I am sure my T would keep practicing. I think he may even have addressed this possibility. "Even if I had all the money in the world...." My T loves what he does and is very passionate about it. He has moved partly into a new area in the last 5 years so that probably helps it stay fresh, but he still loves the pre-existing area too.

I doubt people become therapists because of the money, because they don't make that much money! I think there is a glut of therapists out there, and many can not find enough clients to support themselves. When you are a therapist, you have to run your own business, somehow get clients (market yourself without using the straightforward marketing techniques that businesses use), pay for office rental and overhead and your own health insurance, fund your retirement without the help of an employer's "match" or plan, fund your own vacation time and sick leave, etc. All these things add up to it being hard to break even for many therapists. The $208/hr that was quoted (for my T, it's not that high) is only for the times when you are seeing clients, and you get reimbursed the full amount either by insurance or the client. If a client cancels on short notice and you can't fill the slot, you don't get paid for that hour. When you spend money doing your billing, on the phone with insurance advocating for clients, or talking with clients on the phone, you don't get paid for that. When insurance is involved, they often don't pay the therapist's full fee, but just the fee they have decided therapists should be getting, which is almost always an underbid.

All that applies to therapists in private practice, and that seems to be the bulk of them in my area, except for those in Community Mental Health or who work at a hospital and do inpatient. If you work in Community Mental Health, the salaries are very low, so again, you are not going to be making much money.