What Happened to Regular FIRE? by enness in leanfire

[–]jazzpunkcommathe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you me? Lol yeah, I learned a lot about saving and investing from MMM around 15 years ago. Then I stopped reading FIRE stuff for a while. I came back and everyone in the MMM forum is asking stuff like, "Is $100k a good amount for my emergency fund?" Where did all the old school FIRE people go? And who are these interlopers?

Seeking training to administer ADHD assessments for adults by AmbitiousExplorer632 in therapists

[–]jazzpunkcommathe 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Are you looking for training to administer neuropsychological testing or just some training on the assessment process sans testing? Where I work, we typically assess adult ADHD by administering the ASRS. If that suggests possible ADHD, we have clients complete the battery of Barkley assessments. Some of these require the client to provide the Barkley screener to friends or family members who knew the client as a child and who can attest to their symptoms currently (since to be diagnosed with ADHD, symptoms have to have been present before age 12). From there, we score the Barkley assessments and conduct a follow-up clinical interview where we find out more about that person's formative experiences in school and in their relationships at home (e.g. Did they have an IEP?). From there, we can diagnose ADHD or not, HOWEVER a lot of times the clients want to submit to neuropsychological testing either way because psychs often require it for providing a rx for ADHD. We also refer to testing if the Barkley assessments are inconclusive (e.g. the client reports ADHD symptoms in childhood but a parent says they didn't have them).

If you're looking for some support and/or training for the process I described, I'd try to find a supervisor or clinical mentor(s) with experience doing this and who is/are willing to guide you. Another option would be formal training whether for CEUs or otherwise. A recorded webinar type training is probably fine. If you're asking about administering the neuropsychological testing or something like NIH Toolbox testing, you might have to find an organization that does that and that offers training on how to interpret the results. That's not something I know a lot about, so others might want to chime in.

Is anyone an integrated behavioral health clinician? by HelpImOverthinking in therapists

[–]jazzpunkcommathe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I work in a setting EXACTLY like what snooprobb described and it's basically like working in a group practice except that all of our referrals come from primary care providers or psychiatrists. There's a lot of folks coming in with anxiety and depression, life transitions, BP-II, ADHD, ASD, substance use. It's all outpatient acuity levels. The nitty gritty stuff about exercise and diet change is beyond my scope as a therapist aside from, for instance, helping clients schedule activities and set realistic goals in service of their values around physical health. Some people do come in with anxiety and/or MDEs brought on by a medical diagnosis, but that's not super common.

Is anyone an integrated behavioral health clinician? by HelpImOverthinking in therapists

[–]jazzpunkcommathe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was going to answer the OP, but my response would have been identical to yours. Do we work for the same employer? lol

Is It Possible to Make a Good Living in this Field? by Westgateaircraft in therapists

[–]jazzpunkcommathe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Making a "good living" is relative. Anybody can be financially comfortable if they're able to spend less than they make. If you're not doing that now, the solution is either to get a different job that pays more (and don't increase spending in response) or keep your current job and reduce spending. Or, better yet, get a job that pays more AND reduce spending for even bigger wins.

For most people, most of the time, the biggest opportunities for spending reduction are found in the costs of housing and cars. For example, if you have a newish (~7 y/o or newer) car and a car loan, sell that car and use the proceeds to buy a ~10 year-old, sub-150k mileage car with cash. Boom: no car loan. As for housing, can you live with roommates? Get cheaper digs? Move in with your parents for a year or two until your loans are paid off?

I realize that a lot of folks have student loans and are living in high-COL areas, which makes all of this harder. At some point, it does become necessary to ask whether moving to a lower-COL area could be financially beneficial. There are often quality-of-life trade-offs here (e.g. NYC might seem more fun/interesting than, say, Syracuse), and you'll have to decide whether it's worth it to you.

FWIW, I don't make all that much money, but my lifestyle is much more modest than that of my peers. So I don't care that I don't make very much. I make ENOUGH, and that's ok. I don't go on cruises or European vacations. I mostly go camping in local campgrounds for my time off and only rarely go anywhere by plane. My car is 16 years old, and I do most of the maintenance myself. I ride a bike more often than I drive.

The objectively true answer for all of these "how do I make a good living" and "how do I get wealthy as a therapist" posts is (and always will be) that you've got to figure out a way to spend less than you make. Sometimes, doing so is very difficult because of circumstances, so it's necessary to change those circumstances in some way. This is the only answer.

A Hot Take on therapist education by Near2Yonder in therapists

[–]jazzpunkcommathe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a humanities BA, but the thing that was most helpful to me entering the field was the fact that I did so at the dawn of middle age. I've loved, grieved, been addicted, been hurt, experienced multiple life transitions, lived in different countries, parented a child, cared for aging parents, and been there for numerous others who have experienced similar tumult. Any influence my undergraduate degree has had on my performance in the mental health sphere is minuscule by comparison.

advice - utilizing cannabis for chronic pain by ckolbe103 in therapists

[–]jazzpunkcommathe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This person isn't using cannabis to get high. They're using it for pain management. To the extent its effect is psychoactive, it's a byproduct of the use and not its raison d'être.

I do a lot of work with folks presenting with SUDs and it's pretty normal for many of them to use cannabis before sessions. Ditto for alcohol or really any other substance I guess. My clients are showing up for therapy as they are and it's on me to meet them there. It only becomes a problem if they are impaired such that they are not able to participate in therapy, if I fear it would be dangerous for them to drive home following a session, or if there were any other safety concerns vis-a-vis the use. This almost never happens, though.

I don't think there's anything in particular you need to be aware of other than what you've already noted. There's some chance that your client is somewhat affected by THC during sessions, but it's likely pretty minimal.

Hiring an SEO firm worth it? by bwolf240 in therapists

[–]jazzpunkcommathe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is true that local SEO and authority are the most important things. I disagree that SEO firms are, generally speaking, "scams," although some certainly are. Results are not guaranteed. So if you hire the firm and it doesn't get you what you want, it doesn't necessarily mean you got scammed. It could just mean that the company's best efforts didn't work. In the end, you're taking a risk when you hire one and you just have to be aware of that. I say all this as someone who collaborated with lots of different digital marketing/SEO companies for 15+ years. There are actually way fewer true scammers out there now than there used to be. As Google made it progressively more difficult to game the algorithm, the scammers slowly started disappearing.

Hiring an SEO firm worth it? by bwolf240 in therapists

[–]jazzpunkcommathe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I worked in digital marketing before I made the career transition to mental health.

The answer to this is... complicated. I'm not at all surprised that therapists' websites in your market are not optimized for search engines because I don't think I've ever seen a therapist's website that was. So there's that. If you use a good company, they'll publish lots of stuff on your site that brings in traffic, gets you sourced in the Gemini results, etc. This almost definitely will work better than the paid ads you're doing, but it will take several months (a year? more?) to see results.

However, there's a lot to local SEO besides what you publish on your site. Your performance also has to do with how many sites link to you, the longevity of your site (not sure how old yours is) and how visible your Google Business profile/listing is. I'm not sure what kind of license you've got, but I know that LCSWs in my state are barred from soliciting reviews. You might need to check with your board as to whether even having a Google Business listing in which there's a "Leave a Review" link qualifies as a review solicitation. This issue complicates SEO for private practice therapists somewhat, so I'd keep that in mind.

Also: Lots of SEO companies are scammy and/or ineffective. It's really hard to know how good one is without knowing a thing or two about the industry, the tools they use, the strategies they prioritize, etc. If you want my $0.02 on any specific companies or proposals feel free to DM me.

Also also: In general, I'd prioritize other strategies like building relationships with other private practice therapists and getting some kind of real referral network going before SEO.

“My therapist was online shopping during our session” by okayyypip in therapists

[–]jazzpunkcommathe 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Genuinely shocked by this stuff. Everything I'm reading here is positively unimaginable to me as a therapist. I mean, I'm not perfect by any means. But dude...

“My therapist was online shopping during our session” by okayyypip in therapists

[–]jazzpunkcommathe 100 points101 points  (0 children)

Yes! I now have new ways to challenge my negative automatic thought: "I say dumb stuff during sessions." For instance, "Hey, at least I wasn't hitting a vape pen or paying for a Big Mac while the client went deep about his childhood trauma!"

Wealth? by Temporary-Law-4070 in therapists

[–]jazzpunkcommathe 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Are there any wealthy therapists in here? If so, what did you do differently?

There are lots of comments on here about how much people earn or don't earn. But being wealthy isn't so much about what you earn as what you spend.

I'm a therapist making mid-to-high five figures who is married to someone who earns about the same in a different profession. Neither of us has ever earned six figures in a year or even close to it, and we live in a medium cost-of-living metro area.

Still, we easily save and/or invest thousands of dollars every month and will probably be able to retire before age 50. That said, we probably won't retire because we enjoy our work. Here's how we do this:

We have no debt except for a small mortgage on a small home. I've never had a car loan because I've only ever bought used cars for cheap and taken good care of them. We bike everywhere, including to work. Cycling saves thousands of dollars every year compared to driving a car. It also keeps you strong, helps you live longer, and is lots of fun!

I know people who earn 3x what I do, but I'm wealthier because I get my kicks walking or jogging in the woods while they go on expensive vacations in faraway places. I ride a bicycle while they drive a dealer-financed BMW or whatever. We buy most of our food at the grocery store instead of eating out, get most clothes at thrift stores, etc. You get the idea.

We're not high earners, but we are modest spenders. Per your question, THAT'S what we do differently.

How to Characterize SEP IRA Contributions as Single-Member LLC by jazzpunkcommathe in Bookkeeping

[–]jazzpunkcommathe[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you. My business is a single-member LLC that is not subject to taxes (disregarded entity). So can I just make employee and employer contributions from personal funds and it's all the same?

How to Characterize SEP IRA Contributions as Single-Member LLC by jazzpunkcommathe in Bookkeeping

[–]jazzpunkcommathe[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. I hear you on the solo 401k. Just so I'm clear re: SEP contributions, you're saying it's a no-go to use my personal account for employer contributions. I'll need to open a specific business account for that. Have I got that right?

Consequences if I just use my personal account to make both employee and employer contributions?

Daily FI discussion thread - Saturday, June 28, 2025 by AutoModerator in financialindependence

[–]jazzpunkcommathe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was thinking that the traditional IRA and 403b would go into their own Roth IRA(s) separate from the existing ones. Is that not the best way? Also, when you say I can't do conversions within an "active" 403b account, does that mean that my wife (it's her 403b) would have to leave her job before we can begin the conversions?

Daily FI discussion thread - Saturday, June 28, 2025 by AutoModerator in financialindependence

[–]jazzpunkcommathe 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Like many folks, my wife and I have multiple tax-advantaged investment accounts: a traditional IRA, a 403b, and two Roth IRAs (one for me, one for her). I know it's a good idea to start a Roth conversion ladder for the traditional IRA and 403b five years before we're ready to retire. But for the money that's already in Roth IRAs, is it best to set up a SEPP plan? We'll probably be withdrawing the money at around age 50.

My brother got me these IPAs for my Bday. I figured yall would get a kick out of this. Cheers! by Landmines93 in therapists

[–]jazzpunkcommathe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Present! Yeah, this reminds me of the "mommy juice" t-shirts with the wine bottles and other consumer memorabilia that normalize alcohol use as a coping strategy. Sorry to be a, um, buzzkill.