I worked 3-4 days a week and made 6 figures my first year. That was just the beginning. Strategy works!!!

I’ve been running a private practice for 25 years. This is the most accurate and common sense video on private practice. Thank you.

The salary for a licensed clinical and mental health counselor is all over the place online. I appreciate how you put things into perspective.

I’m in the middle of my master’s program in counseling. A major reason I chose this field is because of financial and professional autonomy factors. I helped to run a company for over 10 years and know the ins and outs of business finance. A private practice is a radically more simple business model than trying to run a company and sell product. Calculating out a per session fee and client caseload should not “baffle” anyone who’s got a basic understanding of math. Most private counselors in my area charge no less than $130 per 50 minute session, and some go up to $185 / session. Even at the low end, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to make solid income. The other benefit, is that what if you don’t “need” to make $100K? For example, let’s say you have your own personal life event, like the death of a family member, and you want to work part time for a few months. Well, under your own private practice that’s also totally doable, and you’re not going to piss off some grumpy boss who pays your salary. The autonomy factor for me is huge.

I wish graduate schools would teach this kind of stuff. Thank You

The fact that these videos have less than 20k on them makes me feel like I've discovered some sort of secret that I desperately don't want anyone else to know about haha

John is the man. So much value here 💥

You are seriously a hidden gem. Thank you for all this information!

I'm thinking of opening a private practice (of course that's after school) and doing speaking engagements and even more in the long run, and videos like these are VERY HELPFUL AND MUCH NEEDED in this field

I rarely subscribe when someone says click the sub button but this channel deserves it .. awesome stuff man. This makes me feel hopeful about a career path change

Making six figures in private practice gives us the ability to build a large amount of savings and investments, and that offers far more security than any other type of job--and with a much healthier schedule and frequency of sessions! Totally worth it, if you ask me.

Yea I was basically told half way through graduate school I should not expect to make much money at all. Starting out around 40k a year. I’m like whaaaa! A master level clinician, the rigor of the work and the standards we are held to as well as the additional hoops we through to get licensed.... seems crazy anyone at that level should be making less than 70k a year baseline. It’s criminal that a licensed therapist makes any less than that. I don’t get how the value of work gets determined. The need for mental health providers is through the roof and there are not enough in the field. I wonder why.... only 40 k a year after working to get a masters degree no wonder no one wants to go into the field.

I have my private practice and have always calculated weekly sessions needed at X dollars to hit a monthly goal to see I am on track to make my yearly goal. Thanks for the info, good stuff. I do like to work part-time and attempt to calculate for cancellations and no-shows.

My kind of conversation!!! This is so reaffirming!

This video was extremely helpful thanks now I have a goal for my practice 😊

Wonderful insights. thank you!

It's amazing how many people don't do this. You did a wonderful video..

This was very helpful, thank you!

Thank you. You have given me hope that I won’t be broke and penniless. You should share this information with Kati Morton.

This is fantastic and practical. Thank you so much for making this. I think you did a great job with the delivery.

I started a company however, I wont be licensed until I finish school in two years. For now I am just life coaching. I find this to be a great resource as I will slowly build my company and attract clients.

Man I needed to hear this!

Great Channel. Formalizing my counseling qualification as we speak! ❤️

This is such good information! Thanks :)

Thank you for this video, with very practical tips. Because of this, I have gladly subscribed to your channel. I admire the way you speak to the point with aspects that resonate so well with our endeavors with clinical private practice. Dr. Sanjay Kumar Psychotherapy LLC

Excellent explanation of a process that baffles most therapists. Thanks for sharing this.

This video was very helpful and ect.

Good Stuff - appreciate it

Wow thank you for this video!!!

I currently manage a business but looking to continue my education to obtain a masters in the field of counseling.....your video was pretty basic and super easy to follow. ❤

Most therapists, but not all, accept insurance reimbursement. That can typically be approximately $80 per session. One would have to determine how many insurance clients and how many direct pay clients they will likely need per week to end up with the desired income. Direct pay clients or more likely to in therapy sooner than insurance clients meaning there has to be a more frequent flow of new clients.

thank you .. your content is great

great advice

Yes! Thank you!

This whole video just made me so happy. Thank you for this.

Thank you!! You're awesome! This was super helpful.

This is so helpful! I'm taking my MFT licensure exam on the 16th my plan is to get out of agency work going into private practice

Thank you🙏🏽❤️

Just had this conversation with my wife and told her, holy flip, I'm starting a counseling business for you and we'll invite other therapists to join!

Damn, bro. This video is the real deal for entrepreneurs in the field of psychology. I like your mindset. It's more of a business owner than a "Healthcare" professional only. And I encourage others to follow your lead in this mindset.

This video was helpful. I am considering opening a private practice. I need a ton of help...

Thank youuu

This is Gold!

I have a buddy who makes 200k a year through private sessions, consultation, and supervision but works his assssss off. I work part time but like the private practice and make more and work less than in an organization. Also because we live in a rural area the areas are not saturated with practitioners so we can make more. Great video very accurate.

This is a very good point about a "secure" employment. It is not.

wow, learned more in less than 10 minutes, than I have with hours of research and workshops.

I just got my LCSW. It’s scary thinking of going off on my own, but this guy has me thinking lol 🤔

About to start my grad degree to become a LMHC, and I've been VERY worried about income. Thank you so much for this info, I definitely feel more hopeful.

So I am currently in the second semester of my master's program to become licensed in TN. Do you have any advice/tips for someone in this season of life? I work at a donut shop to pay for rent and groceries lol, I want to get into the field somehow if that is possible. Anyways, my MAIN question is - If I am planning on opening my own practice one day and envision having employees if possible, what can I be doing right now to jump-start that process when I am legally allowed to do it?

This video is awesome. I’m considering pursuing a graduate degree and license in mental health counseling to hopefully open a private practice. Like another commenter said, salary information for this line of work is all over the place online.. I don’t even necessarily need to make 6 figures, but knowing that I won’t be broke is encouraging. It seems possible to make at least $70,000-$80,000 in this field, but a lot of people tell me I’ll be broke..

20 sessions a week.. will take some time to build up such a client base. Are you talking about a MA or PhD level Psychologist?

Thanks for sharing, it is very helpful! A big factor in expenses was left out though - office rentals. Especially in big cities like NYC, the rental would be tremendous. Do you have any suggestions to save office space costs?

No, $175 is average is Southern CA.

I’m in the uk. I just worry about how much money I can actually make. Although that’s not my only goal. I want to make a change and help people. But if I’m not making money there’s no point. I’m unsure how possible it is to get into it

I have been looking for some advice on this topic and this one I hope could help me...I am in practice but working for super low fees because I am on another platform. Thanks

Thank you so much. What credentials would I need to be an Addictions counselor who can expect to generate a $150k a year Gros income? Would a certificate course at a college like Trios College be enough to generate such an income?! I live in Toronto and will work toward having a private practice of my own. I also expect to do a lot of seminar workshops for awareness and public speaking for early education students for addictions prevention

I am still in school to get an msw right now but am interested in one day owning my own practice. How long should I practice for to gain experience before starting my own private practice?

n00b question, but where do you factor in the cost of running the private practice itself? i.e. how come you don't need to take into account building maintenance, mortgage, etc. when you calculate gross income?

Do you feel that this is also accurate for Mental Health Counselors?

I currently have my MBA, and want to become a therapist. Can you please give me some tips? TY😊

How can I contact you? Just finished grad school and want to do things on my own not sure how to start

In the beginning when u said someone told you that…did u write a blog about that too? Cause I’ve read that online

Is it mandatory to get a masters degree or you could get a license. from alternative school or courses n get about 60-70k per year?

Question can a associate marriage and family therapist make money ?

Thank you so much for this John! One question: How many client cancellations should we account for having over the course of the year? Is it roughly equal to three weeks' worth of sessions? Four? Just wondering if you feel we should be accounting for this in our calculations. Thank you!

yeah, about “security” of an employee it’s all true…

Why the fuck don’t they teach us this in school this is what we need to be learning

The mental Health provider I am working on she is making only $76.53 per session by Medicaid and therefore she wants to quit Medicaid but even the commercial highesy reimbursement is $125.80 per session.

What type of degree I need to be able to practice?

Thankyou😅

FYI: You say conservative twice at 2:25 and I think you meant to say conservative and then aggressive (or the like).

You have helped me make that decision of going into private practice. I was hesitating due to job security. So, my question is should I slowly go into private practice? Since at my current job they said I could have my own practice as long as I don’t counsel a certain demographic I currently serve.

I have a question, If in this hypothetical scenario of $180.55 for 15 clients, how do most clients afford these rates? I would assume it would be through private insurance but does private insurance cover it all for the client usually or is there a copay? Also, how do you stay afloat when you have cancellations for sessions or holidays?

I’m looking to be a school psychologist, can I do therapy (work at a private practice or mental health counseling center) on the side as well? I know school psychologists don’t do a lot of therapy, so I am looking for a way to incorporate that into my career if possible. :)

Although your point is well taken and I appreciate that you are helping counselors think about these things, there's a couple of problems with this. First, the way that you came up with the number 130,000 wasn't exactly correct. The problem is that there is a significant difference between 30% of 100k and 30% of 130k. In your example, 130k minus 30% would leave you with 91k (not 100k). You need to calculate it a bit differently. The actual amount needed to be left with 100k after taking 30% away is 142,850. That's a 12k difference. The second problem is that the way you calculate the number of hours worked doesn't factor in no shows, slow months, or other inevitabilities (even with a 48 hour cancelation policy). I do not know any counselors/ therapists that have a 100% fill rate. So, the number of hours per week will almost certainly need to be considerably higher. Also, the more fees are dropped and the more hours are added to the equation (e.g., 20 hours at 135 vs 15 at 180), this can actually increase lost revenue by increasing the chances that hours will go unfilled. Theres a balance to that because if the rates are too high, and 180 is getting close to that rate, then the hours are also less likely to be filled. I appreciate the point that you are making and I appreciate that we all need a starting point to calculate our rates, but I feel like this equation might be a little too far off. Either way, thanks for getting my therapist mind thinking about this mathy stuff!

Thanks for making this. Just wondering though, why you decided to stop regular counceling sessions & started helping councelors grow their business?

180? wow that's so cheap, in nyc which is where I live, therapists charge so much more. Great video

Can you charge this much with an MSW and/or PsyD? Does the credential make a difference?

Didn't answer the question in the title

I can confirm that most therapists make less than school teachers working at clinics or online with the big names you see in ads.

Nobody in the UK would pay £180 per counselling session and I wouldn’t want to see 20 clients a week but I understand the example given and I could always figure out a realistic amount I want to earn and how much I want to charge my clients, thanks for this.

what is average of psychologists with phd salary in new york? anyone knows?

How/where can I learn how to file medical insurance like Medicaid?

How do you get clients if you don’t want to take insurance and just build your private practice based on cash?

does this also apply to people with a social work degree?

That's for cash pay. If you need to take insurance because you're not getting patients who can afford over $100 a session, lower your annual salary expectations. You'll be paying a company to file claims for you.

15 clients a week, 4 weeks a month (minus the 4 that you took for vacay), thats 60 different clients a month? Is that normal?

How is it possible to have a gross of $500k but only net $40k?

I live in California and got accepted to a coamfte accredited program was super excited at first until I realized its going to cost me about 155k in loans…now I’m concerned on how I’ll even be able to afford paying off those loans and afford a living since the internet tells me the average pay for a LMFT in California is $56,396. Any MFTs in California have any advice?

It’s annoying that this video didn’t answer the question though? How much do therapists actually MAKE? Still unclear. Vast majority of therapists will not be charging 180$/session. Vast majority of clients will not be paying 180$/session?

🕊

Insurance companies reimburse 90$ to 121$ per hour in my state. Im sorry but I think thats plenty enough for me. I feel blessed to make $ I do.

I’m sorry but 100+ dollars per session seems too much.. It will be a great source of income for the therapist, no doubt, however I don’t think it will be an accessible option for most..100 dollars a week can be too much for many who are struggling.. Sure, insurance covered therapy exists, however there are many downsides for the patient and the therapist alike (pressure from the insurance company, a need for a diagnosis etc). I am still studying psychology, so I have a lot to learn. I understand that at the end of the day a private practice can be a business like any other. But I think we should be in this profession to help people, and to help people we need to be an approachable option. Mental health is already tricky for many, and the choice to see a therapist can be hard by itself. The financial barrier shouldn’t be overlooked.

Would you owe a significant amount in taxes If self employed and charging at $180? Or is there a way around this.

Honestly you forgot to factor in 800 a month for office space. That's almost 10k a year you hand over to your landlord

Can someone with a Bachelor degree in counseling see pts?

To acquire alternative, superior,& FREE personal psychological benefit is to SIMPLY volunteer for a charity.

But how to get 20 clients a week for a year and the coming years....

Who’s gonna pay 180

I want 200000