How Many Therapy Clients Should I Have? 5 Ways to Decide
9 minute read.
How many clients do therapists see in a day?
The number of clients a therapist sees in a day can be determined using several factors.
Does the therapist keep the money they make? Meaning, are they working in a therapist collective or own a private practice? Or do they work in a group practice, where approximately half their paycheck goes to the owner?
Do they see families, couples or individuals? How long are the sessions, 45, 60 or 90 minutes?
What are the therapist’s health factors? Are they managing a chronic illness or living with a disability that would effect their energy levels throughout the day?
What is their life outside of work like? Are they able to work peacefully from home for hours, or stay away at an office all day? Or are they in charge of a loved one’s care?
How is the therapist’s relationship with work and finances? Do they suffer from internalized capitalism, and struggle to find legitimacy in shorter days? Have they been exploited time and time again by wealth hoarding bosses? Do they have a history of poverty or income insecurity that may make the concept of a shorter day feel scary, or even threatening?
As we have discussed many, many times in this space, everybody is different. We are all showing up with different abilities, different statuses, and different levels of access that greatly effect how well and how much we are able to work.
Are therapists happy?
Despite challenges inherent in the mental health field, psychotherapists, clinical social workers and clinical psychologists absolutely have the ability to be happy.
Similar to other fields, how you manage your work/life balance, your feelings about your job, and the type of setting you choose to work in may help determine this happiness.
In the beginning of my career as a therapist, I was experiencing income security for the first time in years. I wasn’t exactly saving money, but I was able to make rent and car payments on time.
To a degree, I was happy. But my first couple jobs after grad school were hard. I worked in in-patient psychiatric hospitals and saw first hand the exploitative nature of our healthcare system.
In addition to the shock of these systematic issues, I was working with children and teens, the exact populations that I did not want to work with.
At my next job, I felt happier because I was able to work in geri-psych, a unique population with high needs and a vast array of experiences. Though the issues that come with privatized healthcare were still present, I was happier.
I eventually made it to private practice, and then solo practice, where I am now. I explored all types of settings and was able to land in my dream situation.
My quality of life is great and improves every year as I learn lessons and heal from my own trauma. It’s important to note that from my first year of grad school to now (10 years!), I have always had a therapist. I have found ways to fulfill my life outside of work and I have put forth a lot of energy towards being compassionate and loving towards myself.
Therapists can be happy. But truthfully, circumstance, opportunity and privilege can help. That’s why I offer business coaching for therapists who have been made to believe that they aren’t good enough, not “the type” to own their own businesses or find happiness.
Business coaching for therapists
Therapists, interested in building your dream practice? Wondering if you even can? I offer business coaching for therapists all around the world, and career coaching for individuals who feel burdened by the exploitative working conditions we live under.
Want to make a change?
How many clients should a therapist see in a day?
Keep these points in mind.
1. Quality therapy sessions.
How many quality therapy sessions can you facilitate per day? If you’ve worked in group practices and other exploitative settings, you may have seen up to 9 or 10 clients a day.
Ask yourself, “Were these sessions the level of quality I can be proud of?” It’s likely that after your fourth or fifth session, you hit your daily limit, making the second half of the day very challenging.
Our bodies and our minds are not meant to withstand 8+ clinical hours per day (or general work, for that matter). I have found that rounding my number down to 5 or less, with 5 being most clients I will ever see in a day, results in me feeling that I have given good quality therapy to each client.
You may feel some concern with this “low” number. You may be asking yourself, “How will I make a living?”
2. Deciding your salary.
With curiosity, notice how you feel in your body when the topic of money comes up. How does discussing, reading and thinking about finances make you feel? Does your stomach clench, hands feel clammy?
Talking about money as a therapist in private practice is hard.
Are you having thoughts about your worthiness or the validity of you, as you are now, experiencing financial security?
The fact that therapists, social workers, teachers, nurses and other traditionally female/femme professions are low paid is not coincidental. Culturally we view reproductive labor, or labor in which care of others and upkeep of a space (housekeeping), as less than because it does not directly contribute to the economy, despite it being necessary.
This is my round about way of saying that many of us are taught that we will never have financial security, and that we will always need a partner that makes more money than us to survive.
If you would like to experience financial security and comfort, that is absolutely possible as a therapist in private practice. This is why I coach therapists who desire to build their own practice, but struggle to imagine themselves in the role of owner of a small, thriving business.
This is also why I don't coach private practice group owners, or therapists who desire to accumulate extreme wealth, because I do not believe in the exploitation of workers, or of their clients.
I believe in charging an appropriate, market rate that considers the amount of money a therapist has spent on education, training and building their business. Therapists should, and can, experience financial security and also be able to plan for their retirement.
So, how much money do you need to reach these goals? Considering student loan debt, housing, bills, future plans, children/dependents, leisure activities - how much do you need?
Here is an easy formula to help you decide.
Amount you need to make. Ex. $100,000
How many weeks you’ll work per year. Ex. 48 weeks
How many clients you’ll see per week. Ex. 15
Your rate! Ex. $138.89 (round that up to $140 for easy adding come pay day)
3. Charging your worth.
Deciding your rate is another tough, but impossible to avoid choice you need to make when deciding how many clients you’ll see in a day. Above, I mentioned the material conditions that cause the discomfort around financial decisions, including a culturally held belief that “care workers“ should make less.
Let’s talk about how you land at your rate.
First, decide if you’ll take insurance or not. Maybe you take all insurance providers, maybe you take one or two, maybe you are cash pay only and provide superbills.
If you decide to not take insurance, there are ways to make yourself accessible to a few clients who may not be able to afford your rate (more on that later).
Your rate should be based on several factors: what are therapists in your area with similar experience charging (market rate) and what is a rate that feels sustainable to you considering how many clients you’re seeing (using the formula in #2). You can also consider what your ideal client, or your niche, is able to budget for therapy.
The rate for therapists in my area is $150/session. This rate is sustainable for me, and my clients are able to pay it. Some get the support of family, some request superbills to get out-of-network reimbursement, and some are able to budget the funds they need to see me.
The cost of therapy, access to your skills, experience and expertise, are all part of the investment that your clients are making in the treatment you offer.
4. Ways to give back in private practice.
There are many ways to give back in private practice. Some therapists choose to offer sliding scale spots and pro-bono sessions for clients in need.
Therapists directors like openpathcollective.org offer affordable counseling services. Other resources include inclusivetherapists.com and zencare.co.
5. Decide who you won’t see.
Every client is not for you, and you are not for every client. This is a good thing. If each and every client seeking therapy was interested in your profile or website, it would likely mean that you are not focusing on any specialty enough to become an expert.
For example, if you are passionate about working with women who have experienced physical abuse, you have likely put forth a lot of time, energy and money to become proficient in treating this population. It’s ok that you are out of your wheel house when working with say, men with OCD. Some of the skills may be transferrable, but not enough to offer effective therapy.
As therapists and healers, it is our responsibility to become experts in our specific areas. If there is a population you feel clueless about, I promise you that there are at least 10 therapists in your state who are able to serve these clients.
Refer out.
Advertise for the clients you’ll love to care for, and love to heal.
So, how many clients will you see today?
As a therapist, it can be tough figuring out how many clients you’ll see per day. Hopefully this post has offered you some insight. Remember, your time is valuable. Treat is as such.
Ready to get started with career coaching?
Thank you for reading!
Email contact@teletherapywithsarah.com with questions/comments/love.
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Very Best,
—Sarah (she/her)
*Disclaimer - This piece was written by a cis/het, able bodied, thin, white woman. I do my best to write from my own perspective and not that of more oppressed bodies, identities and abilities than myself. I do make mistakes, and work on growing more each day. If anything in this piece strikes you as bigoted, ignorant, or offensive, please email me at contact@teletherapywithsarah.com. Be well.*
Find a therapist:
includsivetherapists.com
openpathcollective.org
therapyforblackgirls.com
therapyden.com
zencare.co
thrivingcampus.com
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