E167: Our Industry’s Toxic Relationship to Money: What it Costs Us All

There are people out there who want therapy and can easily afford $300, $400, even $500 per session.

They’re not rare.
They’re not mythical.
They’re not just in Silicon Valley or Manhattan.

They’re everywhere.

But many of them will never walk through your door — not because they don’t need therapy, and not because they don’t value therapy.

They won’t come because they don’t trust therapists around money.

In this episode, Tiffany pulls back the curtain on a dynamic that’s quietly shaping the future of our profession: the toxic relationship therapists have with money — and how it’s pushing well-resourced clients away from therapy altogether.

After a decade of working behind the scenes with therapists and hearing what’s really happening inside private practices, Tiffany shares the uncomfortable truth:

When therapists publicly shame wealth, criticize colleagues for charging premium fees, or martyr themselves financially, we don’t just hurt ourselves.

We damage the credibility of the entire profession.

And the clients who could most easily pay Life First Fees?
They see it.

They read the Facebook threads.
They watch the Instagram commentary.
They notice the resentment and the guilt around money.

And then they quietly go somewhere else.

Executive coaches.
Consultants.
Energy healers.
High-end coaching programs.

Not because those professionals are more qualified — but because they appear more confident about the value of their work.

Listen to the episode:

In this episode, Tiffany shares:

    • Why therapists with toxic money beliefs are unintentionally repelling well-resourced clients
    • How therapist culture often shames colleagues who want financial stability and freedom
    • Why people who can afford therapy are actively paying attention to how therapists talk about money
    • The hidden ways martyrdom and self-sacrifice show up in therapist business models
    • Why marketing strategies alone cannot fix a broken relationship with money
    • How unresolved attachment wounds often get projected onto financial exchanges with clients
    • What happens in sessions when therapists feel anxious, ashamed, or conflicted about charging fees
    • Why many high-income clients end up working with coaches instead of therapists
    • The professional authority therapists actually hold — and why we routinely undervalue it
    • How raising the bar around money conversations can elevate the entire field

    This episode is a direct call to therapists to step into professional leadership — not just clinically, but financially.

    Because therapy is not a charity model.
    It is a professional service grounded in deep psychological expertise.

    And when therapists treat it that way, clients respond accordingly.

    If we want a profession that is respected, sustainable, and capable of transforming lives, we have to transform how we talk about money.

    If you’re ready to build a Life First Practice and charge fees that support the life you actually want, email Tiffany at tiffany@leaninmakebank.com with the word “Ready.”

    Or apply to work together through the link in the show notes.

    It’s time for therapists to stop apologizing for earning well.

    It’s time to raise the bar — for ourselves, for our clients, and for the profession.

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    Resources mentioned

    Fun with Fees Calculator Email Tiffany: tiffany@leaninmakebank.com

    More about Tiffany

    Tiffany McLain, LMFT is a clinical fee strategist for therapists in private practice. Her mantra is, “Full fees are the new black.” Via her program, The Lean In. MAKE BANK. Academy, she helps therapists ethically earn 30 to 50% more per month while seeing fewer clients by showing them how to think about and directly address fees in a clinically appropriate manner. The Lean In. MAKE BANK. Academy is a program that addresses the underlying money mindset stories that keep therapists broke so they can become THAT therapist who charges premium fees, cash pay. With the LIMB 4-step framework to make BANK, regular coaching calls to help you go to the next level, a phenomenal community of funny and intelligent therapists, be ready to get real raw and real rich.

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    About the podcast

    The Money Sessions podcast by Tiffany McLain, LMFT is full of deep, thoughtful, and sometimes 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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    Set your fee the right way

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    Because therapists with more money have more capacity to make change