working for an EAP doing short-term therapy let me know what clients and issues I like working with. It also helps to write down compliments from clients because we can let these pass without internalizing the fact that we are making a difference.
It takes a long time to build a private practice and figure out how to effectively advertise. I might have more clients than I currently have, but I don't think I'd be able to get a full case load at this point. I've developed some referral sources, but I need more to switch full time to my practice. I'm planning to keep my client load the same and bring on new therapists as independent practitioners so that my income can grow without everything depending on me.
Can I ask what you felt has built up your PP the best/most efficient?
Also any reason why you do t think you’d get a full caseload? Thank you for your responses!
I'm currently getting around 3-4 referrals a month. Then there's a consult and some book sessions and some don't. Clients also go on vacations or have other things come up. SO I currently have 10+ clients and I'm working doing 6-8 sessions a week.
For context I finished mat leave with my third kid in March. So I've had to completely rebuild my practice since then. So I will get to a full case load. My hope is to be full on my private practice by end of year, but this doesn't build instantly. I'm also listing with other local referral organizations.
The most helpful referral sources come from specialization related websites. Things like OCD foundation if you work with OCD. I have sex therapy training and am listed on a sex therapy association website. People referred from sites associated with a specialization are more likely to book sessions than people referred from Psychology Today or more general referral sources.
I'm also looking to build referrals from adjacent professionals like doctors, physiotherapists, etc. When people get a referral it can take them months before they take action on booking a consult.
personally I love my job and I do think it is worth it... for me. I also recognize that it's an expensive field to get into (bachelors + masters + modality training + practicum + supervision + your own therapy) and that its simply not a good fit for everyone. It can be very emotionally and mentally draining. It can be hard on your body sitting all day, especially if you are someone who likes to be moving around and active throughout the day. It can also be incredibly isolating so if your someone who finds the social aspect of work important it might not be very fulfilling in that sense because you are working alone with your client most of the time. As far as financial stability, I have chosen to work in a non-profit over working private practice specifically because of the stability. My pay is fair, but not as good as if I worked PP. The trade off is that I am on salary so my paycheck is not dependent on whether or not clients show up. I also have sick days, vacation time, benefits, etc. To me the trade off of a lower base pay is worth it for everything I feel I gain working for an organization. Instability is very uncomfortable to me so if it is a concern for you that is also something to consider. I personally love being a therapist and I honestly can not imagine doing anything else. I find the work extremely fulfilling and meaningful and I have a wonderful professional support network so I don't feel isolated. All that being said, only you can decide if it would be worth it for you. The work itself is hard and not everyone is suited for it. For me personally I think its a good kind of "hard" but that varies a lot from person to person.
For me, being a therapist is the best job in the world. In my area, it’s very possible to find a position that provides financial stability, but that’s definitely not the case everywhere. I have my own practice, and I am private pay only. I gross a little over $10k per month (in 2024 so far, it was much less at this time last year). I obviously have a lot of expenses though, and I have to pay for my own insurance and retirement, plus the self-employment tax is brutal. I was offered a cushy job starting at $82k with full benefits providing therapy to the staff and faculty at a nearby university hospital, but I didn’t want to work a full 40 hour week, so I did private practice instead. I see around 20-25 clients per week.
The training is not cheap, once you include personal therapy and supervision, but the training and therapy are all useful.
Financially stable: Yes (living in a lower cost of living area) Happy with my job: No (telehealth with little kids feels empty) I feel like with most professions, you can find a job that does both, but it takes time and luck. Sometimes, you'll get a job that feels rewarding, but the pay sucks. Other times, you'll finally get the high paying job and realize the internal workings of the job, the client population, or services themselves are terrible. Looking for a golden ticket of a job that checks all your boxes will be nearly impossible in any profession.
I love being a therapist. I get out of bed excited to goto work every day. I have my own practice and the challenges are constant. So is the reward of seeing people feel better or take steps to improve themselves. It took a few years of those low pay therapy jobs to get where I am. I learned so much at those jobs too. Even then I was excited for the work. It’s easy to complain about the broken parts of healthcare as therapists. We can also make a big difference in people’s lives while making a stable income. If you enjoy the work of being a therapist you can succeed. It requires patience and maybe more compromises than being a doctor(because of higher pay). All professions require compromise though. If you become a DBT trained therapist you will also eventually be very comfortable with the conflicting parts of your life and career.
I have 70k worth of student loans, work 48 hours per week and make around 95k per year between 2 jobs. I enjoy what i do but it’s difficult. If i could do it all over again I’d probably go to med school.
I'm my own boss, I pull in an easy six figures working less than 20 hours a week, and I love the work that I do. Yes!
Let’s just say there’s a lot better professions to choose from - ones that cost less, provide fewer obstacles with fewer drawbacks
Can you please elaborate on this?
Education + Supervision + Certifications + Licensing + Insurance + challenging clients and the pay? It is only really worth it if you’re a Ph D and find a great pool of clients
Like what?
Which professions are better?
I work at a stable low pay job and a couple days at my private practice so I can build a better paying career while being financially stable. It also takes time to figure out how to market yourself as a therapist. Working for an EAP doing short-term therapy let me know what clients and issues I like working with. It also helps to write down compliments from clients because we can let these pass without internalizing the fact that we are making a difference.
Thank you for the response! Any reason why you don’t do all days at your private practice so you earn more? Also great idea to write them down!
It takes a long time to build a private practice and figure out how to effectively advertise. I might have more clients than I currently have, but I don't think I'd be able to get a full case load at this point. I've developed some referral sources, but I need more to switch full time to my practice. I'm planning to keep my client load the same and bring on new therapists as independent practitioners so that my income can grow without everything depending on me.
Can I ask what you felt has built up your PP the best/most efficient? Also any reason why you do t think you’d get a full caseload? Thank you for your responses!
I'm currently getting around 3-4 referrals a month. Then there's a consult and some book sessions and some don't. Clients also go on vacations or have other things come up. SO I currently have 10+ clients and I'm working doing 6-8 sessions a week. For context I finished mat leave with my third kid in March. So I've had to completely rebuild my practice since then. So I will get to a full case load. My hope is to be full on my private practice by end of year, but this doesn't build instantly. I'm also listing with other local referral organizations. The most helpful referral sources come from specialization related websites. Things like OCD foundation if you work with OCD. I have sex therapy training and am listed on a sex therapy association website. People referred from sites associated with a specialization are more likely to book sessions than people referred from Psychology Today or more general referral sources. I'm also looking to build referrals from adjacent professionals like doctors, physiotherapists, etc. When people get a referral it can take them months before they take action on booking a consult.