Salary for contract/fee-for-service work?

[PsyDGirl25]

Hi All-

I am a May 2011 Psy.D. grad and I plan to become licensed as soon as I can in the state of Maryland. I am thinking about taking a part-time position at a company that hires independent contractors for fee-for-service therapy with children and adults. My supervision would be provided there and this seems like a good way to make some money while also having a flexible enough schedule to have time to study for the licensing exam. I also have my Masters degree and would be able to get "Psychology Associate" status for this contract work.

Here is my question: Does anyone know what the going hourly rate is for this sort of work if the clinician is not yet licensed? Just trying to get a sense of what I should expect and what's the norm. Even just a ballpark range would be helpful.

Thanks!!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[stigmata]

30-40$/hr

 

[PsyDGirl25]

Thanks!! I had heard $50 a session from one source, and $40 a session from someone else, so it seems like there is a bit of a range. The place I am thinking of working said their rate would likely be around $40 and I wasn't sure if this was a bit on the low end. Good to know it is within a normal expectable range...

Does anyone else have knowledge of this?

 

[ForensicNeuro]

I actually do this work now part-time and the range in my area is $20-30 per hour...but I'm in the northeast and it's kind of over-saturated. You can't swing a WISC bag without hitting a couple of "therapists." 🙂

 

[PsyDGirl25]

I actually do this work now part-time and the range in my area is $20-30 per hour...but I'm in the northeast and it's kind of over-saturated. You can't swing a WISC bag without hitting a couple of "therapists." 🙂

Thanks for the info! It makes sense that there would be regional differences with this sort of thing as well as differences based on market saturation.

What a difference a license will make! Hard to believe the salary jump we will be able to expect once we are licensed and if we choose to go in to private practice...

 

[stigmata]

Actually a salary of 40$/hr for FT work equals about 77k/year. Once you are licensed you are more likely to make 50-60k/year at a salaried job. If you go private and bill insurance you may actually end up making less unless you do higher yield work like assessment or consulting.

 

[PsyDGirl25]

Actually a salary of 40$/hr for FT work equals about 77k/year. Once you are licensed you are more likely to make 50-60k/year at a salaried job. If you go private and bill insurance you may actually end up making less unless you do higher yield work like assessment or consulting.

That makes sense. I just meant that most licensed clinicians in private practice in metropolitan areas can charge $120+ per session with a client, (that's about the going rate), which is a big jump from what one makes before being licensed. I understand that a lot of that goes to overhead for the practice, malpractice insurance, etc., but it is still an improvement. I am sure it varies based on if the clinician accepts insurance or not but being licensed certainly won't hurt.

 

[2012PhD]

That makes sense. I just meant that most licensed clinicians in private practive in metropolitan areas can charge $120+ per session with a client, which is a big jump from what one makes before being licensed. I understand that a lot of that goes to overhead for the practice, malpractice insurance, etc., but it is still an improvement. I am sure it varies based on if the clincian accepts insurance or not but being licensed certainly won't hurt.

You can charge $150 per session once licensed, but how many people are actually getting that and have a full case load of 30 clients who can pay? That's what you will need to make a good living after rent, malpractice, taxes and other fees kick in. Keep in mind that only the top 1% of the population can pay these rates for therapy. Who can pay 600 per month just to see a therapist? This is in only rare parts of the country. Maybe the wealthy parts of NYC and westchester. Not sure where else you would get a consistent supply of people who can afford these fees. People have lots of unrealistic dreams when it comes to private practice.

Insurance companies are not going to pay you over 100 per hour generally speaking (they can range from 40-90 from what i've seen).

 

[PsyDGirl25]

You can charge $150 per session once licensed, but how many people are actually getting that and have a full case load of 30 clients who can pay? That's what you will need to make a good living after rent, malpractice, taxes and other fees kick in. Keep in mind that only the top 1% of the population can pay these rates for therapy. Who can pay 600 per month just to see a therapist? This is in only rare parts of the country. Maybe the wealthy parts of NYC and westchester. Not sure where else you would get a consistent supply of people who can afford these fees. People have lots of unrealistic dreams when it comes to private practice.

Insurance companies are not going to pay you over 100 per hour generally speaking (they can range from 40-90 from what i've seen).

Thanks so much for all of the helpful info. These are all good things to think about and keep in mind. All I was trying to say is that I am excited to get licensed. I don't think that warrants being told that I have "unrealistic dreams."

 

[SFPsyd]

Thanks so much for all of the helpful info. These are all good things to think about and keep in mind. All I was trying to say is that I am excited to get licensed. I don't think that warrants being told that I have "unrealistic dreams."

Keep the faith; you'll find there are a number of wet blankets around these parts when it comes to issues of salary, etc. You aren't likely to get rich in this field, but you can certainly make solid money. And yes, there is indeed a large jump in pay upon licensure, particularly if you make a go of it in private practice. Salaried positions tend to pay a bit less on average but do provide more stability; 80k within a few years is a good # to think in terms of. Private practice has much higher upside but also carries some risk.

Follow your goals, find good mentors, and consult with successful providers in your areas of interest. No reason one can't make good $ in this field.

 

[2012PhD]

Thanks so much for all of the helpful info. These are all good things to think about and keep in mind. All I was trying to say is that I am excited to get licensed. I don't think that warrants being told that I have "unrealistic dreams."

Yeah, i think there are many more options with licensure. absolutely.

You were saying that psychologists can at least 120 in big cities. I think that for most psychologists, being able to charge $120-150 and getting a consistent patient load of 30 patients per week is unrealistic for the majority of the country if you are just doing therapy, even in big cities. It is very location specific. The median income in the U.S. is 50K. Only 1% of the country makes 250K or more. Basically, you have to cater to the top 1%, which is unrealistic for most psychologists. No middle class or even upper middle class person can pay $600 per month for weekly therapy. Even people with graduate degrees generally can't afford this. You will generally need to see people who are wealthy.

 

[PsyDGirl25]

Keep the faith; you'll find there are a number of wet blankets around these parts when it comes to issues of salary, etc. You aren't likely to get rich in this field, but you can certainly make solid money. And yes, there is indeed a large jump in pay upon licensure, particularly if you make a go of it in private practice. Salaried positions tend to pay a bit less on average but do provide more stability; 80k within a few years is a good # to think in terms of. Private practice has much higher upside but also carries some risk.

Follow your goals, find good mentors, and consult with successful providers in your areas of interest. No reason one can't make good $ in this field.

This is great advice- thank you!!

I know it may not be easy, but as with so many other things in life, I think it's probably really important to stay positive and have high hopes in this line of work. I like to think that a positive attitude will likely help with mentor relationships and alliance with patients. I really appreciate the supportive tone of your response and your suggestions-- thanks again! 😉

 

[2012PhD]

Keep the faith; you'll find there are a number of wet blankets around these parts when it comes to issues of salary, etc. You aren't likely to get rich in this field, but you can certainly make solid money. And yes, there is indeed a large jump in pay upon licensure, particularly if you make a go of it in private practice. Salaried positions tend to pay a bit less on average but do provide more stability; 80k within a few years is a good # to think in terms of. Private practice has much higher upside but also carries some risk.

Follow your goals, find good mentors, and consult with successful providers in your areas of interest. No reason one can't make good $ in this field.

I don't know what you are talking about. Nobody was complaining about salary or is a "wet blanket" here. I was just saying that it is unrealistic in most parts of the country to set up a private pay therapy practice where people pay out of pocket. You have to be in a certain location to get this fee and its not the norm in the U.S. Please tell me what is inaccurate about what i'm saying before insulting and using the term "wet blanket"?

 

[SFPsyd]

I don't know what you are talking about. Nobody was complaining about salary or is a "wet blanket" here. I was just saying that it is unrealistic in most parts of the country to set up a private pay therapy practice where people pay out of pocket. You have to be in a certain location to get this fee and its not the norm in the U.S. Please tell me what is inaccurate about what i'm saying before insulting and using the term "wet blanket"?

I didn't reference anything you had said, so I apologize if it came off as personally signaling you out in any way. If I recall, the numbers you threw out were ~30 clients/week, $150/hr. That would computer to around 225-250k/year, which I would certainly agree would be out of the norm. I think we're on the same page there, and there are indeed only a few places in the US where a private practice therapist could pull that off (NYC, SF, parts of MA to name a few).

As for the "wet blanket" comment, I'm merely suggesting that many posters on here have an overly pessimistic (and in my experience, unrealistic) assessment of the financial realities of the field. That is not in any way limited to this thread. But people throw around salary numbers that are absurdly low, as if they are fact, when they are at best coming from poorly designed and unrepresentative salary surveys.

Again, if you are talking salaries of 225+k per year, then that is certainly not the norm. But a case load of 20, averaging 100-125/hr is absolutely doable in most metropolitan areas, provided that one networks effectively and is savvy regarding referral networks. No reason not to make around 100k/year in private practice (or more) if you treat it like a business, differentiate yourself effectively, etc.

 

[SFPsyd]

This is great advice- thank you!!

I know it may not be easy, but as with so many other things in life, I think it's probably really important to stay positive and have high hopes in this line of work. I like to think that a positive attitude will likely help with mentor relationships and alliance with patients. I really appreciate the supportive tone of your response and your suggestions-- thanks again! 😉

Your positive attitude and optimism will do you wonders! There's great research out there on the impact of optimism and positivity on job/career success, suggesting that positive attitudes in fact lead to higher income, promotions, etc., rather than the other way around. So keep it up and you'll do great!

 

[PsyDGirl25]

I don't know what you are talking about. Nobody was complaining about salary or is a "wet blanket" here. I was just saying that it is unrealistic in most parts of the country to set up a private pay therapy practice where people pay out of pocket. You have to be in a certain location to get this fee and its not the norm in the U.S. Please tell me what is inaccurate about what i'm saying before insulting and using the term "wet blanket"?

Your remark that I have "unrealistic dreams" felt a little critical. Perhaps you did not intend for it to come off that way. I think SFPsyd was just trying to offer support and change the tone from a little negative to something more positive.

 

[2012PhD]

I didn't reference anything you had said, so I apologize if it came off as personally signaling you out in any way. If I recall, the numbers you threw out were ~30 clients/week, $150/hr. That would computer to around 225-250k/year, which I would certainly agree would be out of the norm. I think we're on the same page there, and there are indeed only a few places in the US where a private practice therapist could pull that off (NYC, SF, parts of MA to name a few).

As for the "wet blanket" comment, I'm merely suggesting that many posters on here have an overly pessimistic (and in my experience, unrealistic) assessment of the financial realities of the field. That is not in any way limited to this thread. But people throw around salary numbers that are absurdly low, as if they are fact, when they are at best coming from poorly designed and unrepresentative salary surveys.

Again, if you are talking salaries of 225+k per year, then that is certainly not the norm. But a case load of 20, averaging 100-125/hr is absolutely doable in most metropolitan areas, provided that one networks effectively and is savvy regarding referral networks. No reason not to make around 100k/year in private practice (or more) if you treat it like a business, differentiate yourself effectively, etc.

I agree with what you are saying as well 🙂 I didn't mean to come off as overly pessimistic. I think you can make 100K if you are good at business and specialize.

I also think part of the reason why the salary debate gets so heated in our field is because there is a wide variability in salary in our field depending on location, employment setting, specialization etc. I network a lot with professionals and private practitioners and I often hear pretty extreme discrepencies in income. Sometimes i am confused by this myself. For example, I've met very well-trained licensed psychologists (apa internship etc) who are only earning 50-60K and others who earn 100K plus. The people who are earning these lower salaries are sometimes in college counseling centers, have a generalist private practice, or work in an oversaturated part of the country, but they do exist.

 

[SFPsyd]

I agree with what you are saying as well 🙂 I didn't mean to come off as overly pessimistic. I think you can make 100K if you are good at business and specialize.

I also think part of the reason why the salary debate gets so heated in our field is because there is a wide variability in salary in our field depending on location, employment setting, specialization etc. I network a lot with professionals and private practitioners and I often hear pretty extreme discrepencies in income. Sometimes i am confused by this myself. For example, I've met very well-trained licensed psychologists (apa internship etc) who are only earning 50-60K and others who earn 100K plus. The people who are earning these lower salaries are sometimes in college counseling centers, have a generalist private practice, or work in an oversaturated part of the country, but they do exist.

Absolutely agree with you, and again I'm sorry if I seemed to be attacking you earlier as well. There are huge discrepencies, and I think you're correct in saying that may contribute to some of the heated dialogue. It's especially true of private practice, where it's tough to provide people with "average" salary information since as you say, the range can be anywhere from 40k-200k. Sadly, marketing ability and networking seems to have a far greater impact on success in private practice than does clinical skill.

We as a profession need to do a better job advocating for ourselves and expanding our marketshare. There's no shortage of people who need mental health services, we just do a crappy job of reaching the majority of them. Some of this is systemic, but some of it falls on individual providers to generate means of reaching clientele, increasing our referral base, etc.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

We as a profession need to do a better job advocating for ourselves and expanding our marketshare. There's no shortage of people who need mental health services, we just do a crappy job of reaching the majority of them. Some of this is systemic, but some of it falls on individual providers to generate means of reaching clientele, increasing our referral base, etc.

A little bit of provider education goes a long way. I make a point to talk with providers on a regular basis about what I do, and how I can help them/their practice. Providers talk, and if you do good by them, you'll have more business than you can shake a stick at.