When I started my practice in 2021 and I began taking clients, I started to feel an immense pull to modify my rates. I knew what the "industry standard" of individual therapy rates were ($80- $150/session), but I simply could not price gouge clients that I knew were making less than $20,000/year, usually because:
young adults can only get minimum wage jobs
severe mental health has a laundry list of barriers to being able to be a "productive" member of society
I found I was working with lots of people with generational poverty, with very few resources to get ahead, on top of complex PTSD symptoms
It wasn't about my worth as a therapist, but about serving a population in desparate need
Instead, I started charging these clients $25-50 for an hour and fifteen minute session (I also think that a 50 minute session is just not enough). While I have deeply enjoyed and learned so much from this work, I am starting to realize it is not completely sustainable for my business or for my overall well-being. This is why I am creating other platforms to share affordable access to my services, and to supplement my income so that I can continue to do what I love.