As therapists, most of us were never taught how to run a business—let alone how to manage money, payroll, hiring, or leadership in a way that’s both ethical and sustainable.

Licensed therapist and group practice owner Gordon Brewer and I talk openly about money mindset, generosity, boundaries, hiring mistakes, and what it really takes to create a financially sustainable group practice without burning yourself out or sacrificing quality of care.

If you identify as a people-pleaser, an over-giver, or a “nice” leader who are quietly paying the price for unclear boundaries, this episode is for you.

Gordon opens up about what didn’t work when building his group practice, what had to change, and how learning to lead with clarity—rather than guilt—ultimately benefited both his team and his business.

“Being kind means setting expectations and boundaries, so people know what to expect. Being nice often means avoiding those conversations—and that’s where things fall apart.” — Gordon Brewer

Gordon shares how over-giving with compensation, avoiding hard conversations, and underestimating the importance of clear financial systems led to stress and instability in his practice. Through hiring missteps, money mindset work, and implementing Profit First, he learned that sustainable leadership requires clarity, boundaries, and a willingness to course-correct.

(00:04:16) Gordon’s Journey to Owning a Group Practice and Hosting a Podcast

(00:09:37) Sustainability Over Generosity: Lessons in Business

(00:13:08) Navigating Money Stigma in Group Practice Ownership

(00:17:51) Money Management and Hiring Lessons

(00:20:05) How Boundaries and Values Shape Your Success with Finances

(00:23:39) Parenting: Commands Disguised as Questions

(00:27:03) Employee Benefits vs. Contracting

(00:31:07) Planning for Financial Stability and Rebuilding a Sustainable Practice

(00:36:43) How to Avoid Over-Giving in Your Private Practice

Gordon’s reflections highlight a truth I see again and again in my work with therapists: sustainability doesn’t come from good intentions alone. It comes from aligning your values with clear business decisions, financial transparency, and leadership that supports everyone involved—including you.

Key takeaways you can apply right now:

Run the numbers before calling something “generous.”

High splits, low fees, or extra perks aren’t generous if they put your practice at risk. Sustainability is what allows generosity to continue.

Being “nice” can quietly lead to burnout.

Avoiding boundaries and hard conversations may feel compassionate in the moment, but it often creates resentment and instability over time.

Kind leadership is clear leadership.

Setting expectations upfront—and holding people to them—is one of the most respectful things you can do for your team.

Money stories shape business decisions more than we realize.

Beliefs about greed, selfishness, or worthiness often come from family or faith backgrounds and deserve to be examined—not blindly obeyed.

It’s never too late to course correct.

Gordon’s willingness to rebrand, rebuild systems, and restructure his business model created a healthier practice that better served everyone involved.

If you’re noticing patterns of over-giving, financial stress, or people-pleasing in your practice, I hope this episode helps you feel less alone—and more empowered to lead with clarity and confidence. Sustainable, ethical business decisions aren’t a betrayal of your values. They’re how you protect them.

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As therapists, many of us feel a deep tension when it comes to pricing—especially when we’re creating group offers, workshops, or professional-facing experiences during uncertain social, political, and economic times.

In this coaching episode, I sit down with trauma therapist Kim Torrence to explore what really comes up when we try to assign value to our work: fears about accessibility, old beliefs about service and self-sacrifice, money shame, and the pressure to “get it right” before we ever put an offer out into the world.

This conversation goes far beyond the math of pricing. Together, we unpack the emotional and mindset barriers that often keep therapists stuck offering their most meaningful work for free or far below what’s sustainable.

If you’re navigating private practice finances, pricing group offers, or wondering how to honor both your values and your own well-being, this episode is here to support you with clarity, reassurance, and grounded next steps.

We talk about why pricing is deeply connected to mindset and visibility, not just numbers, and how perfectionism or overcomplicated tech can quietly keep meaningful offers stuck on the sidelines. Our conversation centers on starting simply, naming your value clearly, and allowing confidence to build through real-world action.

(00:06:02) Helping Others Through Feelings of Loneliness

(00:07:17) Operating Business as Usual During a Crisis

(00:12:16) Valuing Self-Care for Therapists

(00:14:50) Authentic Healing for Deep Thinkers

(00:18:29) B2B Value and Pricing Insights

(00:21:18) Valuing Group Offerings Effectively

(00:24:52) Self-Worth and Vulnerability

(00:26:36) Creating a Supportive Success Container

(00:31:57) Gather Feedback, Build Testimonials

(00:33:42) Stop Overcomplicating Your Work

(00:36:24) Owning Your Value in Practice

If Kim’s experience feels familiar, you’re not alone. Here are a few reflections and actions I invite you to consider as you navigate pricing, worthiness, and financial sustainability in your own practice:

1. Give your offer the credit it deserves.
2. Even a lunch-hour workshop or short group can be deeply transformational. Duration and ease do not determine impact.
3. Price for the right people, not everyone.
4. Instead of focusing on who can’t afford your offer, get clear on who it’s truly for—especially when your work supports other professionals who carry that value forward into their own communities.
5. Separate worth from accessibility narratives.
6. Pricing your work sustainably doesn’t make you selfish or out of touch. It allows you to keep showing up, serving, and caring for yourself long-term.
7. Keep it simple and start anyway.
8. You don’t need a perfect website, branding, or tech stack. A clear Google Doc explaining who the offer is for, why it matters, and how to join is more than enough to begin.

Your skills, knowledge, and presence—yes, even in a modest group format—are valuable. Pricing them too low doesn’t make your work more accessible; it often just makes it harder to keep...

As we begin to take our financial needs seriously—raising fees, setting boundaries, and valuing our work—those shifts don’t stay contained to our businesses. They often ripple into our personal lives, especially our friendships. In this episode, I talk about what can happen when we move from self-sacrifice to self-advocacy, and how that transition can quietly (or painfully) change the dynamics of the relationships we’ve built.

I explore why some friendships feel strained when old patterns of caretaking and over-giving no longer fit, and I name the very real grief that can come with outgrowing relationships that once felt safe or familiar. This isn’t about blame or “doing friendships wrong.” It’s about understanding that growth—especially financial and personal growth—can be both liberating and tender at the same time.

If you’ve ever felt conflicted between honoring your own needs and preserving friendships you care about, this episode is for you. I offer a compassionate lens for making sense of these changes and reassurance that while some connections may fall away, others—often deeper and more mutual—can emerge in their place.

(00:01:45) Noticing Your Personal Needs as Your Practice (and Life) Evolves

(00:05:18) Boundaries, Self-Worth, and Shifting Toward Mutual Relationships

(00:08:37) How Changing Beliefs About Money and Systems Can Create Distance

(00:12:49) Grieving Friendships That No Longer Fit Who You’re Becoming

(00:13:59) Making Space for New or Deepened Connections

As I’ve grown in my own relationship with money and self-worth—and as I’ve supported hundreds of therapists in growing their practices, earning more, and redefining what success looks like—I’ve seen this pattern again and again. When we stop undercharging, over-giving, or minimizing ourselves, our internal shifts often ripple outward into our friendships and relationships. As our values around money, time, and worth evolve, the relational landscape can change in ways that feel confusing, tender, or even unsettling at first.

Here are a few reflections to hold as you navigate this season:

1. Valuing your time changes relational expectations When your time and energy matter more to you, friendships rooted in imbalance may feel harder to sustain.
2. Honoring your needs can reveal misalignment Some relationships deepen when both people embrace self-advocacy; others struggle when old roles no longer apply.
3. Growth often brings both grief and renewal It’s normal to mourn what’s changing—and also to make room for friendships that align with who you’re becoming.

Financial self-care doesn’t just affect your business—it shapes how you show up in relationships. If you’re feeling sadness, confusion, or even relief as friendships evolve, you’re not doing anything wrong. You’re growing. And on the other side of that growth, there is space for connection that feels more mutual, supportive, and true to you.

Are you a Solo Private Practice Owner?

I made this course just for you: Money Skills for Therapists. My signature course has been carefully designed to take therapists from money confusion, shame, and uncertainty – to calm and confidence. In this course I give you everything you need to create financial peace of mind as a therapist in solo private practice.

Want to learn more?