Get Off Insurance. Build a Practice That Pays You.
I went from $75 an hour on insurance to $400 an hour cash pay, with intensives that start at $10,000. And I'll show you how to get off insurance and fill your practice, one simple step at a time.
You didn't go to grad school to become a professional admin person. And you don't have to find the way out by yourself.
I See You. I Know How Heavy This Is.
You're brilliant. You went to school for years and years to do this work. You're good at it. And somehow you're getting paid less than you ever expected.
And yes, on paper it sounds great. Insurance pays you $150 an hour, or $180 an hour. But after you pay your billing person and all your overhead, you realize how small that number is. I was calculating it and we make about $75 an hour if we're lucky. And that's before you count the admin time. Hours of it. Calling insurance companies on the phone. Resubmitting the same claims you've been tracking for months and wondering what's going on and why you still haven't been paid. And then paying your admin person to make follow up calls just to get your own money back. It's like, come on.
You're juggling clients and all of the admin, and you're worried about getting audited because you can't keep up with the treatment plans and the detailed level of notes.
You're resentful that you give so much away for free.
You find yourself jealous of other people who aren't as polished as you are, and they're doing better anyway.
You've lost the drive you used to have. The fire. Some days you don't even want to show up for your clients. Some days you wonder if you should end your career, because it's not worth the money or the time if this is what you have to be. A professional admin person.
And then when you think about getting off insurance, the fear shows up.
You're probably worried you need to create massive change in your clients before anyone will pay you cash.
You're worried you won't be able to get off insurance fully. Or that you'll get scared and jump right back on every panel, because nobody's going to pay you and you're going to lose income.
You're questioning who is going to be able to afford $200 or $300 an hour.
You're afraid raising your rates will scare your clients away and they'll all leave.
You're worried money will change you. That other therapists will think you're acting like you're too good for them. That people will think you're greedy.
You're worried somebody will pay you and then find out you're not that good at what you do.
You were never trained in marketing, so you're worried you won't know how to do it. And all the marketing stuff out there is overwhelming.
You have a lot of certifications. EMDR, brainspotting, you name it, you've got it. Because you want miraculous outcomes for your clients. And it still doesn't feel like enough, so you think you need one more.
You Just Want Freedom.
You want to spend time with your family and the people you love. You want to go to yoga class and do your artwork and travel. You want to pay off your student loans and save up for a down payment on a house. You want a healthier lifestyle. You want to work less and create bigger change for your clients.
And I know the thought that stops you cold. I cannot add one more thing. I hear that. Hustling harder is what got you here in the first place. So I want to help you build something that fits your brain and your body, so you can stop bleeding out inside a system that was never going to thank you for it.
You're not greedy. You need a practice that's sustainable, and that's not what school taught you. I'm here to show you.
I've Been Exactly Where You Are. Here's How I Got Out and Why I'm Coming Back for You.
Licensed psychologist. 20+ years of clinical experience. Shamanic healer. Neurodivergent (ADHD). Latina. Queer. Mother of six.
Read My Story →Insurance Is Changing. And It's Changing Against You.
AI is taking over a lot of insurance. Insurers are talking about chatbots as the front door to mental health care and replacing therapists in a lot of ways. One major insurer already cut what it pays doctoral level therapists down to the master's rate. And Medicare already ties part of what it pays you to outcome scores, so what your clients report can move what you get paid.
If you're on insurance, your income depends on whatever they decide next. If insurance crumbles, you crumble with it. And the therapists who get hit hardest are the ones who had the least runway to begin with. BIPOC therapists. Queer therapists. Neurodivergent therapists. First generation professionals who built everything themselves with no margin for error.
A lot of the neurodivergent therapists I talk to are dealing with autoimmune stuff on top of all of it, and they don't have the money or the time to focus on their own healing. Getting on cash pay is how you get there.
This program is decolonial on purpose. It's trauma informed and justice centered and anti oppressive, and it puts your nervous system first. And it's built for the misfits, the ones who never fit the therapist mold. If that's you, you are welcome here. I built this because of you.
Nobody gets better, not your clients and not your community, until your business is stable enough to hold you.
And Your Clients Get More Too.
On insurance, your client is a diagnosis code with a session limit. Off insurance, you get to decide what the healing looks like. An intensive gives them hours with you, so the real trauma healing can happen, and nobody's watching a 53 minute clock.
You don't have to become some miracle worker to charge cash. You already know how to help people. The intensive gives you the room to do it. And that's why people pay for it. They need help, and their mental health matters more to them than almost anything else in their life.
Be Honest With Yourself About Whether This Is Your Moment.
This is for you if:
You're a licensed therapist, any license, and you feel trapped on insurance and you know it isn't sustainable
You want to get off insurance and you know it's possible, you just don't know where to start
You're neurodivergent, ADHD, autistic, AuDHD, somewhere in that constellation, and you need a business structure your actual brain can work with
You're BIPOC or queer, or you're the first in your family to get a professional degree, and you're tired of building wealth for everyone except yourself
You're spiritually rooted or decolonial in your practice, or you work with frameworks that don't fit neatly into a DSM code, and you're done hiding that
You feel overwhelmed by marketing and you're not sure you could attract the right people
You keep collecting certifications and it still doesn't feel like enough
You're ready to do the real work, the strategy and the emotional stuff, to build something that finally holds you
This is NOT for you if:
You aren't a licensed therapist. This program is built for licensed therapists and the legal and ethical realities that come with that.
You want a quick fix. This program takes commitment and real implementation work. If you can't show up and do the thing right now, this isn't the right fit yet.
You're not willing to look at your beliefs about money and visibility and how they're driving your current rates. The strategy is here. And it only works if you're willing to go there too.
What We're Building Together
Burn the Couch Therapist Academy is a beta group coaching program for licensed therapists who feel trapped on insurance and are ready to get off it and build a premium cash pay practice on their terms.
Format: Weekly 90 minute live group coaching calls. Monthly mindset and nervous system calls. A private community for peer support and accountability. Curriculum built for neurodivergent brains, with short videos and color coded materials paced for low spoon days.
By the end of the program, you will:
Be fully off insurance or have a clear, legally sound exit plan in your hands.
Know how to market to cash pay clients, because they're a different person to market to than someone who wants to use their insurance benefits.
Have your first therapy intensive or retreat designed and launched, with your pricing set and your intake system ready to use with clients right away.
Know how to attract premium clients who share your values and can pay your actual rate, without performing a version of yourself that doesn't feel real.
Have a marketing strategy that works with your nervous system and your identity. Simple, one thing at a time, and nothing copy and pasted from somebody else's audience.
Have done real work on the money blocks and the imposter syndrome, the stuff that's been keeping you undercharging for years.
Have a business set up legally and ethically to hold the income you're about to build.
What's included:
The Burn the Couch Framework: the exact system I used to get off insurance and go from $150 to $400 an hour
My signature method and all the marketing that goes along with getting off insurance
Legal intake paperwork for intensives, ready to use even if you're still on insurance
A to Z Business Freedom Plan: legal setup, ethical foundations, fee structures and offer design
Weekly live group coaching calls (90 minutes)
Monthly mindset and nervous system reset calls, with manifestation work woven in
Private community with accountability
What makes it different: Most business programs weren't built with you in mind. This curriculum is built for neurodivergent brains, and it respects how your brain works without dumbing anything down. The coaching is trauma informed and the framework is justice centered. And I'm not above you in this. I went first, and I'm in it with you, showing you the path.
Beta Round: $2,500. Regular price: $5,000, and it will never be this low again.
I'm Ready. Let's Go. →This Is What Your Practice Looks Like on the Other Side.
You're off insurance. No more resubmitting claims. No more paying someone to call and chase your own money.
You know what your intensive costs and you can talk about it without apologizing. And clients are paying for it.
You stopped taking on insurance clients who drain you and your income didn't drop. It went up.
You're marketing in a way that feels like you, your voice and your values, and the right clients are finding you because of it.
You're working fewer hours and making more money. You're at yoga class. You're doing your artwork. You're home for dinner with the people you love.
You're putting real money toward your student loans and your down payment.
The guilt about charging real rates is quieter now. It still shows up sometimes. And when it does, you have tools for it.
You're still in this field, still doing the work you were called to do, because your business finally has a foundation that can hold you.
You Have Questions. I Have Answers.
Who is going to pay me $200 or $300 an hour??+
People are out there looking for you right now. They want to pay you. They don't have your experience or your degree, and that's exactly why they're coming to you. They need help. And when somebody is struggling, their mental health is more important than anything else in their life. Your worth is more than $200.
If you're accepting insurance, you're only going to attract people who want to use their insurance benefits. Cash pay clients are a different person to market to. I'll make it simple and straightforward and help you get people rolling in.
I'm scared to leave insurance. What if I can't get off fully, or I panic and jump back on every panel?+
Of course you're scared. You're leaving the only income model you've ever known. You don't have to quit insurance tomorrow. The program includes a phased exit plan that's legally and ethically grounded, and you leave when you're ready and when the numbers make sense. So you're bringing cash pay clients in while you step back from the panels, and you're not betting your whole income on one day. We build the lifeboat before we leave the ship.
Do I need more certifications before I can charge more?+
No. You're good as you are. You're a gem and a beautiful human being, and you don't need another certification. EMDR, brainspotting, whatever's next, one more training isn't going to be the thing that makes you enough. And you don't have to create some miraculous change in your clients to be worth cash pay. The work you already do is why they come to you.
There are all kinds of coaches out there making a crap load of money off people without any credentials at all. You're already more qualified than most of them.
What if people think I'm greedy? Or they pay me and find out I'm not that good?+
You're not greedy. You need to be sustainable.
And that voice telling you they'll find out has a name. It's imposter syndrome, and almost every therapist who has been underpaid for years carries it. We all make mistakes. You can get past them with the right mentorship, especially from a therapist who has already been there, done that and is ready to show you the way. This program goes straight at the money blocks and cultural scripts that make charging your actual rate feel impossible.
I'm already exhausted. Will I have the capacity for this?+
I hear this every time, and I built this curriculum with you in mind. Short video modules, color coded for low spoon days. The weekly calls are 90 minutes. And the community is there for the in between days when you need it. This program is about rearranging what's already on your plate so you can finally put down the things that are breaking you.
I hate marketing. Can I still do this?+
What you hate is the kind of marketing you've been told to do. The kind that doesn't fit your brain or your values. I'm neurodivergent too and I've been overwhelmed by all of it. So we simplify it and focus on one thing at a time. The Burn the Couch Framework helps you find the approach that works for you, one that's aligned with your nervous system and how you want to show up. Some of my clients never post on social media. Some do. There's more than one way to fill a practice.
How much access do I get to you?+
You'll be on live calls with me every week and I'm in the private community with you. You can also get direct coaching inside the group. I'm in this with you. I don't record a course and disappear on you.
I've tried business programs before. How is this different?+
I know it's hard to trust coaches out there right now. Most business programs are built for a general audience that's mostly white and neurotypical and already working in a market that sees their value. This one is built for licensed therapists, and specifically for those of us who have never fit the mold. The framework and the community are ours. The strategy is rooted in who you are, the real you, without sanding you down to be palatable. If you've tried other programs and felt like they were built for someone else, you were right.
The Extras I Wish Somebody Had Handed Me.
1:1 Strategy Session with Dr. Angie
A private session on your niche, your offers, your website, your marketing and your nervous system capacity. You'll leave with a clear 90 day action plan built around your actual brain and your actual life.
Therapy Intensive Workbook
My exact intensive layout and intake paperwork, ready to use with your own clients right away. You don't have to build this from scratch. What took me years to figure out is in your hands on day one.
I'm Not Going to Leave You Stuck. That's a Promise.
Show up and do the work in the core modules. If you've done that and by the end of the program you're still stuck on designing or launching your intensive, I'll extend your support for another month or two at no extra cost until you get there.
If you do the work, I will not leave you behind.
You've Worked Too Hard to Walk Away. Don't Let Insurance Take You Down.
If nothing changes, nothing changes. Another damn year of submitting claims and absorbing the losses, wondering if this was supposed to feel this hard. Another year of $75 an hour. You're good as you are. You don't have to keep proving yourself. The system you're inside was never built to pay you what you're worth. And misfits like us are the ones most likely to burn out and leave this field for good. Your clients can't afford for that to happen. This field can't afford for that to happen. And you have worked way too hard to walk away.
People are looking for you. They want to pay you.
This is the Beta Round. First cohort. The lowest this program will ever be. Limited spots. After this the price doubles, and it should, because that's what it's worth.
You didn't survive everything you've survived to keep undercharging for your gifts. You went into this field because something in you knew people needed what you have. And that knowing was right. It was the business model you got handed that was broken.
Come get off insurance with me. I'll be right there.
Talk to Me First.
If you want to talk it through before you join, book a free Freedom Call. It's just for therapists, and it's one call per person.
We'll talk about where you are with insurance right now and what's been keeping you stuck. And we'll figure out together if the Beta is the right fit for you. If it's not, or it's not the right time, that's okay. No pressure. You'll still leave with a clearer next step.
Book My Free Freedom Call