Episode #774: How Many Clients a Week Is Actually Sustainable?

Summary

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Abundant Practice Podcast – Episode #774

“How Many Clients a Week Is Actually Sustainable?”

Host: Allison Puryear
Guest: Rebecca Smith
Date: July 11, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on a persistent and crucial question for therapists in private practice: How many clients per week is actually sustainable—for both your mental health and financial goals? Allison Puryear is joined by Rebecca Smith, a graduate of the Limitless Practice program and current Team Abundance member, to discuss how therapists can define a sustainable caseload tailored to their unique circumstances. The conversation moves beyond arbitrary numbers to explore personal energy, life stages, and the importance of aligning your fee with your preferred caseload.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Myth of a “One-Size-Fits-All” Caseload

• Numbers from Different Sources: Therapists hear wildly differing suggestions (15 to 30 clients/week), creating confusion and anxiety about what’s “normal” or “healthy” ([00:48]).
• Quote (Rebecca):

  “I keep hearing different numbers from different people about how many clients a week is actually sustainable long term. I want to build a practice I can maintain for the next decade without burning out, but I also have real financial goals that require a certain income. How do therapists figure out their own number?” ([00:48])

• Permission to Choose: Allison stresses that there is no universally “correct” number; what matters is sustainability for you.

  “Yeah, whatever number you want is okay. You get to pick.” – Allison ([02:20])

2. Agency/Group Practice Experience vs. Private Practice

• Burnout from Agency Numbers: Old standards (like 26 clients/week) were often set by agencies and don't account for individual needs or outside responsibilities ([03:27]).
• Quote (Allison):

  “Often those numbers aren't sustainable... 26 is a great number for people who do not have a lot of demands on their life.” ([03:25])

3. Factors That Influence Your Ideal Number

• Life Stage & Responsibilities: The “sandwich generation” (caring for kids, aging parents, clients, etc.) often need a lower caseload to avoid burnout ([03:30]).
• Trial & Error Is Key: Start with a number, test how you feel, and adjust.

  “You’ve got to kind of try different numbers out, honestly.” – Allison ([04:15])

• Signs of Overload: Short temper, irritability, and emotional exhaustion at home are red flags ([06:10]).
• Quote (Rebecca):

  “It’s not just tired, it’s like irritable... You just feel like you just don’t—‘don’t talk to me about your day.’” ([06:13])

4. Financial Reality: Align Fee with Caseload

• Fee Structure Must Match Caseload: Set your session rates based on the number of sessions you can handle without burnout ([07:09]).

  “I want you to base your fee based on that number... figure out what you need to make and then what you need to charge per session.” – Allison ([06:25])

• Account for Real Time Off: Don’t calculate with only two vacation weeks; six weeks off a year is a healthier baseline ([07:38]).

  “If it is realistic [to only take two weeks off], I’m really sorry for your life...” – Allison ([07:19],[07:38])

5. Self-Worth & Boundary Work

• Therapist Martyrdom: Many therapists struggle with issues around over-giving and self-sacrifice; these need to be unpacked for sustainability ([09:13]).

  “Some of us, we’ve got some stuff to work out around martyrdom, around saving people, around sacrificing.” – Allison ([09:13])

• Better Self-Care = Better Therapist: You serve clients best when your energy and finances are stable.

  “You will be a better therapist, period, if you are taking great care of yourself, making enough that you are not worried about money, and seeing the number of clients you want to see.” – Allison ([09:43])

6. Niche, Marketing, and Aligned Practice Design

• Niche Connects Everything: The right clients (via niching and smart marketing) allow you to charge a premium, further supporting a sustainable caseload ([10:22]).

  “It all folds in to be like, this is such an aligned practice that fits you so well. And that includes how many a week and what I’m charging and how much vacation am I taking.” – Rebecca ([10:22])

• Vacation Guilt: Rebecca shares a story about a therapist working during vacations—a cautionary tale about boundaries ([11:13]).

7. "Your Number" Is Unique—Honor It

• No Comparison Trap: Whether it’s 12 or 26 clients, own what works for you ([11:45], [12:00]).
• Choose Fee and Caseload Simultaneously: These decisions must happen together to build a sustainable business ([12:14]).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Rebecca on Social Comparison:

  “It truly, truly, truly does not matter what your friend’s caseload looks like. Yours might be 12. It might be 26.” ([11:49])

• On Flexibility:

  “You just need to make sure you set a fee that is appropriate for the number of clients you want to see.” – Allison ([12:14])

• On the Fee-Number Link:

  “They’re like locked in—fee and number. You can’t break those two apart.” – Rebecca ([12:19])

• Worksheet Mention:
  The hosts reference a “sessions per month formula” worksheet available via Show Notes or by messaging for support ([12:26]).

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Timestamps of Important Segments

• [00:48]: Listener question introduced—how many clients per week is sustainable?
• [02:20]: Permission to create your own definition of “full.”
• [03:25]: The agency standard (26 clients) commentary & context.
• [04:19]: Rebecca’s burnout story: From 35 clients/week to a sustainable schedule.
• [06:10]: The energy & life-quality test: How do you feel when you get home?
• [07:09]: Structuring your rates around your desired caseload; importance of factoring in real-life interruptions and time off.
• [09:13]: The deeper work behind setting boundaries and charging what you’re worth.
• [10:22]: How niching and aligned clients support a better practice.
• [11:39]: The story of a therapist unable to truly vacation—what not to do.
• [12:00]: Everyone’s sustainable number is unique.
• [12:26]: Introduction of the “sessions per month formula” worksheet.

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Key Takeaways

• There’s no universal “right” number of clients per week—choose what’s sustainable for you, considering life demands, energy, and financial needs.
• Your fee structure and expected number of sessions should be decided together and reflect your desired lifestyle.
• Real sustainability factors in regular, meaningful time off—not just for fun, but for life’s inevitable interruptions.
• Sustainable private practice also means addressing personal blocks around money, boundaries, and self-sacrifice.
• The number of clients you can sustainably see is not a benchmark for professional worth—comparison is not helpful.
• Use available tools and resources (like the worksheet) to calculate your ideal practice structure.

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Resources Mentioned

• Sessions per Month Formula Worksheet: Linked in Show Notes or available by messaging “worksheet.”
• Links to Abundance Practice Building resources for private practice support.

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For more episodes and in-depth private practice help, visit: www.abundancepracticebuilding.com

Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

Welcome to Ask Abundance. Y' all ask the questions about having a fun and thriving practice. We answer them. We have a worksheet for you today so you can bring this answer into your life. If you want support in your practice, we have you covered with on demand or one on one support. Links for the worksheet and support are in the show. Notes can't get enough Ask Abundance. Check out our YouTube channel for the entire library.

[A]

Hey.

[B]

Hey. Welcome back to Ask Abundance. I am joined today by Rebecca Smith. Rebecca is a limitless practice grad who came aboard Team Abundance. She has a premium fee private pay practice in New Orleans and she's really great at helping abundance therapists imagine what's possible for them. She's going to tell us today's question.

[A]

Yes, I am. Let's see, this one says I keep hearing different numbers from different people about how many clients a week is actually sustainable long term. I've heard everything from 15 to 30 and I don't know what to believe. I want to build a practice that I can maintain for the next decade without burning out. But I also have real financial goals that require a certain income. How do therapists figure out their own number and what factors should actually go into that decision?

[B]

Oh, I love it. Okay, real quick. I Want to thank TherapyNotes for sponsoring Ask Abundance. I've talked about them for years, know their features by heart, but what truly sets them apart is that they genuinely care about your experience. It's not just about troubleshooting. They actively implement user suggested features like secure messaging, clinical outcome tracking, and their AI notes feature. Therapy fuel. Everyone at TherapyNotes believes in the product and they want you to love it too. Plus, they are independently owned, which means no venture capital and no pressure to prioritize investors over customers. This independence allows them to keep their prices fair, focus on innovation, and prioritize customer experience. With over 100,000 therapists already on board, they've proven you don't have to compromise success for quality. If you're ready to see for yourself, try Therapy notes free for two months with the code [e-mail] all right.

[A]

I get this question at every limitless practice call. Allison. Yeah. So many people are like, I was like, well, what does full mean? And they're like, is this number okay?

[B]

And I'm like, yeah, whatever number you want is okay.

[A]

Get to pick.

[B]

Yeah. And I think that this comes from our experience in agencies where we are told how many clients we need to see and in group practices too. You need this. A minimum of this many People per week. And often those numbers aren't sustainable. I know there was a study when I was working in an agency, there was a study that came out that I have not been able to find, but it said any more than 26 clients a week is basically asking for burnout. And so my agency, we only saw 26 clients a week. And the rest of the 40 hour workweek was meetings and committees and that kind of stuff. Triage didn't count. So triaging people. And I think 26 is a great number for people who do not have a lot of demands on their life. Like, if you're just a super energetic person and you don't have other responsibilities outside of work and you're not marketing

[A]

if you're in an Agency doing 26.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Marketing, yeah.

[B]

So this is a complicated answer because if you're in a, I think of age and stage right, if you're a sandwich generation person and you are taking care of kids and you are taking care of aging parents and you are taking care of your clients and you are trying to be a partner and you are trying to be a friend, you need to see fewer people, flat out.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I think a lot of us come out of agency work or some group practice work, and it's like we've been running for so long that we think that number that we had to work is like, okay, ish. Maybe we want to see a few less, but we don't realize like our number, our ideal number may be way lower. You got to kind of try different numbers out. Honestly.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I mean, you were seeing 35 in your private practice, girl.

[A]

Like, I don't know. Last week I had a really weird week where I had a lot more than I usually do. And I had something. I think I had 26 or something like that. And I was like, I used to see, like, I was like tired and this week is way chiller. And I'm, I'm very happy. But I was like, this was not. This, this would have been a low week in my previous life. I am like so tired after this week. It was so wild to me. But it, it actually, it took like at least a year to realize how much better an appropriate number felt. Because before limitless practice, I was on insurance. I was not paid enough and I was seeing 35 clients a week. And when I dipped down after going off insurance, I was scared and I, I was thinking I needed more and realizing I was seeing like 20. And then I was also freaking out for 15 hours. So it really, I was still in that space. And so it takes a while to go back down to realize, like, maybe 15 is fine, maybe 20 is fine. But I. I love the way that this person, this person is asking like such a complete question because it's not just like, what's going to burn me out, it's also like, what's going to fund my life. That we have both those things.

[B]

Yeah. I think that there's coming at it from noticing how you feel. Let's say you're in an agency and you're noticing how you feel with different numbers of clients. If you have different numbers of clients come in each day, I like to gauge you by how much energy do you have when you get home? Because that's what I hear the most is I'm really, really pulling from the depths to even parent.

[A]

Yeah. Being short with my kids and grumpy.

[B]

Ye. Yeah.

[A]

It's not just tired. It's like irritable.

[B]

Yes. And like put upon. You just feel like you just don't

[A]

talk to me about your day. Like, I've heard about 15 people. I don't want to care. I don't care.

[B]

Yeah. So I would. If you're just now going into private practice, take a stab at a number. We don't need to be violent. Take a guess at a number. Ouch. Ouch. You may be wrong and some of this is going to be trial or error, but I want you to base your fee based on that number. I'm going to advocate for it being 24 or less based on what you need and want to make. I love the lean and make bake fun with fees. Calculator. But. So you can do that. Calculator. Figure out what you need to make and figure out what you then need to charge per session. If you're seeing. Say Your number is 21. If you're seeing 21 clients a week, then what is the. What does that mean your fee needs to be.

[A]

And accounting for like a good chunk of time off per year, not just because you want to go to Italy, but because you're going to get the flu and you're going to have to take it off anyway.

[B]

Yeah. And this is so funny because when I work with people who have been in agencies forever, they're like, yeah, two weeks off. And I'm like, okay, let's hit pause. Because that's not realistic. Or if it is realistic, I'm really sorry for your life.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I say a minimum of six weeks off is what you should account for. And if you're somebody who likes to travel a lot. And that is part of your plan more because, like I said, you're gonna get the flu or your kid's gonna get the flu. It's gonna be some. You're gonna have a snowstorm in a place that can't handle it. You're gonna have, you know, different things are gonna happen throughout the year. So even if you were like, well, I really only, like, I'm gonna take a week at. At the holidays. I'm going to take a few days at Thanksgiving. I'm going to take spring break off. That's just three weeks. Still say six.

[A]

Yeah, absolutely. And also noticing, why are you pulling back from that number? Why are you like, I guess, like, I could just work more and more and more. And it's not just about what you can do and what your energy level is. It's also about what is it like to ask for what you're worth. What is it like to charge something that is higher than you used to charge to be able to get to, you know, this person's like, I have real financial goals that require a certain income, first of all. Like, yes. And also there's probably other goals, too, not just financial goals. Goals that, like, people have financial goals so they can go to Italy. Right. Like, so they can do these things. And being able to, like, enjoy your life, your practice should be able to fund that life, both in making you enough to pay for it and also making you not work so much that you can't be there.

[B]

Right. Right. And some of us, we've got some stuff to work out around martyrdom, around saving people, around sacrificing. See this, with most therapists, we've got some flavor of that that, you know, is not surprising based on our job. Right. So we need to do some of that deeper work to unearth that. Take a look at it. See. See what to do with it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And you do not have to rake yourself over the coals to be a great therapist. In fact, I would. You will be a better therapist, period. Yeah. If you are taking great care of yourself, you are making enough that you are not worried about money. You're not having to do Django with your bills. You are seeing the number of clients you want to see, and you are seeing the presenting concerns you want to see. You will be a much better therapist and probably a much better friend and partner and parent and all of it.

[A]

And it all folds in on itself, like, all of that. Right. So. So, like, so much of the time, like, I think Our.

[B]

You.

[A]

And our favorite thing to talk about is niche and like, niching down and, And. And like, that is. That's great for marketing. Right. So then you can like, premium fee because all these people can. You can market to them effectively. But then it also makes you happier because you're good at your job, because you're seeing people who you align with very well. It all folds in to be like, this is such an aligned practice that fits you so well. Yeah. And that includes how many a week and what I'm charging and how much vacation am I taking. And also, oh, my God, Allison. I had this. This was like a couple years ago, I had this Limitless practice call and the therap like, oh, my gosh, I'm so excited to join Limitless because my goal is to. They would. They were. They love traveling. They did a lot of European travel. And she was like, every time I go to a new country, I. I get to go and tour and see the rest. Go to the restaurants and see where the museums. And then at night, I'm. I'm still working. And they're like, I have never been on a vacation that I didn't work during the vacation. And she was doing Limitless because she was going to go to Rome and like, literally not sleep the whole time because she's going to see her full caseload in the middle of the night.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I was like, no, that's not. No. So I was so glad when she joined.

[B]

But that's not happening anymore.

[A]

Yes. So I think too, it truly, truly, truly does not matter what your friend's caseload looks like. Yours might be 12. It might be 26.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I know for me, I have a little bit more energy. I like to see at least 20, if not like 22. Ish. But I also have friends who are like, 12 is my max and I'm never going above it. And I'm like, cool, girl. Yeah, that's fine.

[B]

And you just need to make sure you set a fee that is appropriate for the number of clients you want to see.

[A]

They're like, locked in fee and number. You can't break those two apart. You have to decide those the same time.

[B]

100. 100. So this worksheet today is going to be sessions per month formula. So that's helping you figure out some of these things. What you need to chart, like, all of it. If you're on the pod right now, you can go to the Show Notes to access that. If you're on social, then send me the word worksheet and I will send it your way. Well, thanks, Rebecca.

[A]

I'll see you later, Allison. Thanks.

[B]

Bye. If you're ready for a much easier practice, TherapyNotes is the way to go. Go to therapynotes.com and use the promo code abundant for two months free. I hope that helped. Please get in touch with any of your questions for askabundance. If you're listening, you probably need some support building your practice. If you're a super newbie, grab our free checklist using the link in the show notes. I'd love for you to follow, rate and review, but I really want you to share this episode with a therapist friend. Let's help all our colleagues build what they want.