Your Hourly Fee is Reverse-Engineered

Your fee is not a measure of how good a therapist you are. It is not a measure of how much you care about your clients. And it is definitely not a measure of your worth as a person. It is a number that, when set well, allows you to keep doing this work sustainably. In this episode of The Build Your Private Practice Podcast, Liane is talking about one of the most loaded topics in private practice: your fee. But this is not a money episode designed to shame you, pressure you, or tell you what you “should” be charging. Instead, it is an invitation to look at how your fee was set in the first place — and whether that number actually supports the practice, income, and life you are trying to build. Many therapists choose their fee based on what feels right, what colleagues are charging, or what seems socially acceptable in their area. That may feel safe, but it does not necessarily tell you whether your practice actually works. Because your fee is not an input. It is an output. Your fee should be reverse engineered from the real numbers of your practice: the income you want to take home, the number of clinical hours you can sustainably work, your fixed costs, and your variable costs. When you calculate your fee instead of guessing, everything changes. You stop apologizing for your rate. You make clearer decisions about referral fees, percentage-based platforms, EAP contracts, associate splits, and other arrangements that may quietly erode your income. And you begin adjusting your fee on a schedule instead of waiting until you feel brave enough. If your current fee was chosen quickly, emotionally, or based on what everyone else seemed to be doing, this episode will help you look at the numbers with more clarity and less shame. In this episode, we cover: Why so many therapists set their fee based on what “feels right” The difference between polling your peers and actually calculating your fee Why the middle of the market is not always the right benchmark How undercharging can quietly compound over time Why your fee should be treated as an output, not an input The four key numbers that belong in your fee calculation How referral platforms and percentage-based arrangements can erode your income Why a fee that is too low for too long can threaten the sustainability of your work What changes when your fee is grounded in math instead of emotion Why scheduled fee increases are maintenance, not greed This episode is not about blaming yourself for the past. It is about choosing differently from here. Because therapists are not bad practice owners. Most were simply never taught the business side of private practice. And when nobody teaches you how to calculate your fee, it makes sense that you would look around, pick a number that feels safe, and try to make it work. But you are allowed to run the math. You are allowed to see what your practice actually requires. And you are allowed to set a fee that supports your clients, your business, and your life. This is the kind of grounded, practical work we focus on at Build Your Private Practice, where we help Canadian therapists build practices that are sustainable, aligned, and supportive of their lives. Explore tools, programs, and support at: https://buildyourprivatepractice.ca Join us inside our Facebook community for Canadian Therapists:   / buildyourprivatepractice   If this episode resonated with you, subscribe to The Build Your Private Practice Podcast and share it with another therapist who may need permission to look honestly at the math behind their fee.