How do I set my fees for EMDR Intensives?

I'll take a moment to acknowledge the gasps and whispers in response to this question... 

Now, I will take a moment to highlight that setting fees is a critical part of running a business. After all, revenue is a necessary component of a successful business. Somehow, in our culture as therapists though we have often received the message that we're not supposed to talk about money and that we're not supposed to charge "a lot" or "too much" money for the services we provide. In this post, I'm inviting you to challenge your money mindset as a fellow business owner of a therapy practice. 

Take a few moments to reflect on where you're at...

What thoughts or emotions popped up when you first started reading this blog post? 

Do any of these beliefs resonate with you?

• I'm not worthy
• Others will judge me
• I can't charge more money for my services 
• No one will pay me this much for my programs 
• I'm not a good enough therapist to charge more money 
• I haven't "paid my dues" enough yet to justify charging more 
• If I don't have a "full" caseload, then I'm not working "hard enough"
• The only way to make more money is to see more clients per week
• I'm taking advantage of clients if I charge more money (or if I don't take insurance)
• Only the 1:1 time with clients is valuable. My time spent on documentation, follow up calls, planning, continuing education, consulting, etc. aren't part of my "paid" time. 

Shifting these beliefs is possible!

That list of negative money mindset beliefs are all things I have either believed myself at some point, been explicitly told by others or learned by hearing others talk about fees and caseload over the years. In complete transparency, every time I make a change (raise my rate, make my cancellation policy more strict, etc) I have the same conversation with myself... "What if no one comes?" ... "What if this doesn't work?" I have to remind myself that 1) this has literally never happened, there are always paying clients; and 2) IF no one comes, then I can make a change with that information; and 3) Again, this has literally never happened. It has always worked out. 

As the EMDR therapist part of you already knows, having awareness of what our negative beliefs are is an important part of creating change. Take some time to notice what thoughts and how often they come up around money in your business. We have a lot of interactions with money throughout our day - charging for copays or session fees or cancelation fees; processing insurance payments or invoices; paying for business expenses; paying our contractors or employees; and paying ourselves (last on this list but top of the priority list). When we have some of these negative beliefs about money popping up throughout our day, it can have a big impact on our perception of ourselves as business owners and also on our stress level! 

What would you like to think about yourself when you interact with money in your business?

Let's find some positive beliefs to work toward. Even if these feel unrealistic right now, provide a lot of really great information and that adaptive direction to work toward. 

• I am calm when interacting with money
• I trust myself to make wise financial decisions 
• I deserve to be well compensated for my work
• There are always plenty of clients coming my way 
• I can make rational choices with money in my business 
• My business attracts my ideal clients who will pay my rate
• I am worthy of having a business that supports my financial goals
• I am capable of setting my fees at a rate that feels aligned with my business and financial goals 
  
  

Setting Rates for EMDR Intensives 

Now, let's get into the practical stuff. I believe that EMDR Intensives are a high value, premium service. With that, I believe in charging a higher hourly rate for EMDR Intensives than for an ongoing hourly session rate. This allows me to work less hours and make the same or more money while also providing an accelerated and efficient, personalized therapy experience to my clients.

You are in charge of your business and you get to make the executive decisions on what rates you charge. There are a wide variation of fees for both regular therapy sessions and intensive sessions. This is going to vary based on your geographical location, your client base, your business model, etc. This is also going to vary over time, you will change your rates over time as your goals evolve. There is not a "right" answer here. 

If you too, would like to charge a higher rate for EMDR intensives than your standard session rate start with thinking about how much more you would like to charge. 10%, 20%, 30%? Do some calculations and see where those numbers land. Do those prices feel aligned with your business goals?

Example Calculation Forumla

This calculation is not a recommendation on pricing, but a generalized example on how to plug in your own rates to calculate potential fees. 

Hourly rate = $175

$175 / 60 minutes = $2.90 rate per minute

Increase by 20% 

$2.90 x 0.20 = $0.58 increase 

Intensive rate per minute

$2.90 (hourly rate) + $0.58 (increase amount) = $3.48 per minute 

Intensive rate per hour 

$3.48 per minute x 60 minutes = $208.80 per hour (round down to $200) 

Here is where you can make adjustments, I prefer easy numbers so I would either round this down to $200 or $205 or round it up to $210

Intensive rate per session 

$200 (intensive hourly rate) x 3 (number of hours in the intensive session) = $600 per 3 hour intensive session 

Bringing it All Together 

Notice what your immediate reactions were to reading the above example. Take some time to plug in your own numbers and draft some options. How do those numbers feel to you? 

Do those numbers feel like too much of a reach right now? If so, I encourage you to find a place to start that feels tolerable and start there. 

Do those numbers feel empowering? I encourage you to go bold and try it out! 

You are in charge of setting the rates. You can experiment with this. You can adapt and change it as it evolves.