Deep, thoughtful, raw conversations with real therapists who are in the midst of leaning into raising fees and making bank – all while working with the clients they are passionate about serving.
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Dr. Emily Williams is BACK—and this time, we're talking about what happens after you've already built the practice you dreamed of.
Emily went from being paneled with 9–11 insurance companies, seeing 25+ clients a week, and bringing in around $150K a year to building a private-pay practice with fewer clients and significantly more revenue.
But then life happened.
After a major health scare forced her to drastically reduce her caseload, Emily realized something profound: her Life First Fee couldn't just support the life she was living today. It had to support her through aging, illness, family changes, and the unexpected seasons of life.
Now, she's raising her fee from $265 to $350/session—an $85 increase—even though she already has more demand than she can handle.
This conversation is about the messy middle of success, what happens when your practice becomes too full, and why getting to your Life First Fee isn't the finish line—it's the beginning of continually redesigning your practice around your life.
IN THIS EPISODE WE COVER
Why Emily originally stayed on 9–11 insurance panels—and what that was really costing her
How she went from making around $150K while seeing 25–27 clients a week to making $200K+ with a significantly smaller caseload
The warning signs that your current way of working is no longer sustainable
What a major health scare taught Emily about building a practice that can actually take care of you
Why your Life First Fee needs to account for aging, illness, family responsibilities, and the unexpected
The surprising reality of raising your fee by $85 with existing clients
What happens when raising your fee doesn't reduce demand because people still desperately want to work with you
The anxiety, grief, and even shame that can come with being more in demand than you have capacity for
Why there is no "finish line" in building a Life First practice
How Emily learned to embrace the fact that she is naturally driven, curious, and built to keep growing
The difference between being grateful for what you have and staying stuck because you're afraid to want more
Why "What if it works?" can be just as powerful a question as "What if it doesn't?"
Emily's reminder that the answer to every question you don't ask is no
What it really looks like to keep redesigning your practice as your life changes
The 4 Things I Would Do Differently If Starting My Practice From Scratch in 2026
Season 5 · Episode 197
Monday, October 19, 2026 • Duration 17:27
Ready to set your fee? You choose the dream, we'll do the math.🎁 Download our FREE Life First Fees Private Practice Calculator 👉🏽 https://www.leaninmakebank.com/free
If I were starting my private practice from scratch in 2026, I would do things very differently.
Not because private practice is dead.
Not because AI has made therapists irrelevant.
And not because you need another 47 certifications before you're allowed to charge what you're worth.
Quite the opposite.
I would get much more intentional from the very beginning.
Because the practice you build is going to be shaped by the decisions you make before you ever have a full caseload.
What you train in.
What you charge.
Who you position yourself for.
And who you spend your time around.
After 10 years of helping therapists build premium cash-pay practices, Tiffany breaks down the four things she would do differently if she were starting over today.
And some of them are probably not what you'd expect.
Because if you want to build a practice that is genuinely differentiated in an increasingly crowded and AI-driven marketplace, being another therapist who does another modality isn't enough.
You need depth.
Owning Midlife Rage & Claiming her $350 Fee with Jen Gallagher
Season 5 · Episode 196
Monday, October 12, 2026 • Duration 50:51
Ready to set your fee? You choose the dream, we'll do the math.🎁 Download our FREE Fun with Fees Calculator 👉🏽 https://www.leaninmakebank.com/free
What if the rage you've been taught to suppress is actually the very thing trying to show you where you're ready to take up more space?
In this episode of The Money Sessions, Tiffany sits down with therapist Jen Gallagher to talk about midlife rage, visibility, money, and what it took for Jen to step out of her husband's group practice and build her own private-pay practice. After more than 20 years as a therapist, Jen is now specializing in working with women in midlife who are experiencing rage, burnout, and the urge to blow up their lives.
Jen shares the messy middle of going from an average session reimbursement of around $125 to charging $250 for 50 minutes and $350 for 80 minutes—and the internal work required to believe that this reality was actually possible for her.
This conversation is about so much more than raising your fee. It's about visibility, self-trust, taking ownership of your finances, and learning to recognize that the number on your fee schedule is often just the tip of a much bigger iceberg.
IN THIS EPISODE WE COVER
Why Jen's journey to a $250/$350 fee required much more than simply choosing a number
The difference between saying your fee and actually fully committing to it
How being invisible can become a survival strategy—and why building a visible private practice requires challenging that pattern
The fear and doubt that show up in the liminal space between choosing a higher fee and having a full caseload at that fee
Why having only two clients at $250 and $350 doesn't mean the strategy isn't working—it can be the first visible evidence of a much bigger shift
RESOURCES MENTIONED
The Danger of Being Seen & It's Impact on Your Marketing
Season 5 · Episode 195
Monday, October 5, 2026 • Duration 14:23
Ready to set your fee? You choose the dream, we'll do the math.🎁 Download our FREE Life First Fees Private Practice Calculator 👉🏽 https://www.leaninmakebank.com/free
More visibility. More referrals. Higher fees. A practice that actually supports your life.
But there's a question you may not be asking:
What if you're terrified of being seen?
Because marketing requires something therapists aren't always comfortable with:
Being visible.
Letting people know who you are. What you do. Who you help. Why your work matters.
And that can bring up a lot more than a marketing problem.
It can bring up shame. Fear. Judgment. The possibility of being misunderstood. The possibility of being criticized.
And suddenly, "I don't know how to market myself" becomes a very convenient way of avoiding something much deeper:
"I don't know if I'm willing to let people see me."
In this episode, Tiffany explores the psychological cost of hiding behind perfect websites, endless preparation, vague messaging, and "professionalism" when what your practice actually needs is for you to step forward and be known.
Because you can learn SEO.
$350/Sessions: Spilling the LIMB Tea with Jorshua Stewart
Season 5 · Episode 194
Monday, September 28, 2026 • Duration 44:34
Ready to set your fee? You choose the dream, we'll do the math.🎁 Download our FREE Fun with Fees Calculator 👉🏽 https://www.leaninmakebank.com/free
What actually happens behind the scenes inside Lean In. MAKE BANK.?
In this episode, Tiffany sits down with Jorshua Stewart, LIMB's Student Success Manager, for an honest, behind-the-scenes conversation about what it really takes for therapists to create sustainable, Life First practices—and what happens when they hit the messy middle.
Jorshua shares what she sees every day as she supports therapists through the program: the patterns that help people build momentum, the places where they get stuck, and why asking for help can be the difference between staying stuck and finally moving forward.
This conversation is a deep dive into the messy middle, taking action while scared, using community, and trusting that the process doesn't have to be perfect to work.
IN THIS EPISODE WE COVER
What Jorshua does as LIMB's Student Success Manager and how she supports therapists throughout their journey
Why Jorshua left a highly structured corporate environment without another job lined up—and what she learned about doing it scared
How caring for her younger brother after losing her mom shaped the way she listens to and supports others
What Jorshua notices about therapists who come into LIMB ready to make a change
Why the most successful therapists aren't necessarily the ones who have everything figured out—they're the ones who keep going
The reality of the messy middle and why getting stuck doesn't mean the process isn't working
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Escaping the Time Massa': Fees and the Legacy of Slavery
Season 5 · Episode 193
Monday, September 21, 2026 • Duration 14:20
Ready to set your fee? You choose the dream, we'll do the math.🎁 Download our FREE Life First Fees Private Practice Calculator 👉🏽 https://www.leaninmakebank.com/free
What if your relationship with money isn't just about money?
What if your relationship with time, work, rest, safety, and your right to take up space has been shaped by something much older and deeper?
In this deeply personal episode, Tiffany explores a realization that stopped her in her tracks: the feeling of an internal "time master"—a constant ticking clock that says you can rest later.
When you're financially secure. When your children are safe. When you've worked enough. When you've earned it.
But what happens when the clock never actually stops?
For Tiffany, this question led directly into the legacy of slavery, intergenerational trauma, labor, and the ways that the value of Black bodies has historically been tied to their capacity to work.
And then the question gets even more uncomfortable:
What if financial freedom alone isn't enough to make us feel free?
Because you can earn more. You can build the business. You can create time freedom.
And still have an internal voice telling you that you haven't done enough to deserve rest.
This episode is about that voice.
And about what might finally quiet it.
From $110 & Paneled to $300/Session & FREE with Adina Babad
Season 5 · Episode 192
Monday, September 14, 2026 • Duration 46:05
Ready to set your fee? You choose the dream, we'll do the math.🎁 Download our FREE Fun with Fees Calculator 👉🏽 https://www.leaninmakebank.com/free
When Adina Babad first found Lean In. MAKE BANK., they were charging around $110/session, fully paneled with insurance, overwhelmed, and wondering how much longer they could keep doing it.
Today, they charge $300/session, have left insurance panels behind, are seeing fewer clients, earning $10K+ months, and have built a practice that actually feels sustainable.
But this episode isn't about marketing hacks or overnight success.
It's about the uncomfortable work of trusting yourself, challenging deeply held beliefs about money, and learning that the biggest obstacle to premium fees often isn't strategy—it's the mindset underneath it all.
If you've ever thought, "Other therapists can do it, but not me," this episode is for you.
IN THIS EPISODE WE COVER
How Adina went from earning about $110/session on insurance panels to $300/session in private pay.
Why leaving insurance wasn't just a business decision—it was a trust-in-yourself decision.
The fear of "betting on yourself" and what finally helped them move forward anyway.
Why borrowing someone else's belief in you can be enough until you develop your own.
The mindset work therapists try to skip—and why strategy alone won't get you premium fees.
How childhood, family history, gender, culture, and money beliefs quietly shaped Adina's relationship with earning more.
What happened after they stopped trying to stay small and started showing up in the world.
RESOURCES MENTIONED
A $55 Fee Raise in THIS Economy?! Here's What It Takes.
Season 5 · Episode 191
Monday, September 7, 2026 • Duration 15:57
Ready to set your fee? You choose the dream, we'll do the math.🎁 Download our FREE Life First Fees Private Practice Calculator 👉🏽 https://www.leaninmakebank.com/free
What if becoming a premium fee therapist wasn't about seeing more clients—but about finally valuing the transformation you already provide?
In this inspiring episode, Tiffany sits down with Carol Covelli, a therapist, business owner, and single mom of two who transformed both her practice and her life by reaching her Life First Fee.
Carol shares how she moved beyond fear, stopped letting geography define what was possible, and built a practice around deep specialization instead of volume. Along the way, she discovered that raising her fee wasn't just about making more money—it was about becoming a better clinician, creating stronger boundaries, and building a business that could truly support her family.
If you've ever wondered whether premium fees are possible for you, or worried that your circumstances make it harder than everyone else's, Carol's story is one you won't forget.
IN THIS EPISODE WE COVER
What finally led Carol to pursue her Life First Fee.
How she dramatically increased her revenue while cutting her caseload nearly in half.
Why being a single mom changed the way she thought about time, boundaries, and sustainability.
The mindset shifts required to stop undercharging and fully own her expertise.
How specializing in a highly specific niche transformed her marketing.
Why therapists often confuse accessibility with self-sacrifice.
The role that confidence, community, and coaching played in Carol's growth.
RESOURCES MENTIONED
A Seam in the White Room
Season 5 · Episode 189
Monday, August 24, 2026 • Duration 20:21
Ready to set your fee? You choose the dream, we'll do the math.🎁 Download our FREE Life First Fees Private Practice Calculator 👉🏽 https://www.leaninmakebank.com/free
Most therapists think the hardest part is allowing themselves to want more.
More income. More freedom. More creativity. More time off. A Life First Practice.
But what happens after you let yourself want it?
In this episode, Tiffany explores the next stage of growth—the one almost nobody talks about.
Because once you stop wondering if a Life First Practice is possible and start moving toward it, something unexpected happens.
You begin to see things you couldn't see before.
A new possibility.
A new level of clinical work.
A new version of yourself.
Tiffany calls it finding the seam in the white room.
For years, you've been practicing inside the same room, doing meaningful work with your clients. Then one day, you notice what looks like a tiny seam in the wall.
And you need to be extremely intentional about whose advice you're listening to.
In this episode, Tiffany explores:
Why she would invest in a year-long psychoanalytic training program if she were starting her practice today
Why depth-oriented clinical training may become even more valuable as AI takes over formulaic, standardized approaches to mental health
Why she would determine her Life First Fee BEFORE looking at insurance reimbursement rates or asking other therapists what they charge
How to stop setting your fee based on fear and start setting it based on the life you're actually trying to create
Why your modality, certification, or specialty isn't necessarily your niche
What R³ — Resourced, Ready, Recognized — means when you're building a premium cash-pay practice
Why "I work with anxiety, depression, trauma, and EMDR" doesn't necessarily give a potential client a compelling reason to choose you
The difference between someone who has a problem and someone who is ready to solve it
Why your ideal client needs to recognize themselves in your language and positioning
Why Tiffany would stop spending time networking with the average therapist if she were building her practice from scratch
The rare exception to that rule — and the kind of therapist she WOULD want to build relationships with
Where your time and attention need to go if you're trying to build a practice around $300, $400, or $500+ Life First Fees
Because here's what changes when you stop asking,
"How do I get more clients?"
and start asking,
"What kind of practice am I actually building?"
You're no longer trying to fit yourself into the existing mental health marketplace.
You're making deliberate decisions about your expertise.
Your fee.
Your positioning.
Your relationships.
And the people you want to serve.
And maybe most importantly, you're no longer allowing the fears and limitations of the average therapist to determine what you believe is possible for your own practice.
Because you don't need to build the practice everyone else is building.
You need to build the practice that supports the life you actually want.
And if you're already years into your practice, don't write this episode off because you're not "starting from scratch."
The same decisions still matter.
Your fee can change.
Your positioning can change.
Your referral relationships can change.
And the people you're spending your time around can change.
You can decide to stop building from where you've been and start building toward where you're going.
If you're ready to do that, email Tiffany at tiffany@leaninmakebank.com with the words "I'm Ready."
Because you don't have to start over.
You just have to start making different decisions.
How Jen learned to separate what her fears were telling her from what was actually true
The connection between suppressed rage, boundaries, self-advocacy, and money
Why rage isn't necessarily something to get rid of—it can be information that tells you something needs to change
How years of putting everyone else first can eventually show up as burnout, illness, resentment, and financial depletion
What Jen learned from interviewing more than 20 women about rage in midlife
Why women who have spent their lives being "good," generous, and accommodating eventually reach a point where their system says enough
How imagining a different reality—and seeing other therapists actually living it—helped Jenn believe that a different financial reality was possible for her too
The deeper transformation underneath Jenn's $350 fee—and why the money is ultimately just the byproduct of the work underneath the surface
But none of those strategies can compensate for a therapist who is fundamentally afraid of being seen.
In this episode, Tiffany explores:
Why marketing can trigger much deeper fears than therapists expect
The connection between visibility, vulnerability, and self-protection
Why "I need to figure out my marketing" can sometimes be a disguised form of avoidance
How fear of judgment can keep you vague, quiet, and invisible
Why therapists often hide behind credentials, modalities, and clinical language instead of allowing their actual perspective to come through
The difference between being professionally appropriate and making yourself invisible
Why being seen by the right people is essential to building demand for a premium practice
How your relationship with visibility impacts your ability to charge Life First Fees
Why marketing strategy is only one piece of the puzzle
What becomes possible when you stop trying to make sure nobody can misunderstand you
Because here's the uncomfortable truth:
You cannot be deeply trusted by people who cannot find you.
And you cannot build demand for work that you refuse to clearly talk about.
Being seen doesn't mean turning yourself into an influencer.
It doesn't mean sharing every detail of your personal life.
It doesn't mean performing online.
It means becoming willing to let the people who need your particular expertise recognize themselves in what you're saying.
That requires specificity.
It requires courage.
And sometimes, it requires tolerating the discomfort of knowing that not everyone is going to like you.
Because the goal isn't to be liked by everyone.
The goal is to be unmistakable to the people who are looking for exactly what you do.
If you're ready to stop hiding behind "I need better marketing" and start building a practice where the right clients can actually find you, email Tiffany at tiffany@leaninmakebank.com with the words "I'm Ready."
Because your marketing doesn't need more perfection.
It needs more of you.
The patterns Jorshua sees when therapists stop taking action or avoid the scary parts of their journey
How LIMB's data tracker, accountability systems, live calls, and community help students stay on track
Why therapists can miss the very thing that's keeping them stuck when they try to do everything alone
The importance of showing your work, asking questions, and letting other people see what you're doing
Why reaching out for help doesn't mean you're behind or doing something wrong
What Jorshua has learned about flexibility, adaptability, and pivoting from working inside a growing business
Why business doesn't come with a perfect set of rules—and why your practice has to be built around your actual life
What the LIMB community is really like and the kind of life its therapists are working toward
The bigger ripple effect of therapists choosing to stop sacrificing themselves and build practices that support their lives
If this episode gives you even one insight that makes you think differently about what's possible for your practice, share it with another therapist who needs to hear it.
And if you're ready to stop waiting until you feel completely confident and start building the practice you actually want, email tiffany@leaninmakebank.com with the word "Ready."
The "time master" and the internal pressure to constantly produce
Why financial safety can become psychologically intertwined with permission to rest
The historical relationship between labor, worth, and the bodies of Black people and women
How intergenerational and relational trauma can shape our experience of money and safety
Why making more money doesn't automatically create an internal experience of freedom
The connection between financial security and attachment, safety, and belonging
Why community can create a sense of safety and expansiveness even before financial security arrives
How being seen and believed in by other people can help us see possibilities we cannot yet hold for ourselves
Why your clinical work can only expand as far as you're willing to explore inside yourself
The importance of having a container where difficult thoughts, fears, grief, and desires can actually come forward
What happens when self-protection becomes the very thing limiting your professional and personal growth
Why creating a Life First Practice is about much more than increasing your income
Tiffany also shares the story of a therapist in the Lean In. MAKE BANK. Academy who once questioned whether she could really charge premium fees in her rural community—and then watched that possibility become real.
She booked $450 intake sessions.
Clients said yes to $300 weekly sessions.
The money was important.
But what made the transformation possible was something deeper:
Community. Connection. Mattering.
Someone else seeing the possibility in you before you're fully able to see it yourself.
And maybe that's the real work.
Not simply getting paid more.
But learning that you are allowed to exist, take up space, breathe, rest, and be present before the money arrives.
Because the ultimate goal of a Life First Fee isn't just a bigger bank account.
It's the ability to finally silence the ticking clock.
To sit with your kids without calculating what you should be doing.
To be with your partner without feeling pulled toward the next task.
To spend time with your friends and actually be there.
To stop measuring your worth in hours worked.
To be present for life.
If this episode brought something up for you—if you're curious about what might be possible when you have the right community and container to explore these questions—email Tiffany at tiffany@leaninmakebank.com with the words "I'm Ready."
Because getting paid is lovely.
But what's priceless is getting your life back.
Why networking isn't about being loud—it's about being genuinely yourself.
How confidence is built by collecting evidence, not waiting to feel ready.
What therapists who think "everyone else is special except me" need to hear.
Why waiting for evidence before making a change can keep you stuck indefinitely
The paradox of wanting a different practice while continuing to make decisions based on your current reality
Why "I'll raise my fees once I have enough clients" may be exactly what's keeping you from building the practice you want
How fear around your current caseload can keep you loyal to a business model that isn't actually working for you
Why your current circumstances are not evidence of what is possible for your future
The difference between following the status quo and having the audacity to create a new reality
What Prince can teach therapists about creating a world that doesn't exist yet
Why conviction has to come before evidence
How taking decisive action can create the evidence you were waiting for
A real example of a therapist raising her fees by $85/session without clients saying no
Why being in demand can start with the decision to act like the practice you want is possible
The economy doesn't have to be perfect.
Your current caseload doesn't have to be perfect.
Your clients don't have to prove to you that they can pay more.
You have to decide what you're building.
Because the therapist who waits until the world says, "Yes, you can do that," may be waiting forever.
But the therapist who decides, "This is the practice I'm creating—and I'm going to learn what it takes to build it," creates the possibility for evidence to follow.
That's what Life First Fees require.
Not blind optimism.
Conviction. Action. Strategy. And the willingness to move before the evidence arrives.
Because you can keep building the practice that's merely fine.
Or you can have the audacity to build the one you actually want.
If you're ready to stop waiting for permission and start creating your Life First Practice, email Tiffany at tiffany@leaninmakebank.com with the word "Icon."
Because "fine" is not the goal.
And neither is waiting.
How charging premium fees has improved both her business and her clinical work.
Practical marketing lessons for therapists who want premium fee clients.
Carol's advice for therapists who feel like charging Life First Fees isn't possible for them.
Not because the work you've been doing wasn't valuable—but because you suddenly discover there's an entirely new level of growth, clinical depth, and possibility waiting on the other side.
And that's where the real work begins.
In this episode, Tiffany unpacks:
Why allowing yourself to want more is only the beginning of the journey
What happens after you begin building a Life First Practice
The powerful metaphor of "the seam in the white room" and what it reveals about clinical growth
Why expansion often brings grief, regret, excitement, and uncertainty at the same time
The hidden cost of trying to navigate new levels of growth by yourself
Why every new level of success requires new resources, new support, and new ways of thinking
How investing in yourself becomes part of becoming the therapist your future clients need
Why the "messy middle" is not a sign you're failing—it's evidence you're growing
The importance of surrounding yourself with people who have already walked through the next door
How asking better questions opens opportunities that have been in front of you all along
This episode is about far more than charging higher fees.
It's about becoming the kind of therapist who is willing to keep opening doors.
Because every time you step into a bigger room, you'll discover another seam.
Another opportunity.
Another level of yourself waiting to be explored.
Growth doesn't end.
It expands.
And the therapists who build extraordinary practices aren't the ones who never feel overwhelmed.
They're the ones who learn to stay curious enough to open the next door.
If today's episode helped you see a seam you've never noticed before, email Tiffany at tiffany@leaninmakebank.com with the words: "I Want It."
Because sometimes the biggest breakthrough isn't finding a new strategy.
