What happens when a therapist charges $600 per session and becomes the target of criticism, projection, outrage, and endless commentary from other therapists? In this powerful and provocative episode, Tiffany sits down with a mystery guest we’ll call Maverick—a Canadian trauma therapist who built a thriving premium fee practice and now charges $600 per session for deeply relational trauma work. Maverick shares the emotional reality of raising fees, the backlash they faced from colleagues, the clinical implications of becoming the “bad object,” and why so many therapists remain trapped in martyrdom disguised as ethics. This conversation goes far beyond pricing. It’s about desire. It’s about self-abandonment. It’s about what becomes possible when therapists stop organizing their lives around being perceived as “good.” And it may completely change the way you think about money, power, accessibility, capitalism, and clinical work.
Listen to the episode:
In this episode we cover:
- Why Maverick chose to remain anonymous—and the surprising amount of hate they receive for charging $600 per session
- The journey from charging $80 per session to $600 in just two years
- Why simply raising your fee is not the hard part
- The emotional and identity-level work therapists face when stepping into premium fees
- How therapist training reinforces self-abandonment and martyrdom
- What therapists get wrong about accessibility, privilege, and client decision-making
- Why therapists often assume they know what clients can and cannot afford
- The clinical importance of becoming the “bad object”
- How fee conversations mirror relational trauma dynamics
- Why many therapists unconsciously organize their practices around avoiding discomfort
- The difference between living in fantasy versus living in reality
- How Maverick learned to stop collapsing criticism into “I am bad”
- Why being well-rested, well-trained, well-supported, and financially secure makes therapists better clinicians
- The connection between premium fees and providing transformational trauma therapy
- Maverick’s take on capitalism, social justice, and why therapists are often the wrong target
- Why AI will replace many forms of transactional therapy—but not deeply relational work
- The future of private practice and what therapists need to do to remain valuable
- How therapists unknowingly model self-abandonment to clients through their businesses
- What therapists lose when they prioritize being liked over being effective
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About The Money Sessions
The Money Sessions is the podcast for therapists who are ready to stop treating money as separate from clinical work.
Each week, Tiffany McLain brings you honest conversations about private practice, premium fees, therapist identity, wealth, desire, marketing, and the emotional realities of building a sustainable business.
Because the therapist you become when you’re financially resourced is often the therapist your clients need most.
If this episode resonated with you, share it with a therapist who needs to hear it. And if you’re ready to build a premium fee private practice, email tiffany@leaninmakebank.com with the word Ready.
