Should Psychotherapists be Rich?
Revolution is about who is willing to walk in the opposite direction of the herd, or at the very least who is willing to question the direction, path, and destination of the herd.
— Dayna Lynn Nuckolls / Peoples Oracle
Mental health professionals bare the weight of three entities: 1) Holding their needs 2) Holding their clients’ needs and being careful to not make all decisions or boundaries solely on client needs 3) Holding the systemic expectations that usually don’t benefit the therapist and/or client.
Many believe that it is unethical for psychotherapists to aim for being rich or wealthy through their profession. This may be true for those who are exploiting clients. I’m referring to the therapist who want to balance their empathy and healing gifts with their own well being and life goals. I say having financial, emotional, and generational wealth are goals worth living for, no matter the trade. Though it can be difficult to achieve wealth due to the struggle of balancing being a psychotherapist and adhering to the ethics of the profession within a broken system.
It is okay to choose yourself first (you, psychotherapist), and choose clients second in your private practice or another setting. Through our most popular Instagram posts (linked below within each step), we’re breaking down the steps psychotherapists can take to find balance, sustainability, and wealth by decolonizing how to show up within the profession.
Unpack and challenge your limiting beliefs that keep you stuck in a colonized system and in the traditional ways of living and working, especially if those ways of being do not serve you.
Determine what practices are sustainable for you and what you need to stay balanced.
Decide who is your ideal client, and know that your ideal client is a past version of you. Seeing clients whom you are aligned with decreases burnout and increases fulfillment.
Share your authentic self in your bio and marketing in a way that allows your ideal client to find and connect with you. ‘You need not hide your true self to make a difference.’
Set rates that are sustainable and help reach your goals, and this could mean not accepting insurance nor sliding scale.
Provide referrals if a client cannot afford you such as our Black therapist directory.
Consider additional forms of income to reduce reliance on the private practice by having multiple streams of passive and active income.
Instead of networking with just anyone because you feel you need to, reframe networking as friendship building with like minded clinicians / care providers who are a personality match, have similar values, and treat similar clients as yourself.
General reminders and resources:
Maintaining self care & boundaries in your everyday
Managing high request for services and guilt as a Black therapist
You’re not going to dismantle white supremacy and capitalism with your solo private practice. Instead of holding the weight of systemic issues on your shoulders, do what you can from where you are.
Are you a current or future psychotherapist seeking this way of being? Book a free consultation to begin coaching with me, or reach out to like-minded Black therapists listed on our directory.