Private Pay Practitioners Premium Podcast

DJ Burr

Private pay isn't a dream. It's a decision. And this podcast is for the therapists who are making it. Each week I sit down with private pay practitioners and industry experts who are actually doing the work -- building sustainable practices, ditching insurance, and creating businesses that don't require their burnout to survive. Real conversations. Practical strategies. Let's get to work. New episodes biweekly. Join 17,000+ therapists at privatepaypractitioners.com

  1. 8h ago

    S2E49 | Land, Lineage and Liberation | Laura Marques Brown, LCPC

    Laura Marques Brown is a first-generation daughter of Brazilian immigrants who built a six-figure private pay practice after years of undercharging and self-doubt. She told me, "being a martyr is not helping anybody because you're not well." Listen for Land, Lineage, and Liberation, and for why "just set better boundaries" misses the real cause of burnout, especially for therapists from the global majority. Laura is opening 10 founding member spots in her Rooted Practitioner Blueprint, $2,400 for 12 months with 12 one-to-one mentorship sessions, before the price goes to $5,600 when those spots fill. Learn more at Natureza Coaching Collective: https://www.naturezacoachingcollective.com If this episode has you thinking about your own rate or your next move, book a 90-minute strategy session at www.privatepaypractitioners.com. You do not have to figure this out alone. Laura Marques Brown, LCPC, Natureza Therapy and Natureza Coaching Collective: https://www.naturezacoachingcollective.com

  2. 4d ago

    S2E48 | The Universe Had Different Plans | Dr. Savanna Parker, PsyD

    Dr. Savanna Parker launched her Washington practice part-time in February. She planned to build slowly, then went full time in four weeks. She told me, "I'm where I'm supposed to be." Listen for the move from virtual to an office and the rate move from $200 to $225. If this episode has you thinking about your own rate or your next move, let's talk. Book a 90-minute strategy session at www.privatepaypractitioners.com. You do not have to figure this out alone. Dr. Savanna Parker, PsyD, Rooted Self Psychology, PLLC: https://www.rootedselfpsychology.com

  3. Oct 28

    S2E47 | Falling Off a Cliff and Trusting Yourself to Figure It Out | Ryn Rising (they/them)

    Ryn Rising is licensed in Oregon, lives in the Netherlands, and works with neurodivergent, queer, and polyamorous clients. This is their very first podcast. About a month ago Ryn went private pay only. They told me what that feels like. "It does feel to a certain extent that you're like falling off a cliff not knowing if there's a net underneath." Then they said the part I want you to hear. "I will figure it out. It may not be on this person's timeline, on that person's timeline, but I will figure it out. And I trust myself to figure it out." Listen to the full conversation for the move, the rates, and the vision I gave Ryn for 2027. Bring the damn chair. If this episode has you thinking about your own leap, let's talk. Book a 90-minute strategy session at www.privatepaypractitioners.com. Ryn Rising: innerrisingwellness.com and innerrising.nl Facebook: Inner Rising Instagram and TikTok: the human therapist rising

  4. Oct 21

    S2E46 | Ten Years in the Air Force, Then Private Pay From Day One | Deanna Barrett, MFT

    Deanna Barrett spent ten years in the US Air Force and three years in tech, ending at Meta. Then she got her master's in marriage and family therapy and opened a private pay practice in April 2026. She is three months in and she is telling the truth about what that looks like. She focuses on couples work, specifically blended families, communication breakdowns, and the emotional disconnect that happens when partners stop feeling like teammates. She is getting certified in Relational Life Therapy, which she describes with their saying: strong back, soft heart. Direct with clients, warm in delivery. We talked about why she chose private pay from day one (she watched her supervisor argue with insurance companies over clawbacks during her internship and saw associates pushed to 25 to 30 clients a week), what ten years of capped military pay taught her about autonomy, why she turned down a $60 EAP rate without apology, the slow reality of networking as a new practice owner (20 clinicians reached out to, 7 responded, 3 meetings), why she does not take couples who really need discernment counseling, and why having different entry points to your services matters when someone says you are too expensive. She also said something I want every new private pay therapist to hear. "I have found that if it's not a good fit and that's not within your scope, don't do it. You're doing yourself a disservice and you're really doing them a disservice as well." Deanna is in the Austin, Texas area and she is starting her PhD in family systems this August. She is doing all of it at once. If this episode has you thinking about what your first 90 days could look like, let's talk. Book a 90-minute strategy session at privatepaypractitioners.com. Deanna Barrett: healingwithDeanna.com Instagram: Healing with Deanna

  5. Oct 14

    S2E45 | You Don’t Know What’s Happening in Your Nervous System Until You Stop | Vickery Rendall, LICSW

    Vickery Rendall was going to die in the ER. That was the plan. Then she ran out of PTO. She spent over a decade in emergency rooms and medical units across four Washington hospitals. Code blues. Sexual assault exams. Mental health evaluations at the most acute moments of people’s lives. She did not know what it was doing to her nervous system until she stopped. Now she is building Coastal Trauma in Bellingham, Washington, a private pay practice for the people who have been living that world their whole careers and have never had a therapist who actually understood what they were walking into every day. We talked about what those years in the ER actually looked like and what the body was holding that the mind had learned to ignore. The 16-month Regents depaneling trap that a mental health lawyer could not find a way around. Why her clients worry their stories will be too much for the therapist. Why adding more trainings is sometimes about legitimizing the fee rather than trusting what she already knows. What her EMDR and IFS intensives are starting to make possible. And what it means to finally open a physical office after building entirely in telehealth. She also mentioned something about retreats on boats. I love that idea. If this episode got you thinking about what you are sitting on and whether you are trusting it, let’s talk. Book a 90-minute strategy session at privatepaypractitioners.com. Vickery Rendall: coastaltrauma.com

  6. Oct 12 ·  Bonus

    Bonus Episode - Member Spotlight - Tiffany Green

    Tiffany Green has been in the Founders Circle for almost two years. Private pay in Chicago for five. In that time she raised her rates, started offering 90-minute sessions because her clients kept asking, and stopped doing Saturday morning consults she never wanted to do in the first place. My favorite part of our conversation: she told me about waking up early for a Saturday consult that no-showed, and I just asked her, do you even want to be up on a Saturday morning? She said no. So she stopped. That's the whole thing. Permission to build the practice around your actual life. In her words: "if you wanted to hire a coach, it is better to hire somebody who has done exactly the thing you want to do." And on the cost compared to other programs: "it was like a no brainer." Tiffany's practice is Charism Counseling Center. Go follow her work. If you want in on these conversations, the premium community is where they happen. Bonus episodes, monthly gatherings, and direct access to me. https://www.patreon.com/privatepay Come sit with us.

    Bonus Episode - Member Spotlight - Tiffany Green

  7. Oct 7

    S2E44 | I Can't Fight the System While Being in the System | Private Pay, EMDR Intensives & Getting Free | Anna Parker, LICSW

    Anna Parker opened her practice last year and was full within two to three months. On insurance. She is a licensed independent clinical social worker based in Spokane, Washington, and the founder of Changing Tides PNW. She spent eight years in community mental health before going solo. She works with trauma, LGBTQIA folks, and late-diagnosed high-masking autistic and ADHD adults. She is also late-diagnosed AuDHD herself, and that shapes everything about how she practices. She cannot sustainably see 24 people a week. She is trying to find her way out. We talked about why the writing is on the wall for insurance practices right now. What happened with CAQH and the data systems that are making practitioners rightfully nervous. What her EMDR and IFS intensives actually look like and why the investment changes how clients show up. Why she keeps signing up for trainings she does not need when she already has three streams of income running. And the niche clarity question she is still working through. She also said the thing I think a lot of people have been feeling but not saying out loud. I can't fight the system while being in the system. If this episode resonated with where you are right now, let's talk. Book a 90-minute strategy session at privatepaypractitioners.com. Anna Parker: changingtidespnw.org

  8. Sep 30

    S2E43 | You Don't Have to Play by Other People's Rules | Private Pay, Neurodivergence & Building Your Way | Mattea LeWitt, LCSW

    (Mattea rhymes with great idea.) Mattea LeWitt just launched her practice this year, went private pay from day one, and came in already knowing what she refuses to do. She is a licensed clinical social worker based in Philadelphia and the founder of Philadelphia Social Work. She specializes in helping sensitive and neurodivergent adults set boundaries so they can stop dropping the ball in their personal lives and at work. She also has a background in theater, which comes through every time she opens her mouth. She skipped the insurance on-ramp entirely. Built her rate around the caseload she actually wants, not around fear. And she is already thinking about CE courses and public speaking even though she just started. We talked about why the conventional wisdom around starting with insurance actually costs you. The difference between marketing and helping the right people find you. Why therapists have been conditioned to believe they are personally responsible for fixing the healthcare system. And what it looks like to build something from scratch when you already know the rules you refuse to follow. She also networked live on air. Asked the audience to reach out. I told her that was smart. Because it was. If this episode lit something up for you, let's talk. Book a 90-minute strategy session at privatepaypractitioners.com. Mattea LeWitt: philadelphiasocialwork.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mattealewitt

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About

Private pay isn't a dream. It's a decision. And this podcast is for the therapists who are making it. Each week I sit down with private pay practitioners and industry experts who are actually doing the work -- building sustainable practices, ditching insurance, and creating businesses that don't require their burnout to survive. Real conversations. Practical strategies. Let's get to work. New episodes biweekly. Join 17,000+ therapists at privatepaypractitioners.com

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