I just created a new weekly newsletter that may interest you? It’s called:

The world is changing, and AI is impacting all areas of life, including mental health. Rather than avoid this reality, I’ve chosen to learn as much as possible to better education myself (and my clients). Each week, I’ll send you an email with the latest info on AI and Mental Health. To join, it’s super simple! Just click this link (or the image above), submit your email, and you’re all set!

Each week, I’ll be covering topics such as: latest innovations, research insights, ethical considerations, and much more!

Hello, and welcome to Counselor Weekly! Thanks again for being part of the community!

Here's the short and skinny of today's newsletter:

• Meme of the Week

• Weekly Practice Tip

• Interesting Articles

Want to be a really cool person? If you enjoy my weekly newsletter, please share it with your colleagues!

Meme of the Week

This Week’s Practice Management Tip

How to Get Rich in Private Practice

For starters, it’s not easy! Generally speaking, social services such as teachers/therapists/community supervision officers/social workers/etc. have historically been underpaid and overworked. We basically make up the majority of the lowest paying jobs that require a Master’s degree.

So, how does one become wealthy in private practice?? I’ve seen it happen a couple of ways:

• Own a private practice with a very specific niche, and a client pool that can afford high-end fees. This is the person that is charging $250 per hour. They see about 15 clients per week and make about 15k per month ($180k per year). Very little overhead costs being a practice of 1: one office, simple EHR system, and not much additional cost other than advertising if necessary (but most of their clients come from word-of-mouth referral). This option is possible, but requires VERY NICHE training within a client group that has the financial means to pay premium rates. This tends to be more common for folks living in metropolitan areas with a high percentage of upper-middle to upper class residents, but with virtual services available, your pool of clients is much greater.

  • Side note: adding group treatment services is another way to add revenue to a practice. For example, niche adult counseling groups of 12 people that pay $50 per week for an hour group session will earn you $600 per hour. Having a few groups you run each week is a nice way to make extra money in your practice. Just have to be creative and figure out the type(s) of groups that have a good referral base in your community.

• Start a group practice: this one can be tricky. Without getting lost in all the details, the short version is a group practice can be highly profitable if you have the right systems in place and are willing to hustle. This IS NOT mailbox money. Each therapist you work with requires time and energy. Plus, you will be dealing with all the business requirements on top of seeing your own clients. If you don’t like the business aspect of running a counseling practice, this might not be the option for you.

• Sell stuff to other therapists. There are lots of side hustles that can make some extra money (like my CE courses I sell, but that’s not creating wealth). To get rich, you’ll need to create something like Practice of the Practice by Joe Sanok. He used to share his revenue years ago to be transparent, but I don’t think he does that anymore. Joe has been on this journey for over a decade, and has spent a whole lot of time and energy creating his brand. If you want to become wealthy through this approach, you won’t be counseling anymore. You’ll be an influencer and consultant. Joe also was early in this space and able to build a following before the market got crowded. Now there are a TON of therapists marketing private practice consulting and memberships.

• Speaking of memberships, similar to above, this is another niche avenue for gaining wealth in private practice. If you can find 1000 people will to pay you $100 per month, that’s $100,000 per month, or 1.2 MILLION a year! I know that’s a big number, but you can scale that back and still make a lot of money owning a membership site. What might this be? Based on your skills and expertise, you can consider creating a membership site that people will join to learn and connect with others sharing in that interest/specialty.

• Marry someone that’s rich! (just kidding, kind of…)

What other ways can a counselor create wealth??

It’s not easy getting rich in mental health. There doesn’t seem to be a “get rich quick” scheme. But, if you commit to providing high value, craft your skills, and don’t mind the grind/hustle of business ownership and entrepreneurship, there are ways to make a decent living.

If that sounds terrible, refocus your energy on finding a job that you enjoy and brings value to your life (and your clients’ lives). Be assertive in expecting/demanding equitable pay for your services.

Success is built around so many things other than money.

Just be honest with yourself.

Study Explores Why Teens Self-diagnose Mental Health Conditions Through TikTok Content

If our jobs weren’t hard enough already, now we have to re-educate our clients about what they’re “learning” from TikTok.

Rethinking Addiction as a Chronic Brain Disease

This article requires a subscription to NY Times. Is addiction a choice, a disease, or something in between?

Are you an LPC Supervisor in Texas? Need your 6 Supervisor Refresher CEs?

You’re in luck! I offer multiple 6 hour courses specifically designed to meet the 6 hour Supervisor CE requirement for Texas LPC Supervisors. In fact, most of my courses also cover topics such as Ethics and Cultural Diversity, so you can get that CE requirement covered at the same time!

Check out my course site HERE!!