Career change to be a therapist

[Anonymous]

Another career switching clinical psychologist here. I got my PsyD at age 50, and now at age 55 I gross about $130k yearly. Be warned though, I started my PsyD program at 43 and didn't make anything over 40k until I was 49. Also, I'd expect myself income to cap out at $150k -- there's just so much you you can charge and so many clients you can take on. I'm fine with that and I love the work, but it's not for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for sharing. Do you think it's possible to make that amount with just a master's and not going the PhD route?

[Anonymous]

I have a masters degree in psych but don't work in the field as a therapist. It's very difficult to work as a therapist with a masters. Pay is low. Most practices/hospitals want to hire people with doctorates. And before you can start, you will need to get licensed or certified (depends where you live) and that takes time. I concluded it wasn't worth it for the salary I would make. Instead I went to work for a government contractor.

[Anonymous]

I was thinking about a Master in Social Work and get a LCSW designation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was thinking about a Master in Social Work and get a LCSW designation

You'd be starting out at $35K, maybe $40K if you're lucky...

It's definitely a calling.

[Anonymous]

Really? Why is the pay so low?? Even in private practice?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really? Why is the pay so low?? Even in private practice?

Because there is a lot of overhead in private practice; because it takes time to find a solid client base; because the DC market is oversaturated; because student loans; because crappy insurance reimbursement for psychotherapy; because no benefits for private practice; because you can't keep adding patients to make more money: at some point, you burn out and you lose the ability to practice competently.

Many others, I'm sure, but those are off the top of my head.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really? Why is the pay so low?? Even in private practice?

Because there is a lot of overhead in private practice; because it takes time to find a solid client base; because the DC market is oversaturated; because student loans; because crappy insurance reimbursement for psychotherapy; because no benefits for private practice; because you can't keep adding patients to make more money: at some point, you burn out and you lose the ability to practice competently.

Many others, I'm sure, but those are off the top of my head.

Yes and I concur with specializing. We recently looked for a therapist for a specific issue- so many general practitioners but very few who focused on what we were looking for and almost none of them took insurance and session rates of $200/hr were above what we could pay. Are you tied to the area? Therapists in other parts of the country make decent income and the cost of living is much lower. A friend used to work in Atlanta as a LCSW therapist and worked part time at a government facility then had her own private practice and made 70k between the two. In Atlanta that was a really good salary.

[Anonymous]

No, I am not tied to the area, im actually open to moving to the NY/NJ area or Florida. I guess my mindset going into it would be to just do rivare psy, no insurance, sublease a dpace and have a case load of 10-20 clients/week at $150-200/h which translates into a livable wage. Working in business, and banking for over 10 years, i think the business side of it doesnt really scare me, but getting experience in counseling and being a good counselor is probably going to be the steep curve for me

[Anonymous]

Pp, what specialization were you looking for that wasnt available? Also therapists, what specializations would you recommend to niche in? I was thiking about Financial Therapy ( due to my financebckground) and Couple counseling

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, I am not tied to the area, im actually open to moving to the NY/NJ area or Florida. I guess my mindset going into it would be to just do rivare psy, no insurance, sublease a dpace and have a case load of 10-20 clients/week at $150-200/h which translates into a livable wage. Working in business, and banking for over 10 years, i think the business side of it doesnt really scare me, but getting experience in counseling and being a good counselor is probably going to be the steep curve for me

Sure, but you can't do that right out of graduate school. Also keep in mind that you then limit yourself to people who can pay that amount, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but can have implications for how you feel about your work and the meaning you derive from it.

As for location, NY/NJ is just as saturated as the DC market, Florida less so (though I imagine that varies depending on where you go). Also, keep in mind that where you train can influence your ability to network in any given location, i.e., it's often easier to train where you want to practice. You'll have a network of alumni and people familiar with that program's graduates.

[Anonymous]

Yea, that's a lot to think about. If i go the private pay route, I will probably offer free services or lower fees to lower income/ nonprofits on weekends or evenings. It is a tough choice for sure. If we do end up in FL, then i could do my MSW for almost free, which would be great. I , however have to have some reassurance that I will be able to make a decent wage before I embark on all of this and leave a decent banking career behind.

[Anonymous]

I'm in my early 40's and I am in school now for my masters in counseling. Here's the deal: you have three choices that are masters' degrees. One is the MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling or Community Counseling, one is the MSW, one is the MS in Marriage and Family Therapy. Each will take between 2-3 years, full-time before graduation. You will then have a provisional license with which you can practice under supervision (check the laws of state where you would practice to make sure since they vary). You can't ethically open a private one-person practice until you are fully licensed I think (generally about 3 years of supervision post-masters degree). You CAN be in a private practice with others during this period under supervision. Again, look into it for where you will eventually practice.

This is a passion field, meaning you will have low pay for potentially a lot of work. A yearly 100,000 salary is considered EXTREMELY good and would take several years to build. There are a lot of variables and to make a high salary, you will most likely need to work in a slightly less traditional way--have evening and/pr weaken hours, work for a large corporate entity, etc. It's kind of the unicorn job. Most jobs or practices you might earn between 40-60K. There are a lot of variations for that. I have a business background, too, but I'm going into the field knowing I will most likely have a position earning around 45-50K at first. I'm excited, though, since I feel really strongly about going into counseling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in my early 40's and I am in school now for my masters in counseling. Here's the deal: you have three choices that are masters' degrees. One is the MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling or Community Counseling, one is the MSW, one is the MS in Marriage and Family Therapy. Each will take between 2-3 years, full-time before graduation. You will then have a provisional license with which you can practice under supervision (check the laws of state where you would practice to make sure since they vary). You can't ethically open a private one-person practice until you are fully licensed I think (generally about 3 years of supervision post-masters degree). You CAN be in a private practice with others during this period under supervision. Again, look into it for where you will eventually practice.

This is a passion field, meaning you will have low pay for potentially a lot of work. A yearly 100,000 salary is considered EXTREMELY good and would take several years to build. There are a lot of variables and to make a high salary, you will most likely need to work in a slightly less traditional way--have evening and/pr weaken hours, work for a large corporate entity, etc. It's kind of the unicorn job. Most jobs or practices you might earn between 40-60K. There are a lot of variations for that. I have a business background, too, but I'm going into the field knowing I will most likely have a position earning around 45-50K at first. I'm excited, though, since I feel really strongly about going into counseling.

Thank you for sharing. How hard are the courses coming from a business background? Seems like most people in the field have a liberal arts background. I am npt going into it for the money obviously, otherwise I'd stay in Banking but I would like to at least be able to make a decent living out of it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pp, what specialization were you looking for that wasnt available? Also therapists, what specializations would you recommend to niche in? I was thiking about Financial Therapy ( due to my financebckground) and Couple counseling

We were looking for sex therapist, porn addiction. I could see you building a great niche with couples counseling focusing on financial issues-- isn't that one of the top reasons for divorce?? Keep in mind the rates for therapy in lower cost of living areas like Florida wouldn't be $200/hr. You can check out typical rates and market in Florida (or any state) here: https://therapists.psychologytoday.com/rms/state/Florida.html