Overwhelm and underpay are increasing for somatic educators and psychotherapists

Starting with financial goals is a surprisingly powerful strategy for developing your practice. On the surface it may seem dry and boring. It’s certainly not the main motivator for most practitioners I know! However, it can be a source of shocking creativity. If I need to bring in $3000 more per month, that’s 1 client at $3000, 10 clients at @$300, or 30 @100…or 60 @$50.

What opportunities do I have at those price points?

Both somatic educators and therapists have much more income earning potential if they choose to open their own business.

So, If you don’t have clarity on how much you need and want to earn, my upcoming fall Business Development Jam Session #2 might be just what you’ve been looking for. Most importantly, remember that you have time to figure this out. Don’t let any business coach or snazzy mindset guru tell you otherwise.

Psychotherapy, and psychology in general, is a more respected and licensed field, so you will find lots of AI, software, and large companies like BetterHelp (which is problematic) moving into that space and offering newer therapists a way to get started. You can certainly use that to your advantage when you are getting started.

Unfortunately, there is a growing sense of overwhelm and underpay in the field. That’s partially because healthcare programs and insurance coverage are breaking down. Also, they are being attacked by the government. These companies see a business opportunity, are moving in to fill that gap, and are taking a big cut.

Somatic educators, on the other hand, are on our own. We are certified, but not covered by insurance or licensed. Large corporations are not interested in providing business platforms to help us reach large audiences because there isn’t as much reliable revenue and profit in it for them.

All of us get zero education in how to build a business.

One of my missions in life is to fill in that gap for folks at any stage of their career.

In my case, I came from a working class background and invested all my available funds in getting my AT teaching certificate. For a cost of $25,000 and at 1600 hours, it was a considerable investment for me. I don’t regret it for on second. And I’m surprised that I’m making as much money as folks who invested way more than me in their education. That’s not right!

I’m discovering that somatic educators and therapists have a lot of smarts and wisdom to offer each other, and that community around the topic of business building is sorely needed.

Somatic educators have many more pressures on them to build a private practice, so we are more creative, wild, and free. Most of us, too, will hit a snag at some point, sooner or later.

Sometimes, fear about the toxic economy, shame about not earning enough money, and thinking everyone else is making more than us prevent us from facing financial issues.

I don’t have a magic formula to fix this economy, but I’m interested in building community around the challenges that can bring us together.

We are all, even therapists with PhD’s, navigating an increasingly toxic economy that does not want to support public health, mental or physical.

Many therapists choose not go into business for themselves in their first few years for a number of reasons. That’s smart in many ways, because your primary goal in the first years of practice is to get good at what you do; not to be an entrepreneur. There is a learning curve that might overwhelm you if you are new in practice.

Somatic educators are more likely to try private practice because there aren’t a ton of alternatives.

Eventually it’s likely that you will find your income has a lower ceiling than you hoped. 65K is the median for psychotherapists, less for embodiment experts.

That’s pretty shocking, considering what you invest in getting a degree and license. For somatic educators like Alexander Teachers, it’s different. The front end business is often a college, university, or conservatory. Those jobs can:

• Function as a referral source for private clients
• Be very fulfilling
• Reach a population that is invested in learning and very talented
• Pay a good salary

However, educational institutions are currently under assault on many fronts in the US, and there aren’t as many of these positions available as there used to be.

And, If you don’t have a terminal degree, you aren’t likely to get an academic position, even as an adjunct.

Therapists may start out working for a clinic or non-profit in order to get clinical hours for licensing. After that, you can head out on your own, or use a platform like Alma which makes it easy for clients to find you, book sessions, and get reimbursed by insurance. I’ve just discovered a new platform, Allia, which is free, for now. Check it out, and research it. There’s a bit of kerfuffle about it on Linkedin right now, but it looks promising.

The other most common option is to join a group practice. There are many wonderful ones which do their best to provide you with:

• A business with a website and a brand
• Free or low cost supervision
• A set of core values that guides how the business is structured, operated, and marketed
• Administrative support
• Community
• A clear core audience or clientele
• Clear financial goals
• A clear marketing strategy and plan that’s taken care of for you

That’s why employees in these group practices are earning less than they might on their own – but they are also stressing less. All of that is lots of work, and is a huge value for you. Somatic educators don’t even have this option, because it’s so challenging to earn income with only a certificate, as opposed to a license, that there are few group options. We have a lot to learn from these collaborative group endeavors.

Somatic educators have to be extremely effective in designing and marketing our business. We earn even less, unless we have a super-clear mission that is compelling, or a pre-existing huge referral network, or both. Folks will not get reimbursed by their insurance providers for our services. That’s less admin, but also less money.

One key element every healthy business has in common is knowing how much money you need to make.

So if you are ready to admit that you want to make more money (like I am!) then it’s super important to get specific about precisely how much more money. Specificity is the engine of success. Once you have a real number, you can start to look at every idea you have and put it to the test: who is willing to pay for this? How can I deliver it to them at a fair price, that they will pay gladly?

The more specific the number, the more targeted, efficient, and successful you will in deploying your creative super powers.

If you’ve never gotten specific enough about your financial needs, or you’ve struggled to do it alone, you are invited to a Business Development Jam Session on this topic on Monday, November 3.

No long term commitment is required. In the session, I’ll be guiding you through structured ways to use your personal desired income as a starting point from which to:

• Design and iterate offers
• Design and iterate your business model
• Set fees

I developed this workshop based on one of the most common questions I get from newer practitioners: How much should I charge?

This is not the most important question to start with. The question you start with is how much do I need!

Step one is getting an overview of your current life expenses.

Step two is naming some of your dreams and aspirations. That means pricing out those dreams and aspirations. Not for your business, but for yourself.

Your business serves your needs first, so that you can serve others.

Here’s wishing you a meaningful, sustainable, and long lasting career.