Are you Under-earning in Your Practice?

For each statement below (1-15), answer Always/Definitely, Usually/Mostly True, Occasionally/Somewhat True or Never/No Way.

• Give yourself 5 points for every Always/Definitely answer
• Give yourself 3 points for every Usually/Most True answer 
• Give yourself 1 point for every Occasionally/Somewhat True answer
• Give yourself 0 points for every Never/No Way answer

1. I feel uneasy or guilty when asking for missed session fees.

2. I find myself waiving missed session fees even when there's a good reason not to.

3. I go through cycles of over-working and pushing myself, followed by feeling depleted and secretly relieved when people cancel.

4. I can go days or weeks without having contact with colleagues.

5. I tend to say yes to requests for me to volunteer my time without fully taking time to consider the consequences or evaluate the opportunity.

6. When someone requests a reduced fee, I tend to agree right away.

7. I believe I would need more training or another certification before I could charge a higher fee.

8. I set my fees based on what I think will be ok with the client.

9. I won't set a fee that is higher than that of my peers (or my former supervisor, or my therapist).

10. I find myself using most of my non-client time checking social media, zoning out on a screen, rather than doing something that would be personally nourishing or help me generate income.

11. I turn down or ignore opportunities that could be potentially lucrative or be a step toward having a bigger impact.

12. I don't return referral calls right away or don't clearly let potential clients know when they could expect a response.

13. I don't believe I could earn good money as a therapist, and don't expect to.

14. I'm not sure how much I earned last month, or what my expenses were in my practice.

15. I hope to make more money this year than last, but I don't have a clear goal in mind.

For the following statements (16-18),

• Give yourself 0 points for every Always/Definitely answer
• Give yourself 1 point for every Usually/Mostly True answer
• Give yourself 3 pointes for every Occasionally/Somewhat True answer
• Give yourself 5 points for every Never/No Way answer

16. I have a business savings account, with enough money to cover me for a stretch if the phone suddenly stops ringing.

17. I am earning enough to save for retirement, pay down debt, and take vacation.

18. I regularly schedule time dedicated to tracking and reviewing my numbers.

Total your points. 

Self-compassion break!

Before you click over to read the results, take a deep breath and offer yourself some compassion. You took this quiz, so you are clearly interested in knowing more about your relationship to money in your practice. And that's so important! Because as a therapist, you know you can't change anything until you become aware of what's happening.