Okay, here is a question to start us off today for this week's episode of The Money Sessions.Here it is.What if I told you that the constant push to make therapy more affordable is actually hurting not only therapists, but also our clients?
I know it sounds counterintuitive because we are in the helping profession, right?So making therapy affordable should be the goal. I'm sure many of you read the New York Times article, which was headlined, therapy can be a financial burden.
Try telling your therapist that.Oh, stab in the heart.If you are anything like some of the therapists that I heard from, you didn't feel great about how cash pay therapists were portrayed in that piece.
But what if this whole narrative around affordability is actually backfiring?
What if in our attempts to keep therapy accessible, we're not only devaluing mental health, but we're also providing a less than ideal care, a less than ideal experience for our clients? This is what we're going to talk about today.
We're going to flip this conversation on its head and explore how the pursuit of affordable therapy, quote unquote, is leading us down a path of burnout and financial stress and ultimately is less effective therapy and ultimately is providing less effective therapy for our clients.
So let's break it down. This desire to make therapy affordable, it is born out of real need.Mental health care is essential, and far too many people can't access therapy due to its financial barriers.
You may be listening right now and struggle to pay your own therapist their fee. Articles like How to Make Therapy More Affordable in the New York Times, they capture this sentiment.
With clients in that article, they're describing things like therapy bills are re-traumatizing.There was a client who said they had to stop therapy so that they could save money because they were struggling too hard in this economic environment.
we see that struggle, right?As therapists, we feel the weight of our clients' financial burdens, and of course we wanna help.
Many of us actually feel this deep pull to offer a sliding scale or lower our fees because we personally know how it feels to need help and not get it.
Whether that's a current situation or that's an experience we had at earlier points in our life, whether that's needing help financially or needing help emotionally or psychically, which is more often the case, We feel the pain.
We want to ensure that everybody gets the care they need.But this is where the problem creeps in.
When we are constantly prioritizing affordability, just that concept, affordability, we end up sacrificing our own financial well-being and the cycle of guilt begins.We start to believe that charging less is just the right thing to do.
In fact, this is what we hear in our profession.We have to charge less.That's what's ethical.That's what's, dare I say, moral. Yet what happens on the therapist's side when we prioritize this idea of affordability?Financial stress.
We work longer hours to make up for the low fees.We start to feel resentful because we're undervaluing our expertise, our education, the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars we invested in this profession.And we also end up burnt out.
In this system, with this setup, nobody wins.We don't win as therapists, and certainly our clients do not win.
In this New York Times article, the journalist mentioned that many private practice therapists don't take insurance because it simply doesn't make economic sense.Quote, it just doesn't make economic sense.I want you to think about that for a moment.
The system is so broken that therapists feel like they have to choose between making a living having a livable wage, and or providing accessible care.
This is the binary we're stuck with when we think about how do we actually make livings as therapists?How do we actually do sustainable work?So let's evaluate it.Let's think about this together.
Is this pursuit, this goal of affordability, is it really helping anyone? We've seen therapists are burning out at alarming rates.I'm sure you have fantasies when you go to get your coffee in the morning.
Coffees, by the way, which are very expensive here in San Francisco, a cappuccino.I went to get a cappuccino the other day.I usually get oat milk, but I was like, I don't want to pay that extra 75 cents to $1.50 for oat milk.
So let me just order a whole milk cappuccino.I don't usually even drink milk. With a tip, my coffee still was over $7.Ah, right?
So when you're going in to get that $7 and 25 cent cappuccino, you might even be imagining, ah, maybe I'll just become a barista.You know, I can have my day to day.I can just help people.I don't have to be dealing with this money stress, right?
There's a lot of burnout.A lot of therapists are leaving the field, but there's another side to this too. When therapists are overworked, when we're stressed, when we're financially strained, the quality of the care we provide diminishes.
When you are imagining being behind that barista counter, serving up a cappuccino during your sessions, you're not providing a high quality of care.And you know the feeling, you're just mentally drained.
You are just done for the day, but you still have another five hours of clients. It is not sustainable.And here's the reality, your clients can feel it, either consciously or unconsciously.
They're picking up on the fact that their therapist is checked out on some level. This New York Times article talked about the re-traumatization of unaffordable therapy.
The other side of that is the re-traumatization of having someone you're relying on for help unconsciously communicating that you're too much because they are burnt out, financially stressed, or they're just plain tired.
When your therapist is sitting on the other side of you, they're exhausted, they're falling asleep, they're dreaming about becoming a barista, they're dreaming about just getting home and getting some wine. They don't mean to be communicating this.
You may not mean to be communicating this, but your client can pick up consciously or unconsciously.This person actually doesn't want the fullness of what's plaguing me.They don't want all of it.Let me just bring in, let me make it a little light.
Let me, let me be a little pleasing.Let me bring in the things that are not going to be too burdensome.Let me not talk about any problems I have with them because I don't want to overwhelm them more than they already are.Our clients can sense it.
They may come into therapy hoping to be supported, obviously, but when we are depleted, we can't show up fully.As one therapist in the article pointed out, balancing empathy with the reality of running a business is very hard.
If we are constantly worried about our own financial stability, we cannot be fully present for the person in front of us.And here's something else I want you to consider.
When we lower our fees or offer a sliding scale out of guilt or out of projective identification, right?We imagine their struggle.We take it upon ourselves.We relate to our own struggle.We project.
We're unintentionally setting up a dynamic where our professional value and the value of therapy as a whole is diminished. We send a subtle message that, you know, maybe therapy isn't worth paying for.
Maybe this transformational work we do is not really important as other high-value services.And this hurts the therapeutic relationship.Clients may not invest as deeply because they don't experience the full value of the work.And the fact is this.
If you are constantly stressed about money and you're feeling professionally isolated, professionally defeated, you're not actually delivering on the value of therapy.So of course your clients are not feeling, hey, this is really valuable.
This is worth making some sacrifices for.Okay?Let me be clear. This is not about abandoning the desire to help.
It's about realizing that by valuing the work we do and setting appropriate fees, we're not only taking care of ourselves, but we're also ensuring that we show up as our best selves for our clients.
We're ensuring that we're not repeating this generational cycle of trying to provide care when we ourselves are undernourished.
and thereby, not intentionally, but inevitably, unconsciously communicating that our clients need to keep it together on some level so as not to overburden us because we're already maxed out.
Hello, people-pleasing adult children of emotionally immature or under-resourced parents.We're repeating that cycle when we are undernourished, under-resourced, because we are setting our fees too low.
We need to stop thinking about our fees as an obstacle for clients and start viewing them as a necessary part of the therapeutic process.I don't know if you heard Nick Wagner's episode recently.It was a couple of weeks back.
If you haven't, go back and listen to it.But he made an excellent point.As therapists, We are not, our payment for doing work as a therapist is not friendship.We're not there to be their friends.We're not there to be their parents.
We're not there to be their lovers, certainly.We're not there to get our needs met emotionally, psychically.The only need we get met, the only need we're allowed to get met with our clients is financial need. We have a payment for services.
Does this mean we don't like our clients?Of course not.Does this mean we don't love our clients?Of course not.But there needs to be room for anger, frustration, confusion, hatred.That needs to be present.We need to be able to show up for that.
We need to be able to show up even on the days we don't like our clients, right?Our clients are not there to make us happy, are not there to make us feel valued professionally as humans.Our therapists, I'm sorry, our clients are there to get help.
to understand the unconscious patterns that are keeping them stuck so they can create different skills because they have a clearer sense, a conscious sense of what's not working in their life.
The need we get met as therapists in relation to our clients is financial need.So how do we move forward?All right, let's start thinking.Let's start by rethinking how we approach our fees.
Setting a fee that reflects the true value of your financial needs, what you actually need, it's not selfish.It's actually essential for creating a sustainable practice.
When you charge a fee that allows you to take care of your own financial needs, your own life, your own day-to-day, you show up with more energy.You show up with more focus.You are able to actually have more passion for the work you're doing.
And this is the kicker. Your clients benefit when we take care of ourselves.By charging appropriately, you're modeling for your clients what it looks like to set healthy boundaries, to value your time, to value your expertise.
You're teaching them that therapy is an investment in their own wellbeing and investments are not cheap, not real investments, not life transformative investments. I know this shift is not easy to make.
The shift in mindset, shifting away from this martyrdom mentality, it's not easy.For that reason, I've created a fun with fee calculator.
If you are ready to take a step towards actually setting fees that actually support you, both financially and emotionally, I want you to go to the link under this episode and download our fun with fee private practice calculator.
This calculator is going to walk you through exactly what you need to be charging in your practice, to cover your expenses, build a cushion for your future, and ultimately provide the best care for your clients.
You can go to the link in our show notes or go to leaninmakebank.com forward slash free. And look, I know that you are not a mathy person.You know, numbers are not your zone of genius.People, that's your zone of genius.
So I made this calculator really easy.I made it crystal clear.You just have to plug in the numbers and we will tell you the fee you need to be charging in order to create a thriving, sustainable practice.
So let's take a moment to think about, to imagine what this thriving, sustainable private practice looks like when you start charging what you need to charge in order to experience a life that nourishes you, right?You walk into your office,
knowing that every client you see that day is paying a fee that not only covers your costs, but also allows you to build the life you want.You no longer feel that nagging guilt every time you discuss a new fee with your client.
The anxiety that actually for a lot of you keeps you even from addressing fees with your clients, raising fees with clients, looking at your fee structure and assessing whether it even makes sense, whether it's even allows you to have a business.
In this day-to-day, in this life you have, you have set firm boundaries and you know that the value you're bringing to your clients is reflected in your pricing structure.It's reflected in your fees.Does that feel revolutionary to you?
Because it should. It is revolutionary.
We have been conditioned to believe that charging more is greedy, charging more is selfish, but the truth is, charging what you need to charge in order to have life that sustains you, it's simply, it's simply necessary. It's just necessary.
It allows you to continue doing this important work, not for today or not for tomorrow, not for the next three years, but actually for the long haul, because you're not constantly imagining going back to community mental health, going back to a salaried position, going to work as a barista because you actually have fulfillment and financial fulfillment, personal, financial, professional, in this private practice that you have designed.
And here is the beautiful thing.When you are thriving, your clients benefit.You know it's true.When you are thriving, your clients see a therapist who is energized, who is present, who is fully engaged in the work.
Your client experiences the power of someone who values themselves, who values their professional contribution, and that in turn encourages your clients to value the process of therapy.It creates a ripple effect.
When we take care of ourselves, we can truly take care of our clients, right?When you, you know, the Virgin America, the thing they used to play on the airplane back when Virgin America was a thing,
Put your mask on first before you offer assistance, right?Don't make me go into the whole Virgin Atlantic song because I will.It's now running in my head.You have to go first.
You have to take care of yourself before you can really have the energy to take care of anyone else. And we also need to just think bigger.This isn't about you.This is not about me.This is not about any individual therapist.
This is not about any individual client.It's about changing the narrative for our entire profession.
I want you to imagine a world where therapists are no longer constantly apologizing for their fees or where New York Times articles are blaming the individual therapist for the lack of affordability of mental health care. Right?
I want you to imagine a world where therapists are able to show up fully, make the money we need to make, and where our clients understand the value of therapy and see it as a worthy investment and are able to actually make changes in their life that allow them to pay for therapy, that allow them to make a greater contribution on a social level.
Therapists too, right?A systemic level. is where the change is going to be made around affordability.Not for many therapists being broke, struggling, being burnt out, being resentful of the process.
And where we've created a field and a larger society that supports both therapists and clients equally, where one does not have to sacrifice themselves in order for the other one to thrive, but actually both therapists and clients can thrive together.
I want you to simply imagine a world where our clients are willing to invest as much or more into couples therapy as they are in legal fees for a divorce, right?Take a moment to think about that.The shift is possible.It is hard, but it's possible.
And it starts with each of us.When you download the Fun With Fee Private Practice Calculator, When you reassess your pricing, you're not just helping yourself, you're also paving the way for other therapists to do the same.
You're contributing to a larger movement towards a sustainable mental health care model. Is it going to come for all therapists raising their fee and pricing out anybody who could possibly need help?Maybe that's where it starts.Ooh.
Here's what I know about therapists.Therapists with more money have more capacity to make change.They have more energy to turn their eyes towards the systemic issues.
When therapists are struggling and doing half-assed work, clients are getting half-assed care.When therapists are working 10 hours a week,
making an abundance of money, they're taking care of financially, what are they gonna do with an extra 10 or 20 hours a week?Hopefully go on vacation, hopefully do some yoga, hopefully take care of yourself.
But I also know you're going to be writing books, you're going to be speaking at conferences, you're going to be volunteering, you're gonna be donating your money to causes that actually matter for the long haul.That's what I know about therapists.
So here's the takeaway.Here's what I want you to take away today. Affordable therapy, in the way it's currently being discussed, is actually hurting therapists and clients.
By focusing on accessibility instead of affordability, we can actually create a system where therapists thrive financially and clients actually receive the care they deserve.
But we can't even start focusing on accessibility until we're taken care of and we have energy to actually make a difference. in the wider community.
If you are ready to take action, don't forget to download the Fun With Fees Private Practice Calculator.Link is in the show notes.
I want you to stop feeling guilty for charging what you need and start building a practice that supports you and your clients.And in fact, you can even feel guilty while you're designing a practice that will ultimately support you and your clients.
The guilt doesn't just go away as you start making changes.I want you to pay attention to the guilt.I want you to pay attention to the anxiety.I want you to pay attention to the worry that you're being selfish or greedy.
And I still want you to look at the reality of your financial situation with our Fun With Fee Calculator.Got it?Okay, thank you for joining me today. I want you to remember that you are actually allowed to value the work you do.
You are allowed to be proud of yourself as a professional and make money as a professional who's invested years, decades, tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars into learning how to really help people.
You are allowed to charge what you need to live a life of balance and abundance.And when you do, you actually create better outcomes for your clients. Don't forget to subscribe to the Money Sessions.
I would love you to leave a review and also share this podcast with your network.Just hit the little share button, text this to one of your colleagues.And until next time, I want you to keep challenging the status quo.
Keep paying attention to what the messages are that you are receiving that are telling you that being burnt out and broke is just the cost of doing therapy.Ah, let that go and continue to thrive. in your private practice.And I will see you next week.
Huh, you can just go ahead and you can keep doing that.But for the rest of you, if you learned even just one thing of value today, please share this episode with even just one therapist who can benefit from the message.Here's how.
If you're listening on iTunes, click on the episode and you'll see a small purple circle with three dots. Click on those dots and you're going to see the option to share at the bottom of the list.
Click that and you can just go ahead and share it on Facebook or you can even just text it to one therapist who you know needs to hear it.If you're listening on Stitcher, just tap the triangle icon on the upper right corner.
It's next to the menu that displays your upcoming playlist.You'll see the option to share the episode you're currently listening to right on Facebook. Look, it's time to get the word out.We gotta spread the message.
Thank you so much, and we'll join each other again soon.
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