Calculating psychotherapist pay

Calculating psychotherapist pay means considering many factors. Unfortunately, the complexity leaves lots of room for some wild estimates regarding how much a therapist makes in private practice. But here I am going to be realistic. Fooling ourselves only hurts us.

As complex as calculating psychotherapist pay is, the math is pretty straightforward. The factors are certainly well known. With some reasonable assumptions, we can put together a formula that will give us a ballpark calculation of psychotherapist pay in private practice.

At the end of this article, I have built a calculator so you can play with the numbers to see various outcomes.

The basic formula for calculating psychotherapist pay

The basic formula for calculating psychotherapist pay is this:

(No of Sessions) x (Collections Rate) x (No of Work Weeks) = (Gross Receipts) – (Expenses) = (Gross Pay) – (taxes & benefits) = (Paycheck)

At the end of this post is an actual calculator that you can play with. See where you come out!!

Let’s take each component of the formula. First, we will look at what each element is and then determine a reasonable figure. Along the way, we will look at constraining factors, as well.

I also provide a range of what I believe to be real numbers that can be plugged into the formula. And then, at the end of this post, we put it together with some other data to see how close we are.

Sessions – Range: 20 to 35 per week

Psychotherapists in private practice derive most of their income from providing psychotherapy sessions. In general, the more sessions we provide, the more our income. And yet the size of caseloads varies quite a bit.

As a general rule, a full-time caseload is between 20 to 35 sessions per week. When starting, caseloads will be smaller. As demand increases, caseload size increases as well. But of course, there are other limitations to bear in mind.

Constraints limiting sessions

Emotional labor

Psychotherapy is emotional labor. As such, different personalities and lifestyles will have an impact. Some therapists have a higher capacity for doing this work. (I mention some in this post: “Wealth in mental health: Where are the good-paying jobs?) Others will choose to see fewer clients for their own sanity’s sake. Knowing one’s limits and capacities is one of the most important factors in doing this work for the long haul.

Burnout

Repetitively doing any task risks burnout. And this is especially true in positions requiring emotional labor. We are vulnerable to compassion fatigue. One way to manage this risk is to increase the variety of tasks that we do. But of course, that competes with putting in the psychotherapy sessions which pay the bills. This tension between wanting to earn and the fatigue it causes is ongoing. We do well to monitor and make adjustments as needed to stay healthy.

Demand for primetime slots

We only have so many evening and weekend hours (primetime hours) that we are willing to give to our work. The struggle over how many primetime hours we allocate to work never goes away. Indeed, this concern constrains the number of sessions we provide. Eventually, some may be able to find a work schedule that allows all your evenings and weekends at home. Yet more often, to accommodate the client’s scheduling limitations, therapists see clients a minimum of two evenings per week. And many offer more primetime slots, especially when beginning.

Overall demand for one’s services

Elsewhere I have talked about the importance of creating demand for your service in order for your practice to grow. (See “Increasing therapist pay in private practice” and “Creating demand by marketing.”) And clearly, the lack of demand can constrain the number of sessions we provide. If we are not highly desired therapists, we will have many holes in our schedules. It will be hard to keep a full caseload.

Collections rate – Range: $75 to $125 per session

Several factors are affecting our average hourly rate of collection is for a single hour of psychotherapy. I have seen practices with quite a wide range of collection rates that vary from clinician to clinician. The hourly wage range can be pretty significant. 

To learn more about practice-wide collection rates, I decided to do my own survey. Forty practices responded. (See Survey results: Therapist wages and benefits from 40 practices for a summary of the survey results.) The collection rates in this survey ranged from $50 to $200 per session. When studying the distribution, one can see the bulk of the respondents reported collecting between $100 to $120 per session. 

Factors influencing collection rates

Setting

Where you work is the most significant factor in determining your hourly rate. Why is this so? Because, as I have written about in my post “Wealth in mental health: Why isn’t there more,” we do not control our fees. Insurance companies do. So if you want a higher hourly collection rate, you need to practice in a community that has enough people willing to pay out-of-pocket and with more flexible schedules to accommodate your needs. In contrast, Medicaid and insurance companies pay for the therapy delivered in more impoverished neighborhoods. There are limited out-of-pocket clients there. 

But in my view, living on the fees collected solely from Medicaid and insurance companies is sufficient. We may not get rich. But we can live well. 

The point is that we need to be realistic about the collection rate. We may want to collect the maximum amount, but where your practice is located may require an adjustment to your expectations.

Distribution of payers

In most of the country, Blue Cross/Blue Shield pays the highest hourly rate for psychotherapy. Of course, all providers prefer working with cash clients first and with BCBS clients coming in second. Everyone wants to collect the highest fees possible for their work. 

Yet, most find that accepting only cash- and BCBS clients limits growth and may mean far more holes in one’s schedule. Especially in the beginning. So taking clients who have insurance companies with a discounted fee schedule may be the wisest. (See Why join insurance panels for my argument on this point.) Doing so means that the mix of payers will have a significant effect on your average collection rate.

And there are reasons why accepting lower-paying clients may be the better choice, even if doing so reduces your collection rate. For example, it may be your best move if your community has a large employer that uses insurance with a lesser reimbursement rate. One never is wrong to go where the market is for your services. So accepting more low-fee clients reduces your collection rate but will keep you busier.

The collections process itself

Efficiency and effectiveness are the “name of the game” with collections. We want to collect as soon after the service date as possible, from both clients and insurance companies. (See Weekly business demand #4: Collecting for more on this topic.) And we need to be diligent in pursuing the collections due to us. Leaving money on the table will reduce your collection rate. A regular, consistent collections process for both client and insurance payments will increase your collections rate.

Number of weeks worked – Range: 46 to 50 weeks per year

Obviously, the more weeks we work, the more income we collect. And yet, we need to take some time off. Even if we stayed chained to our office chairs for most therapists, we would lose two weeks minimum. And when we take any time off, say a week in the Spring and a week or two in the summer, we see the effects in income.

For most of my career, I took days off here and there, a week or two in the summer, most of Thanksgiving week, and most of the time between Christmas and New Year’s Day. That meant I was seeing clients for about 47 or 48 weeks a year. You might be surprised at how much calculating psychotherapist pay is affected by your willingness to be at work.

Expenses – Range: 40% to 20% of revenue

This area is also quite variable. This variability is due to the range of work settings and how they vary in costs. Once one gets beyond salary expense, the next largest expense category will be the costs for an office. 

Of course, the least expensive space is one’s home. Indeed many therapists do designate an area in their home for their psychotherapy practice. This approach especially exploded during the COVID pandemic. Certainly, this approach is very efficient and inexpensive. But, of course, the downside is the lack of privacy. Furthermore, some settings may diminish a sense of professionalism. Still, it works in some communities and is becoming more popular as teletherapy becomes more popular.

More often, therapists rent or lease space in professional buildings. This setting more readily provides the privacy and professionalism many clients desire. But there is an increased cost. I have written about space issues in this post – Finding your community: The location and space

Most find that using the rough estimate of 35% of income going to expenses, will be pretty close no matter how large or small your practice is. 

Benefit costs and taxes

The cost of benefits is a tricky area. We all want and need benefits. Yet, the reality in private practice is that profitability comes first. Without profit, there is no money to pay for benefits. But with profits, benefits can become quite generous. It is all up to you as the owner. I’ll leave the estimating of these costs up to you.

The survey I mentioned earlier also asked about the benefits provided. The variations were significant. For a summary, see  Survey results: Therapist wages and benefits from 40 practices.

And likewise, one’s tax obligation is going to depend on many factors. Here is a website that calculates pay that state, federal, and some local taxes into account: SmartAsset.com. You would have to calculate the cost of benefits separately. Take-home pay will, of course, have taxes and benefits taken out.

Calculating Psychotherapist Pay: Putting it together

Below is a calculator for you to use to calculate a therapist’s annual salary. You can play with the numbers and see where you come out. Have fun!!

As a reminder here are the ranges I suggest for each variable:

  • 20 to 35 Sessions
  • $75 to $125 per hour as an Ave Collection rate
  • 46 to 50 Weeks of Work per year
  • 20% to 40% of income for Expenses
  • 25% to 35% for benefits and taxes

Calculator

X X

Gross Recepts:

Gross Pay:

Paycheck:

Results: Gross pay ranges from $41,400 to $175,000

If we assume the worst conditions for a full-time therapist, i.e., 20 sessions per week x $75 per session x 46 weeks = $69,000 income – Expenses (40% of income or $27,600), we take home $41,400 minus tax and benefit costs.

If we assume the best conditions, i.e., 35 sessions per week x $125 per session x 50 weeks = $218,750 income – Expenses (20% of income or $43,750), we take home $175,000. That is a very excellent salary.

And yet . . . .

Our formula compared to the National Occupational Employment Data

As a point of comparison, we can look at National Occupational Employment Data collected by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Here we see a more realistic picture. In round numbers, salaries for mental health clinicians are these:

Psychologists: median annual income = $85,000, with 90% making < $130,000

Social Workers: median annual income = $55,000, with 90% making < $82,000

Counselors: median annual income = $50,000, with 90% making < $82,000

Marriage and Family Therapists: median annual income = $50,000, with 90% making < $82,000

So what does this mean? So when we look at real salaries among master-level psychotherapists, few earn above $100,000 per year. Psychologists, more than the other mental health disciplines, are likely to see higher wages. It means that very few are maximizing each of the variables in our formula for the reasons I have listed above.

You can find the psychotherapist salary details by looking at the May 2018 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates. There are several job titles in this survey and that is why I summarized as I have above.

Calculating psychotherapist pay

So we can approach the question of therapist pay by calculating psychotherapist pay using the formula above or we look at labor statistics. Preferably both. Yet it is often helpful to know the elements that influence pay.

Also take a look at:

Enjoying this article? Share your thoughts.

  1. Corey says:

    As a new therapist, this is invaluable. Thanks.

  2. Shannon Hiser says:

    Hello … I am wondering if I could discuss with you a process for determining a bonus structure formula for my salaried employees? This seems to be an impossible task for my brain to comprehend 😔

    1. Dr. David Norton says:

      Hi Shannon. Yes, we can do that. I’ll email you and we can set things up.

  3. Katherine Foster says:

    Do you have an exhaustive list of eligible reimbursements for business-related expenses and tools for therapists that are W2 employees? Thanks so much — this website is an incredible resource!

    1. Dr. David Norton says:

      Interesting question. I do not have such a list nor do I think it exists. The principle is clear though–if the expense is a legit business expense, then it is deductible. The IRS makes some exceptions for things like business lunches, etc. but any CPA could help you sort out any questions you might have.

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