As you probably know, therapists who operate a local private practice can make excellent money; however, many professionals are also choosing to supplement their income through online therapy services. This article will discuss how online therapy can be a great way to expand your earnings and what it takes to get started.
What Do Private Practice Therapists Make Normally?
The salary a therapist makes running a private practice can vary from place to place, especially in regards to population, which influences caseloads.
However, in general, a counselor in private practice often earns around $50,000-$70,000 each year, and it’s not rare for professionals to reach the six-figure mark, especially if they live in a location where clients are abundant, such as a metropolitan area. For example, a family therapist’s median salary might be higher in populated areas like Los Angeles or New York City.
Though, even if you don’t live in a heavily-populated area, it’s still possible to increase your income by incorporating online therapy sessions into their workload, which you will learn about next.
How Online Therapy Can Help
More and more therapists are choosing to divide their time between the work they provide at their private practice and online platforms like BetterHelp, and it’s offering them a lot of benefits by doing so.
In fact, many professionals eventually transition fully to online therapy because of the freedom, flexibility, and other conveniences that it can provide them.
Although you will be working under BetterHelp, you are still your own individual who controls their client workload, and therefore your reputation and income, and this means that you are essentially a private practice in that regard, except without all of the fuss that comes from operating a physical business.
Therapists who work online can avoid issues like paying rent and dealing with billing, insurance, and other administrative documentation, which can take the joy out of running a business and counseling others. Your focus at BetterHelp will be 100% on the clients; additionally, you won’t be charged fees for the services you provide to them.
Of course, online therapy can also remove the need to commute to a location since it can be done entirely from your home office, and this often allows therapists to help more clients if their workload permits it.
How To Start
Getting started on BetterHelp is a process that even experienced private practice clinicians have to go through.
This process begins with an application, and from there, you will be contacted by a member of the onboarding team.
Afterward, you will have a clinical case assessment where you are given a hypothetical case with a client and ask questions to gather information about them and their goals and how you can work with them to achieve them.
Since BetterHelp and online therapy is performed remotely, you will also be assessed on your familiarity with technology. This is to make sure that you’re not only comfortable with using devices that you’ll be using to connect with your clients and navigating the platform but also that you can adapt to new product releases that occur regularly on BetterHelp.
Once you pass these assessments, you will be allowed to make a profile and schedule a video interview with an individual from the BetterHelp team, and your credentials and background check will be verified.
The entire process can take weeks to complete, but as soon as you are approved, you can start making money online, albeit on a probationary period that will help you demonstrate your expertise and ability to provide exemplary service to clients with whom you work. Apply to become an online therapist today!
Conclusion
Whether you’re a private practice therapist who wants more clients on the side or you’re looking to transition to something similar full-time, online therapy can be a more than viable option for you. Thousands of people are signing up every day looking for assistance at BetterHelp, and you can be there for them while also potentially taking your income to the next level.
