The Role of Therapy in Your Life

Therapy is sometimes seen as a luxury, but mental health is fundamental to optimal functioning. Without a healthy mind, all other areas of life suffer. Therapy is an investment in yourself. More self-awareness, self-knowledge, coping skills, and self-compassion make it easier to navigate life, have the life you want, and have the quality of relationships you desire. Having the time to reflect on decisions, values, and goals leads to greater chances of success in getting where you want to be and knowing when you are there. In mental health, similar to physical health, preventive measures can have a profound impact. So, while many people may originally seek out therapy at a time of an immediate issue, therapy can form a solid foundation that allows the rest of your life to flourish.

Popular culture promotes self-care, which may lead some to believe they don’t need therapy. In reality, self-care should build your resilience rather than merely soothe or pamper. As your therapist, I recommend you do self-care! And, I believe therapy is a key part of building the resilience to fully function in this hectic and increasingly polarized world. Because you cannot control what’s going on around you, building internal resiliency is more important than ever.

The Role of the Therapist in Your Therapy

How This Becomes a Price

My goal is to carefully carve a path for my business that honors the financial well-being of my clients and myself. I’m a first-generation college graduate, and I’ve followed my passion over profit throughout my life. I want to be able to serve a variety of people to a very high standard. I organize my business so that I can maintain the high standards that I hold for my profession. I price my sessions such that a quarter of my caseload is at a deeply reduced rate through the Open Path Collective. You may have the financial freedom to be able to pay out of pocket for therapy without it being a second thought. Or, for you, it may be a case of juggling priorities to be able to pay out of pocket for therapy. In either case, my full-fee clients are what allow me to offer therapy to my Open Path clients.

Open Path Collective exists for people who would not otherwise be able to afford to work with independent therapists. Affordable therapy options often lack the most experienced therapists and/or the specialties that I’m able to provide. Open Path doesn’t compensate the therapists; rather, this is a group of us who care about making therapy more widely accessible. These reduced-fee spaces are very popular and often full, however, when a space is available, it will show on my Open Path profile.

A Window into the Realities of Solo Practice

Running an ethical, independent practice across four states requires a dedicated professional infrastructure. To ensure that your care is guided entirely by your therapeutic goals—rather than corporate insurance constraints—approximately 50% to 60% of every full fee goes directly back into supporting this sustainable practice model:

* Tax & Regulatory Compliance: Unlike a W-2 employee, an independent solo practitioner must manually allocate a massive portion of their gross earnings to taxes. This covers federal income tax, state income tax, local tax, and the full 15.3% self-employment tax. It also funds the initial and recurring licensure fees, background checks, exam forwarding, and mandatory continuing education required to remain fully compliant across a total of 4 states.

* Practice Infrastructure & Assets: This includes office space, a HIPAA-compliant telehealth platform, secure business email, a dedicated phone line, and bookkeeping software. It also covers professional liability insurance, professional association membership fees, advertising, office supplies, and necessary legal or accounting consultations.

* The Truly Independent Solo Safety Net: Because I am an entirely independent solo practitioner—operating without corporate backing, agency benefits, or access to a partner’s employer-sponsored health plan—I am entirely responsible for funding my own professional safety net. Maintaining a basic independent marketplace health insurance plan costs over $15,000 per year in premiums and deductibles before coverage even begins. All dental and vision costs are paid completely out of pocket, and I dollar-for-dollar fund my own retirement with zero employer matching.

* Advanced Expertise & Professional Growth: To ensure the care you receive is highly specialized and deeply effective, a portion of my revenue is locked directly into advanced clinical certifications, specialized trainings, professional conferences, and business consulting. This continuous financial investment also balances ongoing fixed costs, including the student loans from my graduate degrees and the foundational financial loss incurred during my past unpaid internships and clinical placements in both the US and the UK.

* Uncompensated Time & Labor: Solo private practices operate without the standard safety nets an employer pays for. This means there is zero compensation for sick leave, vacation time, jury duty, or attending professional trainings. Furthermore, if a client cancels with at least 24 hours' notice, that income cannot be recovered, as "walk-ins" are not a part of therapy private practice. If a cancellation is made with less than 24 hours' notice, the fee applies, but that clinical time has already been fully allocated.

I wanted people to have a window into the time and financial realities of operating my own solo private practice. I hope this provides some perspective, and want you to know that I absolutely love my work and find all of the benefits outweigh these costs.