How to Feel Good About Earning Money in Private Practice

Like all helping professionals, speech-language pathologists (aka SLPs) have invested in advanced degrees and in countless continuing education courses and programs.

As private practitioners, we hone and practice our craft every day and have each individually helped hundreds—even thousands—of people live fuller and more independent lives.

We put our hearts and souls into our work and are proud of the difference we make in the lives of our clients.

So, why do so many of us feel guilty charging for private therapy services?

Let’s discuss why this is, and, more importantly, what we can do about it.

Why private practitioners feel guilty charging for services

In traditional employment settings, like schools and hospital systems, we often try to negotiate for a higher salary when applying for jobs. Once we’re in those jobs, though, we tend not to get many raises or bonuses, and many speech-language pathologists leave traditional jobs in order to earn more money in private practice and other settings. 

Once SLPs are in private practice and finally have control over their own salaries, many report feeling guilty accepting payment from clients.

What’s the difference? Speech-language pathologists don’t feel nearly as guilty accepting money from a system as they do accepting money from individuals. Why?

It‘s completely normal and part of human nature to have feelings of guilt from time to time. Sometimes guilt is appropriate, like the guilt people feel after hurting someone they care about. Other times, people report feeling inappropriately guilty over things that are out of their control and are often based on assumptions over how others may feel. Inappropriate guilt can lead to anxiety, stress, and depression. 

Women and helping professionals are more susceptible to inappropriate feelings of guilt that get in the way of their personal relationships and professional success. People who pursue fields like mental health or speech-language pathology tend to be women, and they tend to (correctly) view the work they do as helping people. At the same time though, many have the perception that charging more for their services is “taking money” from their clients, and that it means they’re harming, rather than helping, those clients. 

As a profession, we hear people say things like “We don’t choose this profession for the money.” The problem with statements like this is they excuse institutions from paying us more, and make clinicians who secretly or even openly desire more money feel guilty.

Under-charging clients leads to clinicians under-earning

Many private practitioners undercharge for their services because they feel guilty. But over the course of your career, this can have a big impact on how much your business can earn. 

Let’s look at an example. Sally and Renee are two hypothetical private practitioners with similar backgrounds and skill levels. Sally decides to charge $80 per session because she feels guilty charging more. Renee feels confident about her pricing and charges $125 per session.

If both private practitioners conduct 20 sessions per week over the course of the year, Sally’s gross revenue is $83,200 and Renee’s gross revenue is $130,000. That’s a difference of almost $50,000!

In addition to undercharging, some private practitioners forget to send invoices or don’t follow up on late payments because they feel guilty, which further impacts their earnings and stress level.

But guilt won’t pay the bills.

Quite literally, it’s worth it to examine and shift your money beliefs for the financial health of your practice. We need to get more money into the hands of good people who can make a positive difference in the world—you included!

7 reasons to feel good about earning money in private practice

Feelings of guilt may come up from time to time, but you can choose how you react to them. Below are seven ways to reframe your thoughts about earning money as a private practitioner.

1. You’re being paid for your career experience, not just the session

When you hire a professional, such as a hairstylist, a mechanic, a plumber, etc., it’s true you’re paying them for their time. However, their true value is in their expertise.

They earned their expertise in training programs and on the job, just like you have. People are also paying you for the years of work you put in before, not just the minutes they spend with you. 

2. Money helps you have less financial stress, which enables you focus on your clients

Financial stress is a huge burden, and is very distracting. When you’re with a client or documenting services, if you’re not in a good headspace because you’re worried about finances, it will take away from your attention to your clients.

3. Money helps you pay back the student loans from your higher education costs

The average master’s level speech-language pathologist has thousands of dollars of student loan debt—which can take decades to pay off. Earning money through private therapy services helps to pay off your student loans using the knowledge that you learned in school. 

4. Money is a reward for your hard work

Having more money allows you to live the life you’ve imagined for yourself and your family. You work so hard as a private practitioner that having additional money allows you to do fun things with your family, save up for big ticket items, go on trips, and even retire early.

5. Money lets you afford to take breaks and refresh

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.” Money will help you take time off to rest, relax, and take breaks to prevent burnout. If you burn out, you can’t help people. 

6. The more money you earn, the more you can give

Money makes you more of who you already are. If you’re a kind and generous person (which most speech-language pathologists are), you’ll be able to be even more kind and generous. Having more money allows you to donate to charities, community organizations, tee ball teams, etc. You’ll also have more money to give bonuses to your employees if you run a group practice.  

7. Money helps you keep your practice open and expand your services to help more people

When running an SLP private practice, business owners need enough cash flow and profit to stay in business. Some practices aren’t profitable because their expenses exceed their revenue. Others aren’t profitable because they are undercharging. If you’re not earning enough in your practice, you’ll have to close and therefore won’t be able to help people.

Exploring and changing your beliefs around money is essential for long-term success in private practice. When feelings of guilt arise, you have a choice as to how you react to them.

What you charge for your sessions may not fit the needs of every client—and that’s okay. Your private practice isn’t for everyone, and you shouldn’t mold yourself to make others comfortable at your own expense. 

You have an advanced degree and the knowledge and skills that go with it. It’s time to proudly earn as a clinician and business owner and let go of the guilt.

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