If you are a licensed therapist in New York weighing a job at a large tech-backed mental health company against building your own practice, you are looking at two very different financial and professional paths. Both can work. But the math and the tradeoffs are rarely explained honestly by either side. Here is a clear comparison.
What the platforms offer
A steady stream of clients, no marketing, no billing, a predictable per-session payment and a simple onboarding. For a newly licensed clinician with no network, that is real value.
What they take
- Rate. Platform per-session pay for a 45 to 60 minute session in New York often lands between $60 and $95, with the platform collecting the difference from the client’s insurer or the client. A therapist in-network directly with the same insurer typically collects more for the same session.
- Control. The platform sets the fee, often the schedule, the documentation standards, and which clients you see.
- Portability. The clients belong to the platform. If you leave, they usually stay.
- Data. Your clinical work generates data the platform owns and may use.
What your own practice costs
Setup (entity, EHR, credentialing, website) runs a few thousand dollars and one to three months of time. Ongoing overhead for a telehealth-only solo practice in New York is often $500 to $1,200 a month. Marketing takes effort or money. The first six months are slower than a platform.
What your own practice earns
At 20 sessions a week, in-network at an average of $120 or self-pay at $150 to $200, a solo practice grosses roughly $115,000 to $200,000 a year before overhead. That is the same clinical work the platform pays $60 to $95 per session for. You also own the client relationships, the schedule and the data.
The middle path most people miss
You do not have to do the business side alone to leave the platform. A fractional team handling billing, credentialing, scheduling and marketing at $30 to $35 per hour costs most solo practices $1,000 to $2,000 a month, far less than the gap between platform pay and direct collections. You keep the independence and lose most of the admin.
A fair summary
Platforms are a reasonable first year for a clinician with no caseload. They are an expensive fifth year. If you are approaching year two with a full schedule, the numbers almost always favor your own practice with support behind it.
Quick answers
How much do tech therapy platforms pay therapists in New York?
Commonly $60 to $95 per session depending on license and platform, while the platform collects more from the insurer or client. Direct in-network or self-pay rates for the same session are usually higher.
Is it worth leaving a therapy platform to start a private practice?
For a clinician with a full schedule, usually yes on both income and control, especially with fractional support handling billing and admin. For a brand-new clinician with no caseload, a platform can be a reasonable first year.
Do I keep my clients if I leave a platform?
Usually not. Platform clients are typically the platform’s clients under the agreement. Read your contract and your ethical obligations on continuity of care before leaving.
Ready to talk? MBBCS is a clinician-owned practice management team in Brooklyn serving therapists across New York. Book a free 20-minute consult or get a ballpark estimate in 30 seconds.
